New Pegasus No2

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Welcome to the Fall 2006 issue oftheNew Pegasus magazine. It seems only a

short time since our Premier issue was sentout, but summer has come and gone and fall

is upon us. The spring and summer werefilled with many accomplishments for themuseum, perhaps the greatest of which was

the completion of several key documents forguiding our future. The board, with the help

of several gracious advisors in our co mmu-nity, worked diligently on the museumsStrategic Plan and Organizational Guide.

Both of these documents are of vital impor-tance to our organizations overall health andgrowth and I am pleased to say that the docu-

ments are now completed and are serving asthe guiding outline for our steps forward.

Planning has also been started for oureventual building near the airport and, al-

though the particulars are not yet ready topresent to the public, steps are being takenon a daily basis to secure a suitable facility to

preserve all of the museums artifacts from

Hagerstowns aviation past.

The museums display at Discovery Sta-tion is, as we speak, undergoing a face-lift

with several new exhibits under construction.One of the exhibits relates directly to an arti-cle in this issue on the dismantling of the

Kreider-Reisner Little Green Shed and theexciting artifacts found in its attic. A collec-tion of these artifacts is now on display in the

museum for your inspection. The museum

has also acquired through donation a collec-tion of WWII era airplane gauges, radios andnavigation equipment and they are also being

added to the overall display.

A grant from the Washington CountyGaming Commission has been received that

provides funding for the acquisition of five

televisions and DVD players. These will be

strategically placed throughout the museumdisplay. Each will be playing actual film

footage from the era they are representingand adding visual motion to the static exhib-its. Also, a port ion of the money from the

Gaming Commission will go toward an inter-active Flight Simulator machine that will

give y oung and old alike the thrill and skill

needed to fly Fairchild airplanes.

The most exciting event to date in pre-

serving Hagerstowns aviation heritage hap-pened in the desert of Wyoming at the end of

August. Donors throughout the communityof Hagerstown and across the country cametogether to help purchase and thus secure the

last of the flying Fairchild C-82 Flying

Boxcars. In this issue you will be able toride along with John Seburn and myself in

the article, Airplane Auction Anxiety-Bidfor the Boxcar. You can experience the

emotional roller coaster ride of the trip aswell as those few nail-biting seconds beforethe auction hammer fell and Hagerstown had

her prize.

As you can tell, the Hagerstown Aviation

Museums activities are expanding at a veryfast rate. As we acquire more artifacts, and

especially aircraft, the need for more mem-bers, volunteers and donors grows enor-

mously. We invite you to become involvedin the museums effort to preserve Hagers-towns rich aviation heritage.

Kurtis M eyers, PresidentHagerstown Aviation M useum, Inc.

Check out the new museum website at:

www.HagerstownAviationMuseum.org

Hagerstown Aviation Museum officers: Left toright, John Seburn, Trea, Jack Seburn, Sec,Kurtis Meyers, Pres, Tracey Potter, VP.

The Old & New PEGASUS

The Hagerstown Avia-tion Museum has titled itspublic information publica-tion The New Pegasus.While Bellanca, the Reis-ners, Kreider, Custer andothers all made significantcontributions to Hagers-towns aviation heritage, itwas the citys long associa-tion with Sherman Fair-child and his Fairchild Air-craft Corporation that putHagerstown on the aviation

map.Since the Fairchild Cor-

porations public informa-tion publication was the

Pegasus, the museum felt it appropriate to continue this tra-dition in the The New Pegasus. The museum dedicates TheNew Pegasus to the many members of our aviation commu-nity who played an active role in developing the aviation her i-tage we now honor. The New Pegasus is made possiblethrough the generous support of its advertising sponsors.

July 1945

Cover Photo:

C-82 at sunset in Greybull, WY

August 24, 2006

Photo by: Steve Christiano

See story on page 4

Dick Henson with the KR-31Challanger he and Charlie

Shue donated to the museum.

The New Pegasusmagazine is in memoryof Richard A. Henson.For many years it wasour priv ilege to work sideby side with Dick in c re-ating the HagerstownAviation Museum. Eventhough he is no longerwith us, his dedication tothe cause continues toinspire us.

Richard A. Henson1911-2002


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The Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preser-vation and promotion of the regions more than 90

years of extraordinary aviation history.

Highlights of Hagerstowns Aviation Past

1916-1920 Giuseppi Bellanca builds the CD and CE biplanes forthe Maryland Pressed Steel Company in the Pope Building located in

south Hagerstown.

1921-1925 Lew & Henry Reisner operate an aircraft repair business and

eventually partner with local shoe manufacturer Ammon Kreider to sellWaco Biplanes.

1926 The newly formed Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company designs andbuilds the KRA Midget t o part icipate in the 1926 National Air Race in

Philadelphia.

1927-1929 Kreider-Reisner develops and produces the C-2, C-4 & C-6

Challenger Biplanes that gain them much acclaim.

1929 Sherman Fairchild of Fairchild Aircraft Company, Long Island,NY purchases a majority stock interest in Kreider-Reisner AircraftCompany of Hagerstown.

1930s Fairchild Aircraft Company produces the F22, F24, F45, F46 andF92 Amphibian.

1931 Richard (Dick) Henson purchases the Hagerstown Airport and

founds Henson Flying Service.

1933 Richard (Dick) Henson becomes Test Pilot for Fairchild Aircraft.

1939-1943 Fairchild develops and produces over 5000 PT19 Primarytrainers for the US Army and Navy as well as the AT-21 Gunnery

Trainer and UC-61 Utility Cargo Aircraft.

1942-1948 Fairchild develops and produces over 200 of the first allmetal cargo aircraft specifically designed for the task, the C82 Packet.

1949-1955 Fairchild develops and produces the C-119 Flying Boxcar ofwhich over 1100 were produced.

