McGuire AFB's C-118 getting a makeover...

[Warbirdnerd]

Historical McGuire aircraft undergoes renovation

Posted 10/27/2009 Updated 10/27/2009 Email story Print story



by 2nd Lt. Carolyn Glover and Pascual Flores
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

10/27/2009 - JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The traffic circle at the McGuire passenger terminal buzzed with new activity Oct. 23 as Airmen from the 305th and 514th maintenance group prepared to clip the wings off the C-118 Liftmaster that has guarded the entrance to the terminal since 1982.

The maintenance groups on McGuire have set out to completely restore the C-118 Liftmaster, the most significant aircraft in McGuire history.

"The Liftmaster is integral to the history of the base," said Gary Boyd, 305th Air Mobility Wing historian. "It made McGuire Air Force Base the gateway to the east."

The aircraft was the first cargo plane assigned to McGuire Air Force Base. Its presence revitalized McGuire entirely, turning it from a combat base into a mobility base. Most of the support structures present on McGuire today were built to support the C-118's mobility mission years ago.

The plane has operated during Operation Save Haven I and II, saving over 10,000 Hungarian refugees from Communist oppression. It was the very plane that brought Elvis Presley back to the U.S. after his term in Germany.

After years of operational use and weather abuse, the Liftmaster will now undergo a series of changes that will return the aeronautical icon to its original splendor.

There has not been any long term restoration to the airplane in the past. It has been guarding the 305th passenger terminal for 27 years with little maintenance," Mr. Boyd explained.

"We are finding it is mostly cosmetically damaged. The structure is still pretty much intact," said Mr. Boyd, who is involved with the project to ensure the restoration team adheres to all Air Force museum regulations.

"We also want to put it in the right paint scheme for 1960. Currently, it is in the Navy paint scheme it arrived in 1981," he added.

Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Hofrichter, project officer for the restoration, and his staff accomplished the first of several phases Oct. 20-23: the dismantling of the wings and cutting of the main landing gear mounts.

"We have completed the first phase which is moving the plane from the circle to the hangar, the second phase is to make an assessment of the planes condition by doing an in-depth inspection and cost analysis before the work begins and the final phase will be to return the plane back to the circle," said Sergeant Hofrichter.

Restoration is expected to continue through spring of 2010 at the earliest. The timeliness of the restoration depends on time, money and resources available.

The restoration team intends to conduct sheet metal work on the frame of the airplane and remove radioactive radium from the hand and faces on the instrument panel. The aircraft will be stripped and repainted in compliance with Environmental Protective Agency guidelines.

"The big thing is getting the paint off. The plane has a polyurethane paint coating. Acrylic paint is preferred by the EPA because it poses no risk ecologically," Sgt. Hofrichter said.

The Airmen of the 305th and 514th Air Mobility Wings are using the original C-118 manual to complete the restoration in addition to the help and recommendations of aircraft experts.

"We are looking for individuals with particular skill sets in getting the structural airframe repaired, as well as those who are familiar with vintage aircrafts and can provide technical guidance on the C-118," Sergeant Hofrichter said. "We want to keep the restoration organic to McGuire."

"We have to do our part so the future generations understand the accomplishments of the aircraft and its place in our Air Force history," concluded Hofrichter.

Found it here: http://www.mcguire.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123174775

Last edited by Warbirdnerd on Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

[TAdan]

The restoration team intends to conduct sheet metal work on the frame of the airplane and remove radioactive radium from the hand and faces on the instrument panel. The aircraft will be stripped and repainted in compliance with Environmental Protective Agency guidelines.

"The big thing is getting the paint off. The plane has a polyurethane paint coating. Acrylic paint is preferred by the EPA because it poses no risk ecologically," Sgt. Hofrichter said.

Yeah that sounds like NJ.

My grandmother used to paint radium on watch dials during the war. She used to keep the brush tip pointed by tapping it on her tongue and she is currently a very healthy 88...

The previous link did not work so I googled it...

http://www.mcguire.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123174775

[gale_dono]

The restoration team intends to conduct sheet metal work on the frame of the airplane and remove radioactive radium from the hand and faces on the instrument panel. The aircraft will be stripped and repainted in compliance with Environmental Protective Agency guidelines.

"The big thing is getting the paint off. The plane has a polyurethane paint coating. Acrylic paint is preferred by the EPA because it poses no risk ecologically," Sgt. Hofrichter said.

Yeah that sounds like NJ.

My grandmother used to paint radium on watch dials during the war. She used to keep the brush tip pointed by tapping it on her tongue and she is currently a very healthy 88...

The previous link did not work so I googled it...

http://www.mcguire.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123174775

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Girls

Curie died from working with this stuff, too.

