Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum to have C-119 open house on Friday

Invited guests attend a dedication for the eassembled and restored C-119 “Flying Boxcar" which will be open to the public on Saturday during an open house. Photo by Jana Wiersema, The Republic

COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum is hosting an open house for its C-119 in honor of Veterans Day.

The open house will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday. Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum President Nick Firestone said that the air museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing an hour later than usual. Admission is free, though donations are welcomed.

“Come and see what the museum’s restoration crew has accomplished with Charlie 119, which is now known as the city of Columbus,” museum officials said. “After touring the plane, please visit the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum across the street.”

The museum purchased the C-119, which is not airworthy, for $15,000 in 2019. It was disassembled over several months at an airport in Greybull, Wyoming, and transported to Columbus in several hundred pieces. Volunteers then worked to reassemble and restore the plane.

There was a formal dedication ceremony in September to celebrate the project, though museum president Nick Firestone noted that there was still more work to do on the plane’s interior and that “just like restoring a classic car, there will always be improvements to be made.”

For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.