1954-1958 Fairchild produces over 300 of the C123 Provider cargoaircraft.

1954-1966 Fairchild helps to develop the Fokker designed F-27 Friend-ship turbo-prop transport and produces over 200.

1962-1983 Richard (Dick) Henson begins the Hagerstown Commuterwhich eventually becomes the Allegheny Commuter and Piedmont Re-

gional Airline.

1965 Fairchild purchases Republic Aviation of Farmingdale, L.I., NY.

1973-1983 Fairchild/Republic awarded A-10 Attack Aircraft contract

and produces 713 for the United States Air Force.

1984 Aircraft production ends in Hagerstown.

The New PegasusFall 2006 - Volume 1 Number 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome to The New PEGASUS... Page 2

Hagerstowns Aviation P ast.......Page 3

Museum Contact Information...Page 3

Bid For The Boxcar....Page 4

Engineering The Packet.Page 8

Fairchild UC-61C Comes Home......Page 23

Whats in The Museums Future?..Page 24

Little Green Shed is S aved!......Page 25

Help Bring Home the C-82......Page 30

Museum Membershi p/Donations....Page 31

Contact Information:

Museum Display at Discovery Station:

Hagerstown Aviation Museum101 West Washington StHagerstown MD 21740Discovery Station phone: 301-790-0076

Mailing address:

Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Inc.14235 Oak Springs RdHagerstown MD 21742Phone: 301-733-8717please leave message if no answerOr call: 717-377-3030Website:

www.HagerstownAviationMuseum.org


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Airplane Auction AnxietyBid for the Boxcar

By: Kurtis Meyers

The hotel accommodation that firstevening of our journey to Greybull, Wyo-ming was small and in direct contrast tothe three men of slightly over-averagegirth that set about to occupy it for thenight. On any other evening the narrowaisle of this Virginia hotel room that al-lowed little more than a person with spar-row legs to pass by the mass ive laminatedparticle board entertainment center on theleft and the foot board of the overly puffy,engorged bed to the right would havedrawn a sarcastic comment, but that eve-ning was different. Our minds were pre-

occupied, and little concern was beingplaced on our own comfort. Time was, ineffect, standing st ill as we rested in prepa-ration for our trip to Greybull the next daywhere we were certain we would find amuch-anticipated vintage airplane nir-vana.

Morning came but unfortunately itarrived three hours after we had alreadyrisen, the product, I believe of late flightbooking and cheap airplane seats. SteveChristiano, officially the museums firstvolunteer, had graciously agreed to go

along and film the event. His flight left atthe predawn hour of 6:30am enroute toDenver. John Seburn and I would catchthe 8:45 to Denver, meet up with Stevethere and fly on to Cody, Wyoming.

Sitting in the waiting area at DullesAirport, John and I watched Steve boardthe airplane, hoping the gods would lookfavorably upon our venture. In a four-week campaign the museums acquisitionaccount had gone from zero dollars to

$130,000, a t ruly remarkable achievementfor the volunteers and donors. Still, how-ever, we were unsure whether this wouldbe enough to capture the high bid of whatwe so desperately desired - the last of

four, and the only flyable Fairchild C-82Flying Boxcar.

The trip to Denver on the Boeing 777was uneventful and actually quite pleas-ant. Upon our arrival we met up withSteve, grabbed some quick mini vittlesand got to our gate a few minutes beforeboarding. The de Havilland Dash 7 thatwas to be our transportation to Codyquickly emptied my mind of any pleasantthoughts of the former flight. Seat 13Awas little more than a five person benchseat. With me being the unfortunate pas-senger who sat in it, I literally brought upthe rear of the airplane and was privy toall the noise of the turbo-prop engines andliver rattling jolts of every conceivablemeandering air pocket. Accentuating theproblem were the mountains below us andthat days turbulent weather patterns.

The two-hour time difference fromDulles airport put us in Cody just afterlunch on August 21. Cody, a town ofaround 9000 with a tiny adjoining airport,sits on the edge of the Rocky Mountainswith majestic splendor confronting thevisitor in every direction.

As Steve and I watched for the lug-gage to emerge from the s ingle conveyerbelt baggage claim, John was busy work-ing out the details of our rental car. Eventhough our reservations had been con-firmed for a mid-size GM Grand Prix orequivalent, the unforeseen demand onrental vehicles in Cody that day had al-ready tied up all the equivalents and therental company was forced to upgrade us.

Suddenly we found ourselves sportingabout in a nearly new gray Chrysler 300.A massive looking car, it hardly fit theimpression of limited-budget museumpeople, but it was admittedly quite com-

fortable and John, the designated driver,was a quick learn behind its space-agecontrol panel.

As John turned the ignition, the en-gine revved as if running on nitro and wewere off. As we left the airport and thehome of Buffalo Bill behind us, our finaldestination was now within reach. Sixtymiles was all that stood between us andGreybull, Wyo ming, the Mecca of radialengine airplanes. With our hot rodChrysler 300 we could cover the distancein no time!

The sparse beauty of the Wyomingdesert is beyond compare and our drive toGreybull gave us miles of beautiful dryriverbeds, plateaus and rock outcroppings.With a few stops along the way for Steveto capture the scenery on video, there wasreally nothing else between Cody andGreybull to stop for. Nearing the end ofour trip, we began to watch for the scenethat many had told us about, but we our-selves had never seen - row after row ofmass ive, spire-like airplane tai ls.

We had been told in Cody that the for-mer Hawkins & Powers Aircraft co mpany

was on the west side of Greybull, the veryside that we would be entering. As webegan to see the town come into focus inthe distance, John, who should have beenwatching the road, suddenly proclaimed,Theres an airplane tail!, and within


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seconds, many airplane tails appeared.we had arrived!

