Airframe Of President Eisenhower's Air Force One In Good Condition, Team Says

The airframe of the C-121A Constellation "Columbine II" ... which served as Air Force One for President Eisenhower ... is in relatively good shape. But its engines are another story, according to the team hoping to restore the airplane.

The team arrived at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona to inspect the airplane earlier this month.

In an entry posted to the blog John 2031, Ken Stoltzfus writes that in an email sent to the airplane's owners, his twin brother Karl said that "We have found the airframe to be in  quite good condition with very little corrosion but with the normally expected things that you would find with an airplane that was parked outside and subjected to extreme heat.

"However the engines needed a lot more work than we expected before we feel comfortable to even run them.  We determined very early that we were not going to run them until we had carefully inspected them and made necessary repairs, to give us the best potential to have successful engine runs and ferry."

Karl said that before they are able to accept the airplane, "we would like to make sure the engines run, and remove enough floor under the forward and aft potty area to inspect for corrosion as well as confirming AD compliance."

"It sounds to me like we're on a good track," Ken writes.

(Image by Scott Glover, Mid America Flight Museum, provided by John2031.com)

FMI: www.john2031.com/columbine/updates.html