
A veteran of three military conflicts, this Douglas C-54 Skymaster aims to return to the skies sometime soon. Rolling out of Douglas' factory in 1945, the United States Navy accepted the delivery of the four-engined aircraft, which it kept as a workhorse during World War Two, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. While it does not carry the same amount of romanticism as some of the other military aircraft of the era, like the Spitfire or a P-51 Mustang, the Skymaster still is a crucial part of military conflicts that the United States participated in.
Thus, after sitting in a lonely airfield since 2002, the Save the Skymaster society decided to live up to its name and save the frame from being turned into scrap. We spoke with the Chairman of the society, Allan Vogel about the trials and tribulations of restoring a 74-year-old aircraft.