Lewis 'Connie' flies at Chino

摘要

Following a seven-year restoration with Fighter Rebuilders, Lockheed C-121A 48-613/N422NA took to the air again at Chino, California on 21 June to become the only example of the Constellation currently flying in the country of its birth. Acquired by its current owners, the San Antonio, Texas-based Lewis Air Legends from Planes of Fame at Chino during April 2015, the crew for the first flight included Fighter Rebuilders/Planes of Fame boss Steve Hinton in the co-pilot's seat, Stew Dawson in command, and Jeff Whitesell as flight engineer. It is due to make its public debut at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture show at Oshkosh, Wisconsin during the last week of July. Delivered to the USAF in January 1949, 48-613 was one of eight C-121s to fly with the Atlantic Division of the Military Air Transport Service on Atlantic crossings during the Berlin Airlift, the type's long range making it ideal for the job of flying supplies from Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts to the UK and Rhein-Main for onward transport to Berlin's western sectors.