Thu, Apr 07, 2005
A Sad Day at Avra Valley
Story And Photos By ANN Contributor Ralph Pettersen
The MATS Connie departed Marana Northwest Regional Airport (AVQ)
for the last time on Friday April 1, 2005 bound for a new home in
Korea. With Captain Frank Lang at the controls, she lifted off
runway 30 at 1007 MST and, after one last flyby, headed northwest
to Oakland, CA for the first stop on her journey to an aerospace
museum on Jeju Island.
Originally a southern route had been planned but this was
changed when it was determined that avgas was not available at
Midway Island and the US Military would not allow the aircraft to
transit Wake Island. Instead, a northern route was planned with
stops at Anchorage, Alaska; Cold Bay, Alaska; Hakodate, Japan; and
Incheon, Korea, where the crew and passengers will clear
customs.
The next stop on the journey will be the Korean Airlines
maintenance facility at Gimhae Airport, near Busan, where the
aircraft will be stripped of her MATS colors and repainted in early
Korean Airlines colors. This is expected to take about a week after
which the grand lady will make her final flight to Jeju
International Airport where she will be put on static display next
to next to a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 and Airbus A300. Contrary
to earlier reports, the aircraft will not participate in any Korean
or Japanese airshows this summer and will never fly again.
The longtime home of the MATS Connie at Marana Northwest
Regional Airport will be shut down and turned over to a new tenant.
Immediately after the departure, JR Kern, Bill Dempsay and a small
crew towed the two other resident Constellations (ex-SCAF L1049
N105CF and Columbine II N9463) across the road to join Bill’s
stored DC-4’s.
The MATS Connie, active on the US airshow circuit since 1992
will be missed by all aviation enthusiasts. A very sad day at Avra
Valley indeed!
(Ralph Pettersen is the editor of a web site dedicated to
the shrinking number of operational Constellations worldwide --
ed.)
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