Just aquired L-18

[Roger Cain]

Thanks for the reply Gary, my buddy will be glad to add that info to his picture..........Roger

[mrmoto]

Gary's Lodestar is being acquired by me. I plan to use it as a bar, guest house, library, biker club house, storage container, all with an aviation theme. I have wanted an airplane to live in for a decade, funny, that is just about as long as I have been divorced. Is there any relationship?
The plane will not be wasted, just recycled into something else that does not involve beer cans, well maybe some beer cans will be opened in the old girl but it will not be turned into beer cans until some time mid-century.
It will be on a residental lot in Hot Springs MT and I hope the neighbors don't throw a fit. Some of them are old enough to have flown in the Lodestar when it was new.
I do not yet know what paint scheme to put on the bird. I can hire some of the town's six high school kids to polish it, I can paint it white and put an airline logo on it, I can put a war bird scheme with stars or roundels on it, or I can do a budhist- gay pride-hippy micro bus-flower power paint job on it. No matter what I do, half the town of rednecks, indians and hippies will be pissed off.
I plan to put the fuselage on a boat trailer so I can tow it around like an Airstream. That way I can leave town as the peasants chase me with pitch forks and torches.
I will try to keep you posted on the progress, or lack of it. fortunately for me, the plane will be a few yards from my back door and not a few hundred as was Gary's case. also my significant other is very supportive and approves of airplane houses.
So do not morn the "death" of Lodestar. Her wings will be transplanted into another bird and her landing gear are promised as well.
I am not sure what the interior will look like yet. What can I buy for a dollar fiddy? I have some aluminum seats out of a transport and the original pilot seats too. I may be getting some blue velour passenger seats out of an F-27, that will add a certian bordello look. I am thinking of some wood paneling for the inside of the cabin and some persian carpets for the floor. a nice sound system and maybe a flat screen TV to watch. I will be looking at the "free" section on Craigslist for stuff and Ideas, since I am an impoverished aviation writer.
I was thinking of calling the plane, the "Mile High Club" but it will be parked at 3200 feet so that will come up short. I suppose I can tow it to the top of the pass and rent it out for the night. or think of another name for it.
Like many of my projects, the Lodestar may be a prototype for a bigger plane later.
I am open to suggestions.

[AviationArtist]

When I started reading this thread it looked like another great project story, the kind I wish I could get hold of. Then it turned in to what looked like a complete disaster only to have the best ending it could have given the circumstances. If it had to end that way, then at least it is still being saved, albeit by going in a bunch of different directions.

[The Inspector]

NORTHWEST, AIR FRANCE, NATIONAL, all would look good on the old girl-

[mrmoto]

A Northwest paint scheme makes sense. Northwest served Montana for many decades and probably flew the Lodestar on routes through the state. I will look into that bit of history.

[The Inspector]

Then what about INLAND? they pretty much were exclusive to Montana/Wyoming and did use L-18's after they got rid of the handed down 247's. and the scheme is just a dark (Blue ?) stripe and twin dark stripes on the verticals

If you GOOGLE IMAGE INLAND AIRLINES you'll find a nice profile shot of L-18-08 NC 25634 c/n 2025 in front of the hanger @ Casper WY. They had a pretty cool logo too, an airplane flying over a bucking bronco on a winged shield.

c/n 2025 built 1940 currently registered to McCollum Aviation in Danville, IL. as N 250W with Wright C9's.
Yours built 1943 as an 18-56, reg. N10P FAA shows last owner as 10P Corp. Redbird Airport, Dallas, TX. in 1973 with R-1820 F 56 engines.

Last edited by The Inspector on Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[mrmoto]

Wikipedia lists these US airlines as having operated L-18s. Unfortunately, NWA was not one of them

Continental Air Lines (Five Model 18-08s delivered new[1])
Mid-Continent Airlines (Four Model 18-07s delivered new[1])
National Airlines (Three Model 18-50s delivered new[1])
Pan American Airways (Alaska Division only) (Six Model 18-10s delivered new[1])
United Air Lines (Four Model 18-10s delivered new[1])
Inland Air Lines (One Model 18-08 delivered new[1])
Western Air Lines (purchased Inland Air Lines in 1944 and operated it as a separate division)
Alaska Star Airlines (renamed to Alaska Airlines in 1944) (one Model 18-56)
Caribbean-Atlantic Airlines (in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)

A Pan Am scheme is possible, especially since my Dad worked for Pan Am (in Miami) from 1943 to 1948 or so. I will look into Inland too

[The Inspector]

GOOGLE EARTH is unable to locate Red Bird Airport in or near Dallas, anyone know if it still exists and where it is/was?

[Ztex]

Look up KRBD...now known as Dallas Executive Airport... Not a danged thing going on over there anymore...

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=krbd&hl=e ... 2&t=h&z=14

[The Inspector]

BOY! No jive! I remember when that place was busier than a new STARBUCKS, whaahoppind?

[Ztex]

Well...um...south Dallas is not exactly a garden spot anymore....so to speak.