Oh, what to do! It was only 3:00pmand there were so many airplanes to see.The questions continued to roll. Shouldwe check into our motel or stop first andlook at airplanes, or should we grab food

first since our three micro pretzel lunchwas wearing quite thin? But, like drugaddicts on heroin or alcohol ics on a binge,we all answered in unison, Airplanes,definitely, we need to look at a irplanes.

Pulling into the airport, there werefour airplanes immediately greeting usthat belonged to the Museum of Flightand Aerial Fire Fighting - two FairchildC-119s, a Neptune and a Beech 18. Theywere all in what appeared to be ok condi-

tion and, although none of them was partof the upcoming auction, they gave us ataste of what we had come so far to see.

For the past s everal months leading upto the auction, John had developed a tele-phone relationship with Brent Hoben whoworks for Zenith Aviation, the companyin charge of trying to sell off the assetsprior to any auction. With the auction dateset, he now was assisting the GreatAmerican Auction Co. in lining up thelots and promoting attendance.

As we pulled in to look for Brent, wedrove past row after row of airplane parts

and pieces. Therewere easily onehundred and fiftyor more radial en-gines of varioussizes and designa-tions, many still intheir original cansawaiting a willingbuyer to use themor a smiling scrapmetal dealer to cutthem to pieces. Iquickly got theimpression that noone could look at

everything that was here and not beamazed. It was truly a mind-numbingscene as we looked around from the carthat first day. It was T-minus one day togo before the auction and almost no onewas in sight!

We parked the car and began our

search for Brent, asking one person whotold us that his office was on the otherside of the airport and that he was proba-bly there. As we walked out onto the tar-mac, we were suddenly confronted withan amazing scene. Lined up like a cardealers latest models were the crme-de-la-crme of the great vintage airplane salein Greybull, Wyoming.

Directly in front of us was a DouglasA-26, a Boeing KC-97 and a Fairchild F-

27. All of them looked as if theyhad been tenderly cared for and,with their doors open, inviting all

to hop on board. John and I hadbeen devising our wish list forseveral weeks and, although therewas no question that our top-pickwas the C-82, the F-27 was alsoone of interest. Although it had notbeen flown for near ly fifteen years andneeded some costly work done before itcould fly, the F-27 looked cosmetically invery nice original condition. It had someslight paint peeling, but the interior seat-

ing still had what appeared to be the origi-nal upholstery and the entire machine wasstill very presentable. We had learnedfrom Brent a few days earlier that no onehad expressed any interest in the airplaneand that it would probably bring no morethan scrap price or about eight to tenthousand dollars. This would definitely bean option if we were to fail in our biggerplans .

As we emerged from the F-27, welooked to the left and saw the unmistak-able stance of the C-82 Flying Boxcar.Lined up from left to right were the threeFairchild beauties of highest interest tous, the C-82, the Canadian C-119 and theC-119 used in the most recent Flight of

the Phoenix movie. Although I had neveractually seen a real C-82, the aircraftlooked much as I had imagined, althoughits size seemed much larger in real lifethan in photographs. From the outs ide shewas a sight to behold! Her bulbous bodywas so amazingly ungainly but at the

same time so beautifully curvaceous.Every line appeared to have a purposeand was designed with some predeter-mined use in mind. Hers was a body

unlike any other, both purpose-built andunarguably majestic. From that firstglance I was s mitten!

Since our time was short that first dayand the one hundred degree heat was ob-


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viously beginning to take its effect, wequickly walked over and looked aroundthe C-82 and both C-119s. About an-other five hundred feet got us into the airconditioning of a s mall office buildingjust in time to hydrate ourselves and tofinally meet up with Brent.

We introduced ourselves to Brent,who took a few minutes away from an-other auction attendee to talk with us andto introduce us to his boss, Bob Stanford,the President of Zenith Aviation. BothBrent and Bob instantly put us at ease andwe got the feeling from the beginning thatthey were one hundred percent behind ourattempts to secure the last C-82 Boxcarfor Hagerstown.

After relaxing for about an hour in theoffice building, Brent had finished withhis client and both Bob and Brent took uson a trip around the airport to look overthe items of interest to us. We began withopening up the C-82, climbing all through

it and photographing and videotapingevery nook and cranny. I personallyclimbed in the cockpit, sat in the pilotsseat and made every attempt not to allowptptptptptpt propeller noises to leavemy lips, but, between you and me, I wasnot successful. It felt like a natural fit to a

lifelong dream, so you must forgive mefor a few childish flashbacks. Althoughwe thought of staging a couple mockparachute jumps we restrained ourselvesand did not, but we did, however, manageto open the clamshell doors to let the lightin. What we saw was a beautiful, seem-ingly origina l zinc-chromate covered inte-rior in much of the cargo area. We couldonly speculate that due to the airplaneslong service with TWA that it was savedfrom the harsh conditions to which mostother C-82s had s uccumbed.

Content that the C-82 was the airplanefor us, we began our search for whatwould be our second choice. We lookedover the Canadian C-119 #140 as well asthe movie airplane in a similar exhaustivestudy as we had with the C-82. Both werequite nice, but the more original of thetwo was the Canadian one and that is theone that peaked our interest the most.However, as we looked over the prelimi-

nary auction list, it became evident that asecond choice may be irrelevant. The auc-tion line up listed the Fairchild F-27 soldfirst, the Canadian C-119 second, the C-119 movie plane third, and, lastly, ourfirst choice, the C-82, in that order. Sincethe C-82 was sold after all the other

choices, the loss of that bid would leaveus no other options. Unsure how to han-dle the situation and exhausted beyondcomprehension, we decided to head to thehotel. We made arrangements to latermeet up with Brent and Bob at Lisas, theonly watering hole of note in Greybull,for much needed sustenance.

