In the 1940s and 1950s, the Air Force explored the potential of a super cargo carrier by flying its one-of-a-kind XC-99 on regular, often record, transport runs. It also was touted as a possible prototype for a new generation of commercial air carriers. The experiment lasted 10 years. Then, for almost 50 years, the airplane was left open to wind and weather in a Texas field. Now the big bird―one of history's largest airplanes―will soon have a fitting place in Air Force history. It is to be reassembled, restored, and enshrined at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. "The XC-99 may have to go on display outside for a short time initially," said museum spokesman Chris McGee, but the museum's long-term plan for construction will open "lots of space," much of which will be used to display experimental aircraft. "The XC-99 will go into that [experimental aircraft] building eventually," said McGee.
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