COLUMBUS, Ind. — Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum volunteers, with the help of a number of professionals including crane operators, have completed a two-day process to move the C-119 “Flying Boxcar” aircraft the museum purchased in 2019 to a display site near the Columbus Municipal Airport.
Ray Boll Boulevard was closed so the plane could be moved down the road to its display site just south of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft near the museum on Tuesday.
The 40,000-pound plane, which is not airworthy, was taken apart last year at an airport in Greybull, Wyoming, where the aircraft’s parts were loaded onto trucks and driven 1,460 miles to the Columbus Municipal Airport.
Renderings of the display site posted on the museum’s Facebook page show the plane facing northwest and placed diagonally across the site, pointing directly toward the Atterbury Bakalar Air Museum at 4742 Ray Boll Blvd. In addition, a sidewalk will loop around the aircraft and connect to an existing sidewalk that runs perpendicular to the boulevard.
When assembled, the C-119 will be considerably larger than the F-4 Phantom currently on display. The C-119 is about 86 feet long, has a 110-foot wingspan and is 27 feet tall at the tail. By comparison, the F-4 Phantom is about 58 feet long, 16.5 feet tall and has a wingspan of nearly 38.5 feet, according to the aircraft’s manufacturer.
The Flying Boxcars are of particular historical significance to Columbus, according to museum volunteers. Here, the pilots referred to them as the “Dollar Nineteens,” according to museum records.
From 1957 to 1969, 36 C-119s for the 434th Troop Carrier Wing were stationed at Bakalar Air Force Base, which is now Columbus Municipal Airport. The C-119s were a staple in Columbus, flown out of the base longer than any other aircraft.
The Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum purchased the plane for $15,000 in 2019.
For the complete story, see Thursday’s Republic.