Greybull was a typical small westerntown. Since no Wal-Mart had arrived yet,Main Street was lined on either side witha hardware store, a clothing store, a phar-macy, a caf and a Chinese RestaurantThe small mom and pop stores of pre-super center days made the downtownlook more like 1956 than 2006. On thewest side of town Rons farm marketserved as the place for local groceries andon the east side the farmers co-op soldlumber and feed and about everything elsea small town might need.

Our accommodations for our fivenights in Greybull were along Main Street

at the Yellowstone Motel, which appearedto be well kept. As an advertising feature,the motel promoted itself as being the mo-tel farthest from the rattle of the railroadyard and, accordingly, the quietest. Asolid looking building built in the archi-tectural style of the mid 1960s, it

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sported the crimson red brick and brightwhite mortar of the time, all covered witha gray tarpaper roof.

As John and I walked into the office ofthe hotel to check in, a very outgoing andfriendly receptionist ins tantly welcomed usto the Yellowstone. Our reservations wereon file and there was no problem checkingin so we retired to our mini suite. Sincethere were three of us we had opted for thetwo-bedroom suite which in this casewas a bit of an over statement. Yes, therewere two rooms and a bathroom, but theconcrete block interior walls and other ac-coutrements put me in the state of mind ofstaying over night in a re latives bas ement.There was something about the shag carpetcovering the floors, pre-Nixon Administra-tion furniture and the ever-present mean-dering smell of old mildewed shoes thatmade me thinkI just dont want to stayhere! Well, ok, first impressions arenteverything and I really learned to like the

place. The two air conditioners and onewindow kept the place cool and comfort-able and, I must admit, every night I sleptlike a baby.

Conveniently, the best food in townwas directly across the street from the Yel-lowstone Motel. Lisas Restaurant musthave been a star in the Greybull commu-nity. The food was fantastic and vergedcloser toward gourmet than rough-and-tumble Wyoming rustic. As we were fin-ishing up, Brent and Bob were just comingin for the evening and we joined them forsome random airplane chatting. We asked

all of the normal paranoid questions suchas what they believed our chances of win-

ning the C-82 were, how much theythought it would bring, and on and on adnauseam. John mentioned that DickHenson had been one of our first Boardmembers and Bob lit up like a l ight bulb. Itturned out that Bob had sold Mr. Hensonhis first Lear Jet back in the 1980s and thetwo had developed a close friendship. For

at least the next half hour, all of us sat andlistened while Bob talked of his memoriesand visits with Mr. Henson and of hisenormous admiration for him. Wow! Whatare these odds? Even though Dick Hensonis no longer with us, I know that he issmiling down on us and has a guidinghand in returning his Flying Boxcars backhome. Mr. Henson, your seat on the Mu-seum Board will always be open, feel freeto drop by anytime.

As the eleventh hour came, the naturalneed for downtime made itself ever moreknown. We excused ourselves and headedback to the room, knowing that we wouldhave a full day for more talk tomorrow.And, we slept!

It was not the sound of birds chirp-ing outside the window that aroused me,but instead the mechanical rattling of theFedders window unit air conditioner.Chirping birds would have been a morepleasant arouser, but the Fedders irritating

rattling was much more effective. Finally,we were all up and around and made ourway to the Greybull Caf just before thebreakfast cutoff time of 11:00am. TheCaf became the site of our morning brief-ings where we would go over what wehoped to accomplish on each given day.On that first morning we planned to final-ize our list and include any parts, pieces,engines, etc that we may have an interestin for future display in the museum. Wehad decided that a major emphasis of ourmuseum would be on the design andmanufacturing of airplanes. We realized

from the very beginning that this sale of-fered a unique opportunity to purchasemany of the materials that would beneeded to help create such a museum.

Breakfast was filling and we made ourway to the Greybull airport and a daylooking at parts in the hot desert sun. Withanother quick look at our dream planes,the C-82 and the pair of flyable C-119s,we had decided to confront Bob with ourdilemma concerning the order of the sale.The reality of the situation was that if wewere unable to get this changed and we

lost the bid on the C-82, we would gohome without any flyable airplanes. Whenwe explained our dilemma to Bob, he in-stantly saw the problem for us as well asthe benefit for all involved if the order ofsale were to be changed. He offered tobring the situation up to the Vice Presidentof Great American and tell him that it wasdefinitely in their favor to change the ordersince we would first be bidding on the C-82 and, if unsuccessful, bidding on one or

both of the C-119s as well. We were cotent now to leave our problem in Bobcapable hands.

We now made our way to trows of parts in the front field that we hpassed the first day. The first row wlooked at had several boxes marked C-and TWA that immediately caught our iterest. Two other long rows had approxmately 100 or more wing and control sufaces for the C-82 and C-119. These weobviously spares with several still in toriginal boxes directly from the Fairchifactory in Hagerstown some fifty yeaago. All of this stuff would be great have, but it would all depend on the monsituation when the auction hammer fell the flyable C-82.

With the items of interest noted on olist, we met up with Bob and Brent agaand made our way to the outer field wherow upon row of non-flyable airplan

rested. There were five C-119s, six or

Boeing KC-97s, a bunch of Neptunes aseveral others in various stages of deterration, as well as two C-82 fuselagwhich were of greatest interest to us. Bohad been used in the harsh conditions Alaska and had been transported by trato Greybull about a decade ago. At leaone of these would be great to have, bonce again, we would have to see how tmoney held out.

Tuesday seemed to come and quickly and within no time we found ouselves back at Lisas Restaurant enjoying

relaxing meal. Before we left, Bob hcome over and indicated that he believthat the order of sale situation had beworked out but he would know for certain the morning. Knowing that the next dwould be a stressful one and attemptingignore the anticipation that had been sweing up in us all day, we turned in early.

