MacArthur’s Connie ‘Bataan’ Being Readied For Oshkosh

What is sure to be a star attraction at next month's AirVenture is now undergoing flight tests at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California. VC-121A Bataan, a military version of the Lockheed Constellation, has undergone a full restoration and flew for the first time in June 20. It's now regularly waking up the neighbors around Chino as it's readied for the cross-country flight to Oshkosh and the thousands of selfies that will capture its gleaming polished exterior, assuming the flight tests go well.

This particular Connie has a storied past and is actually one of the longest serving examples of the type. It was originally bought in a block of 10 to serve as a passenger aircraft for the new Military Air Transport Service shuttling people and cargo over the Atlantic. In 1949 it was fitted for executive transport and became Gen. Douglas MacArthur's personal aircraft up to and including his flight back to the U.S. after he was fired by President Harry Truman. His successor, Gen. Matthew Ridgeway, used it and it continued to be flown by the Air Force until it was flown to the desert in 1965. It was dusted off six months later and sent to NASA where it supported the Apollo program until it was decommissioned in 1970.

After 22 years at a museum at Fort Rucker, the plane was bought by Planes of Fame and spent another 20 years at its second location in Valle, Arizona. The current owner, the Air Legends Foundation of San Antonio, bought it and the full restoration begun by Planes of Fame mechanics. The restoration was kept quiet until last May when those huge TR3350-75 engines shattered the silence. The plane has been faithfully restored in the configuration as MacAurthr's transport. No details of its activities at AirVenture have been released.