[TAdan]

The restoration team intends to conduct sheet metal work on the frame of the airplane and remove radioactive radium from the hand and faces on the instrument panel. The aircraft will be stripped and repainted in compliance with Environmental Protective Agency guidelines.

"The big thing is getting the paint off. The plane has a polyurethane paint coating. Acrylic paint is preferred by the EPA because it poses no risk ecologically," Sgt. Hofrichter said.

Yeah that sounds like NJ.

My grandmother used to paint radium on watch dials during the war. She used to keep the brush tip pointed by tapping it on her tongue and she is currently a very healthy 88...

The previous link did not work so I googled it...

http://www.mcguire.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123174775

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Girls

Curie died from working with this stuff, too.

Ok, after reading that it sounds like Grandma may be exagerating.

[Robbie Roberts]

I was wondering where it was when I went to drill last weekend! But there are a few big holes in the story: most of the support buildings on McGuire were C-141 vintage, or newer, although a good number of C-118 vintage remain. They just knocked down the WWII vintage hardback hangar(Like a wide, flat Quonset hut for B-29s) a couple months back, although the WWII vintage regular USAAF hangar is still there- over near the original Ft Dix AAF runway end, near Starlifter Memorial...(Which now has a C-141, a KC-135 & an F4E)

Also, this is purported to be the aircraft which brought Sgt. Elvis Presley back from his tour in Germany, not the very first C-118 to arrive at McGuire...

Anyway, nice to know she's under restoration- and if Hof is running the job, it should be good. He's a good guy, albeit a little on the "too military to be Air Force" side... (I believe the USAF should be the way Hap Arnold and all the others intended- a separate air oriented arm of the defense of this country: not an aviation branch of the US ARMY, which is what many are trying to make it back over into! We now have too many non-aviation combat jobs inthe USAF, it is like having a small mini US Army.. Sorta like the Luftwaffe combat troops near the end of WWII... Ridiculous... But I digress)

Robbie

[chico]

Can't talk about radium paint without bringing up the infamous glow-in-the-dark boy scout:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

One of the major sources for the radium he used was a clock he purchased at a local antiques shop. Driving by the shop one day, his Hahn's Geiger counter (because we all drive around with one of those...) started clicking. He stopped in the shop and found a clock which contained a small-ish jar of radium paint that an absent minded factory worker had left behind decades before. Makes you wonder what happened to the previous owners. As an added bonus, Radium decays into....radon gas.

Aircraft gauges are one of the few things that our museum will refuse outright (as stated on the website), since they may contain radium paint. While its dangers are probably a bit overstated, but it's still on the list of stuff you don't really want to play with.

[Zachary]

Good grief Phil, next you'll be telling us not to eat lead paint chips!

Zack

[Robbie Roberts]

Can't talk about radium paint without bringing up the infamous glow-in-the-dark boy scout:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

One of the major sources for the radium he used was a clock he purchased at a local antiques shop. Driving by the shop one day, his Hahn's Geiger counter (because we all drive around with one of those...) started clicking. He stopped in the shop and found a clock which contained a small-ish jar of radium paint that an absent minded factory worker had left behind decades before. Makes you wonder what happened to the previous owners. As an added bonus, Radium decays into....radon gas.

Aircraft gauges are one of the few things that our museum will refuse outright (as stated on the website), since they may contain radium paint. While its dangers are probably a bit overstated, but it's still on the list of stuff you don't really want to play with.

Everybody needs a hobby....

Robbie

[bluehawk15]

"Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Hofrichter, project officer for the restoration, and his staff accomplished the first of several phases Oct. 20-23: the dismantling of the wings and cutting of the main landing gear mounts."

I understand dismantling the wings to make it easier to move to the hangar, but why did they cut off the main landing gear mounts?

[Robbie Roberts]

"Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Hofrichter, project officer for the restoration, and his staff accomplished the first of several phases Oct. 20-23: the dismantling of the wings and cutting of the main landing gear mounts."

I understand dismantling the wings to make it easier to move to the hangar, but why did they cut off the main landing gear mounts?

I think they were referring to the stands on which the aircraft has been mounted these past many years: They were attached to the MLG, holding the tires off the ground, and the aircraft in a slightly nose high attitude. There is a good chance cutting was the only way to free them from the mounts.

I am very happy to hear of this effort- I have noticed the A/C getting in progressively worse shape the past couple years- including noticing BOTH ailerons in a downward displacement at the same time, and I don't think that's supposed to happen...

Robbie

[bdk]

Instead of spending money restoring a DC-6, maybe they should put the P-38 indoors instead?