Morning came at the now familclanging sound of the Fedders and I arobright eyed and eagerly anticipating t

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events of the day. It was, after all, the f irstauction day!

After a hurried breakfast at the Caf,we set out on our two-mile car trip to theairport. As we got to the edge of town andwithin two hundred feet of the forty-fivemile per hour sign, the sound of a sirenhalted our progress and officer B. Jollyhad us in his snare. It would appear thatour designated driver, lead-foot John, wasgoing forty-two in a thirty and we werebusted! Hoping for a warning, but sadlydisappointed, we were eventually set freeto continue our journey and within lessthen a minute we were at the airport.

The parking lot had about fifty carsaround 9:30am when we arrived and byauction time, 11:00am, about twice thatmany. There were several people who

flew in for the day and a few who stayedovernight to take in both days. The auc-tion was to be held in an 8000 square footmetal hanger that the auction company

had outfitted with large, portable air con-ditioning units, making it quite comfort-able. They had set up approximately 200metal folding chairs with 100 in each sec-tion and an aisle running back through themiddle. The auctioneers stand was di-rectly in front with the clerks table to theright and the picture screen to the right ofthat. The auction was also to be web castand available for bidders all over theworld. The person in charge of taking

web bids was positioned to the left of theauctioneer on the auctioneers stand.

John and I had positioned ourselvesdown the middle to the right about two-thirds of the way back. As we sat andwaited for the 11:00am start time, Bobcame over and said that everything hadbeen worked out and the order of sale hadbeen changed. The order would now bethe F-27 first, then the C-82 and then thetwo flyable C-119s. Everything seemednow to be in place and in another fiveminutes the sale would start!

The auctioneer set a pace of one lotper minute from the beginning and con-tinued through the first fifty lots in whatseemed a short time. That same time,however, was full of anxiety for John andme and was painstaking and taxing to sit

through. About twenty minutes before theC-82 was to be auctioned, as we sat therestone faced, not uttering a word for fearof jinxing something, John got up and

walked outside for a few minutes. Whenhe returned, his fear was evident and heinformed me that he felt we did not haveenough money. He also said that he hadjust called a friend who was to call back,hopefully, soon. As the minutes passedand the sale of the C-82 drew nearer itbecame obvious that John was worriedthat the call may not come in time. Justthen the phone rang and John quickly leftthe room again. He returned several min-

utes later beaming from ear-to-ear andprono uncing , We have ano th er$10,000!

Now, with just over $140,000 in thebank, lot number 79, our C-82, was aboutto be sold. The first complete airplane ofcomparison was lot 73, the Douglas A-26,and it quickly reached $90,000, hungthere for a little while and then proceededto a final bid of $112,500. The FairchildF-27 had an opening bid of $5000 andended up much higher than we had everanticipated with a c losing bid of $27,500.

With the hammer falling on the F-27,the auctioneer made the announcementthat the order of sale had been changedand that lot 79 would be the next and thetwo C-119s after that. As the auctioneerbegan the call for b ids on the C-82, the

opening call was first for $150,000 then$100,000, then $50,000 and finally$40,000. A bidder in the room jumped onat $40,000 and the game was started. I

had been chosen as the designated bidder,but instead of jumping on the bid at thattime, I he ld off to see if anyone else in theroom would bid. Suddenly, off to my left,another bidder jumped on and the two ran


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up the bid to $65,000 with the initial bid-der eventually bowing out. With a slightlull in the bidding, I raised my hand andbegan the museums b id, not knowingwhere it would lead or where its endwould be. We went back and forth in in-crements of $10,000 and $5000 with afinal call for $90,000 at which time ourin-room competitor dropped out. For abrief few seconds it appeared that we mayhave won the bid, but that was not to be.Abruptly, and seemingly from nowhere,appeared a tiny head on the auctioneersflat panel computer screen and a muchfeared Internet bidder made himselfknown. Back and forth it went th is time in$5000 and $2500 increments to $100,000.Then it climbed to 105, 110, 115, 117,500and on until it reached $127,500. Al-though we had a little over $140,000 inthe bank, thanks to our last minute frienddonating $10,000, we had to figure an-other 10% on the top of any bid price due

to the buyers premium. Some quick mathmeant that the very highest that we couldbid was $127,500 and, indeed, thatswhere we were. As the auctioneer contin-ued to call for any further bidding andwaited for the Internet bidder to pop hishead back on the screen and bid, the sec-onds seemed like minutes and the antici-pation of the moment was unbearable.But, quickly, the last call was made, thehammer fell and the Hagerstown AviationMuseum owned the last flying FairchildC-82! The auction for us had ended.

John and I sat there in the crowd un-

able to fully grasp the monumental eventof the past few minutes. With so muchemotion and effort expended for that sin-gle moment, it would take a few hours toreflect before the reality would begin toset in. Complete ly exhaus ted, we returnedto the motel for a few hours of muchneeded rest. In the early evening, John,Steve and I returned to the airport,climbed up into the cockpit, sat there forsome time and then slowly focused oneach feature of the old workhorse. For the

first time, were able to truly reflect uponwhat had happened. I believe for all threeof us the one week we spent in Greybull,Wyoming tying to secure for Hagerstownthe last available Fairchild C-82 will for-ever stand out as one of the highlights ofour lives. It was not until that one defin-ing moment in the cockpit the eveningafter the sale that everything seemed tocome together. In that moment we knewthat the grand old plane would be flyinghome.

C-82 ContributorsThe Board of Directors of the

Hagerstown Aviation Museum thankseach of the following donors to theSave the C-82 fundraising cam-paign. Without their generous supportthe purchase of the last flying Fair-child C-82 would not have been pos-

sible and Hagerstown would have lostforever this significant piece of itsaviation heritage.

