If aircraft possessed emotions, surely Columbine II would be indignant.
The country’s first Air Force One aircraft was stripped of its identify, fitted with mismatched landing gear, sold at a surplus auction to be employed as an aerial sprayer and then abandoned in a Marana airfield for a decade.
Fortunately, a happy outcome awaits the storied plane — the only Air Force One ever sold by the U.S. government.
Dynamic Aviation Inc. of Bridgewater, Virginia, bought the Columbine II earlier this year and has a team of mechanics working to get it flight ready for a trip to Virginia where it will be fully restored, said Matt Lam, a project leader with Dynamic Aviation.
He said the company founder, Karl D. Stoltzfus Sr., a history buff, learned of the aircraft’s fate through industry friends.
People are also reading…
“His goal is to preserve history,” Lam said. “And this aircraft has a lot of history.”
The interior is all original, he said, and Stoltzfus wants it restored to “exactly like it was when Dwight Eisenhower flew in it.”
Two of the plane’s four engines have already been fired up, Lam said, and the crew hopes to fly it out to Virginia in the fall.
Steve Miller, airport director for Marana Regional Airport, said a going-away event will be held when Columbine II leaves Arizona.
Glory days
Air Force One historical accounts show Columbine II, a Lockheed VC-121 Constellation 48-610, was named after the state flower of Colorado, the home state of first lady Mamie Eisenhower.
During a 1953 flight over New York City with President Eisenhower on board, Columbine II — identified at the time as “Air Force 8610” — nearly collided midair with a commercial plane also numbered 8610.
The Federal Aviation Administration then designated the call sign Air Force One to any aircraft the president of the United States was aboard.
Columbine II was the first.
In 1954, it became the primary backup aircraft for the president and carried Eisenhower one last time in October 1959. The plane was retired and flown to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1968.
History forgotten
When Columbine II was stripped of its identity, it was also fitted with mismatched landing gear and sold in a 1970 surplus auction.
Christler Flying Service bought the plane, unaware of its history, to convert it into an aerial sprayer. But the landing gear problem prevented the conversion.
Curators with the Smithsonian Institution tracked down the aircraft in 1980 and informed the owner of its past life.
The plane was restored and briefly appeared in air shows, then was parked in Roswell and Santa Fe, New Mexico, until 1998.
Its owners tried to sell the plane at auction, with no luck, and it was parked at the Marana airport in 2005 in a lease agreement.
New life
Once Columbine II leaves the desert and gets its restoration in Virginia, the new owners plan to take the aircraft on air show circuits so the public can enjoy it, Lam said.
“People thank me for leading Dynamic in the preservation of the national treasure,” Stoltzfus said at the time of the purchase. “However, the real credit goes to Harry Oliver and Lockie Christler (the previous owners) who saw its value … and did major work on it. Without their dedication and their efforts to preserve it, it would most likely have been melted down long ago.”
Dynamic has worked closely with Mid America Flight Museum of Mount Pleasant, Texas, on the restoration project.
A departure date has not been set, but airport officials will make a public announcement when it is so the bird finally gets a proper send-off.