David & Grace AndrewsJohn & Virginia BargerThomas & Sy lvia BarnhartTed BauerC Richard & Mary Jane BaumbaughJ.M. BenchoffCharles & Charlotte BertEdward S. Bishop Jr.Donald M. & Jone Bowman

Carole S. BrakeLinda Reisner BraceyLester & Betty Ann BurgerDavid & Barbara ChurchillCharles & Barbara ClopperJ. Allen ClopperArnold & Constance CramerCatherine CriderStan & Cecilia CrippenJoe L DenestSteve DiedrichAllen & Judith DittoSteve & Ann DragerMildred I DukeJohn W. EastonMarie & Charles EbersoleJohn H Fix Sr.Pauline L. FogleLawrence M FrenchCharles I. GallagherWayne J. GleasonEugene & Mildred GoetzJohn & Patricia GratzVincent R. Groh

William A. GuenonJacques G. HagerDonis B HamiltonJerome K. HarnessAudrey W. HarrellLloyd & Evelyn HaynerWilliam D. HeckmanC.F. & M.B HeefnerEugene R. HornbakerRicky & Debra HoseWilliam HubbellShelly H. KampeJack KingGeorge Knode Jr.Wayne & Mary Ann KrinerFranklin & Virginia LeiterJ. Carl LlewellynLeroy & Shirley LogueDonald & Virginia LucasEdward & Nancy ManuelMartins Famous Pastry Shoppe Inc.Maryland Cracker BarrelJames A. Matus

Jaye & Linda MeyersStanley & Velena MillerRobert & Norma MorelliEugene & Bernice NaborsScott R. PaddackDomin ick & Ann PellegrenoPetes TavernJack M. Phillips Sr.Eleanora E. PoffenbergerCreighton R. ProppsDouglass C. Reed & Mary Jo ClemensHoward W. ReynoldsConnie & Donald RichardsonAlbert A. Roberts, Jr.

Steven C. RothNick & Susan RotondoDale & Carolyn SeburnEloise T. ShafferNevin A. ShortElla & James ShowersCatherine A. SkaggsSamuel V. SmithLouise C. SnurrWayne & Mary SoursTom StonebrakerJoseph St. GeorgesCharlene E. Stoner

Armand J. Thieb lot Jr.Robert J. ThieblotJohn L Taylor Jr.F. Dean TruaxJohn M. WaltersdorfPaul WarfieldMartin & Ruth WellerWayne & Irene WentzWilliam E Wright


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RARE 1939 FAIRCHILD UC-61C COMES HOME

The museums 1939 Fairchild F-24/UC61C is home safe and sound. Tracey Potter, museum V.P., graciously loaned his aircraftrecovery truck and trailer for the January, 2006, trip to Georgia. The crew consisted of museum board members Joe Boyle, Jack Se-burn, John Seburn & Kurt is Meyers as well as museum Volunteers Dean T immons and Andy Moody. Only days before the trip, themuseum had received the military history on this aircraft from Air Force records and found out this very airplane that they were soonto p ick up was s igned over to Howard Hughes for four months in 1942. More research is needed to determine what it was used for,but definitely its an exciting twist to an already historically significant airplane! More news will be coming in the next New Pega-sus. ( To read the previous article on this aircraft from the last New Pegasus go to www.HagerstownAviationMuseum.org)


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Whats in the Museums Future?

The Hagerstown Aviation Museums goal of preserving localaviation history is well under way. The downtown Hagerstownfacility contains not only exhibits that chronicle the developmentof Hagerstown aviation but also serves as the collection site forresearch materials and local aviation memorabilia. While mu-seum members continue to develop exhibits, conduct researchand collect memorabilia, they are also planning to identify and

document aviation sites in and around Hagerstown. The museumwill seek funding to develop and install interpretive signs atthese sites and to design and print a self-guided tour map of thesites.

The museum is actively involved in locating aircraft, with thegoal of acquiring at least one aircraft representative of each ma-jor development in local aviation history. This ongoing task willrequire much t ime, effort, funding and volunteer assistance.

Members of the museum are in contact with the owner of aBellanca CE replica. The building of the plane was a labor oflove, and the story of its cons truction adds immensely to the sig-nificance of the plane.

The museum owns a restored 1928 Kreider-Reisner Model

31. This aircraft was donated by Dick Henson, Hagerstownaviation pioneer, and Charles Shue, former owner and restorer ofthe aircraft.

A former Fairchild employee donated a 1939 Fairchild F-24.This aircraft was impressed by the US Army Air Corps in 1942,militarized and given the military designation UC-61C. The mu-seum plans to restore this aircraft to its military configurationand will be looking for volunteers to ass ist.

The museum is seeking the donation of a Fairchild PT-19 and

is also asking for your donations of PT-19 parts that can be us edto assemble a static display PT-19. Some parts have already beenoffered and several period vehicles are available to enhance aWWII era display. If you know that you can donate an aircraft,parts or funds, contact the museum.

And now to the BIG planes! The museum recently acquired aFairchild C-82 and a C-119 is being donated. The museum iscurrently looking for a C-123 and F-27. While a few of theseplanes are s till flying, many are not airworthy. An A-10 Thun-derbolt II should be available when the museum has a facilitylarge enough to house it.

Donated aircraft are, of course, a major boos t to the effort, butconsiderable cost is still involved in transporting the planes toHagerstown. The museums goal is to have one of each of theseaircraft on display at the Hagerstown Regional Airport.

This is a huge undertaking, but the story of Hagerstownsaviation heritage is not complete without these aircraft. Theseaircraft will be permanent monuments to the thousands of menand women who designed, built, flew and maintained them.With your assistance the museum can bring these aircraft hometo Hagerstown to be preserved for generations to come! Contactthe museum for more information on how you can help makethis goal a reality.

Fairchild Republic A10

Fairchild PT-19

The museums 1928 KR-31 and restorer Charlie Shue.

Original Bellanca CE of 1918


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The Little Green Shed article in thelast issue of The New Pegasus providesthe historical background of the building,describes the dismantling plan and pic-tures the first step removing the largemetal panels that covered one side of thebuilding. (If you did not receive the firstissue ofThe New Pegasus you can find iton the museum website at www.HagerstownAviationMuseum.org.)

The day the panels came off was coldand snowy. Since we had seen some sortof drawing or pattern on the inside of thepanel, we very carefully removed eachnail that fastened the panel to the wall so

as not to damage whatever was on theother side. This was made all the moredifficult by the thick gloves we werewearing to protect our hands as weworked with the very cold metal.

But, eventually, the first panel camedown. We turned it over and the firstthing that we saw was its identifying in-

formation. What we had in our hands was

an engineering drawing and manufactur-ing pattern for the first Fairchild C-82Packet! The drawing was in remarkablygood condition considering the use thatwould have been made of it initially fol-lowed by many decades of keeping theweather out of the Little Green Shed.

Now that we knew what was on theback of each meta l panel we were evenmore careful remov ing them, made all themore difficult by our ever colder andstiffening fingers. But, eventually, the toppanels were removed and the last of thelower panels was dug loose from the fro-zen earth. As we surveyed the results ofour efforts, we recognized many familiarcurves and angles and shapes of an air-plane so familiar to us . We moved the

panels to a safe storage area and beganplanning our strategy for exploring theloft of the Little Green Shed.

Removing a trap door in the ceilingand shining a flashlight across the loft, wesaw dust and wooden airplane parts and

dust and wire control cables and dust andold newspapers and dust and large, skinnyairplane tires and dust and dust and dust.This was going to be as de manding a taskas getting the metal panels off.

Since Doug Reed wasnt sure howstructurally sound the ceiling was, we in-

stalled support posts before going upthrough the trap door to begin our archeo-logical dig in the dust. Before becomingthe Kreider-Reisner airplane factory, thebuilding was a shoe shop located bes ide anumber of railroad tracks. It had alreadyaccumulated significant railroad soot be-fore the Reisner brothers had it moved tothis site, which is also beside a nu mber ofrailroad tracks. So, for much of its life itcollected black soot from railroad steam

engines. In addition, painting the Chal-lenger bi-planes produced much silverand blue paint dust that settled on andmingled with the railroad steam enginesoot.

It was not going to be a pleasant job,but what we had seen in the flashlightbeam spurred us on. We photographed

and documented each artifact as wemoved from one ceiling joist space to thenext. So me items we could identify, somemaybe and some not. After days of prob-

ing dust we worked from one end of theloft to the other and were satisfied that notone item had escaped being located andsecured. After all the artifacts are cleanedand identified, we will include a sa mplingof them in a futureNew Pegasus.

With the panels off and the artifacts inthe loft removed, we began shoring up thebuilding and stabilizing wall and ceilingsections prior to cutting them apart. Wefirst removed roof sections, then gables,

THE LITTLE GREEN SHED,AND WHAT IT CONTAINED, IS SAVED


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followed by ceiling sections and finallywall sections. Dougs dismantling plan wasa success! Hagerstown Aircraft Servicesdonated a truck and trailer to load andtransport the sections around the block forstorage in the former Fairchild factorybuilding that replaced the Little Green

Shed.Vincent Groh, present owner of the

Fairchild Plant One building, has gener-ously donated secure storage space for theLittle Green Shed as well as storage space

for the C-82 and C-119 parts that were pur-chased at the Greybull, Wyoming auction.The museum greatly appreciates Vincentssupport in the effort to preserve Hagers-towns aviation heritage.

The museum also owes many thanks tothe following for their participation in sav-ing the Little Green Shed: Dave Andrews,donor of the Little Green Shed; RichardHughes, Maryland Historic Trust; JoshPhillips, Preservation Maryland; MindyMarsden, Washington County HistoricalSociety, Chris Marston, National Park Ser-

vice; Doug Reed, Preservation Associates;Hagerstown Aircraft Services, Inc.; DeanTimmons from Hagerstown Aircraft Ser-vices, Gavin Lambert and John Thompsonvolunteers; and museum members MikeCoraggio, Kurtis Meyers, Tracey Potter,John Seburn and Jack Seburn.

One day the Little Green Shed and thecontents of its loft will become features inthe indoor exhibit at the Hagerstown Avia-tion Museum.

New Members

LIFETIME

J.M. BenchoffDonald M. & Jone BowmanLinda Reisner BraceyJ. Allen ClopperPauline L. FogleDave FriedrichVincent R. GrohMartins Famous Pastry Shoppe Inc.Jaye & Linda MeyersEleanora E. PoffenbergerDale & Carolyn SeburnEloise T. ShafferRobert StanfordArmand J. Thieblot Jr.Robert J. ThieblotJohn M. Waltersdorf

PREMIERWayne J. GleasonDavid & Barbara ChurchillDouglass C. Reed & Mary Jo Clemens

PATRONCharles & Charlotte BertEdward S. Bishop Jr.Stan & Cecilia CrippenJohn W. EastonCharles I. GallagherShelly H. KampeJ. Carl LlewellynEdward & Nancy ManuelScott R. Paddack

SUPPORTINGDavis L. BaughmanTed BauerCarole S. BrakeCharles & Barbara ClopperSteve DiedrichAllen & Judith DittoExp. Air. Assn.Lawrence M FrenchJacques G. HagerJerome K. HarnessAudrey W. HarrellBrent HobenWayne & Mary Ann KrinerMaryland Cracker BarrelStanley & Velena MillerRobert & Norma MorelliJack M. Phillips Sr.Carol RaffanielloHoward W. ReynoldsConnie & Donald RichardsonSteven C. RothElla & James ShowersSamuel V. SmithSusan SnyderWayne & Mary SoursAlan StonebrakerJoseph St. GeorgesCharlene E. StonerJohn L. Taylor, Jr.Nelson Tillou

Paul WarfieldWilliam E Wright

CONTRIBUTINGThomas & Sylvia BarnhartC Richard & Mary Jane BaumbaughLester & Betty Ann BurgerArnold & Constance CramerCatherine CriderJoe L DenestFrances M. DiehlSteve & Ann Drager

John H Fix Sr.C.F. & M.B HeefnerAlan HenningerEugene R. HornbakerWilliam HubbellHarold MartinJames A. MatusThomas A. ParadisPetes TavernCreighton R. ProppsWilliam & Betty RinnNick & Susan RotondoLouise C. SnurrTom StonebrakerLandis Whitsel

INDIVIDUALDavid & Grace AndrewsJohn & Virginia BargerNorman BirzerCarl BuseyGerald E. CohenMichael CoraggioNedson CrawfordJames E. CrockettRichard W. CurrieWilliam M. Curtis IIIFrances R. DaviesMarie & Charles EbersoleEugene & Mildred GoetzOliver R. GoetzJohn & Patricia GratzWilliam A. Guenon

Donis B HamiltonRichard HawleyLloyd & Evelyn HaynerWilliam D. HeckmanJohn R. HerreraRicky & Debra HoseMike KellyJack KingLarry KnechtelGeorge Knode Jr.James M. Landis, Jr.Franklin & Virginia LeiterLeroy & Shirley LogueDonald & Virginia LucasEugene & Bernice NaborsMaxine M. PalmerDominick & Ann Pellegreno

Everett PotterLouise RiderAlbert A. Roberts, Jr.Nevin A. ShortCatherine A. SkaggsDoris StonebrakerRobert L. TaylorF. Dean TruaxEdward C. WegnerMartin & Ruth WellerWayne & Irene WentzCharles WolfeDon E. Wolford


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Collectors Cap,Fairchild Aircraft logo. $10.00

To order: Call 717-597-9695 or order online at www.vintagevideo.com (A portion of the proceeds is donated to the museum)

DVD 3 disk set. The documen-tary, a DVD collection of originalFairchild films and a Photo CD.$29.95

Companion book to the docu-mentary. 164 pages. $21.95


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Hours of OperationTuesday - Saturday10:00am - 4:00pmSunday1:00pm - 4:00pm (except July and August)Closed: Mondays, Sundays during July and August,Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter,Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Independence Day.

AdmissionIndividualsChildren under 2 FreeAges 2-17 $6.00Adults $7.00Seniors (55 and over) and Military $5.00

Visa, Mastercard, Discover Card accepted.Group Tours (minimum 10)School Children and Youth group members,17 and under (each) $2.00Teachers and youth group leaders, no charge.Adult Group (each) $4.00

Discovery Stationat Hagerstown, Inc.101 West Washington St.Hagerstown, MD 21740

For information:Phone: 301-790-0076Toll Free: 877-790-0076Fax: 301-790-0045


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Your Help is Needed toBring Home the C-82!

The C-82 is being prepared for its flight back to Hagers-town. Engines and landing gear have been inspected and ser-viced and are operating well. Because it has been parked out-doors since its last flight in 2000, many of the control surfacesneed to be completely recovered rather than repaired, as firstthought. This is an unforeseen development and the recover-ing is a time consuming and costly process. This develop-ment has, of course, delayed the return of the C-82 to Hagers-town, but is critical to safely flying the aircraft. Your support isonce again needed to help prepare the C-82 for its flighthome.

Send your contribution to:Hagerstown Aviation Museum, C-82 Fund14235 Oak Springs RdHagerstown MD 21742

For more information call: 717-377-3030


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DONATIONSYou are invited to become a supporter of the Hagerstown

Aviation Museum, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt, non-profit or-ganization, by making a financial donation to the museum.. Yourdonation directly supports the operation and continuing activities

of the museum.Your financial donation will contribute to the preservation of

Hagerstowns aviation heritage and ensure that future genera-tions will learn of the men and women who created thatheritage.

VOLUNTEERSA small group of museum volunteers has achieved much in

the past year and a half and will continue its efforts in the futureAs the museum grows and activities expand, the museum wilneed to increase its volunteer staff. Whether you can donate an

hour a week or can completely restore an antique aircraft, nocontribution of time and effort is too small. It is the sum total othese contributions that will permit the museum to achieve itsgoals. Check the box on the membership form to receive volunteer information.

Hagerstown Aviation Museum Membership Form

Name:______________________ Company:_____________________Street:______________________

City:_________________________ State:_____ Zip:________

Phone:___________________ Email:___________________________

Make Check Payable to:HAGERSTOWN AVIATION MUSEUM14235 Oak Springs RdHagerstown MD 21742

Request The New Pegasus for a friend:

Name___________________________________Street___________________________________City__________________ State___Zip________

My interest in Hagerstowns aviation history is:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please send me information on becoming a

museum volunteer.

___ Student $15.00 (per year)___ Individual $30.00 (per year)___ Contributing $50.00 (per year)___ Supporting $100.00 (per year)___ Patron $200.00 (per year)___ Premier $500.00 (per year)

___Lifetime $1000.00 (lifetime)

Membership Levels

The Museum Needs Your Help!

Museum Membership!Support the Hagerstown Aviation Museum by becoming a member!

Add your name to the membership list and gain the satisfaction of knowing that yourcommitment and support is helping to preserve Hagerstowns aviation heritage.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - cut here or make a copy of this page, fill out form and mail- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


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Documents

New Pegasus No2