AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 62

A new home
There's no question that you're in the right place
when you walk into Vintage Wings' hangar at
Venango Regional Airport (FKL) in Franklin. A
small museum and gift store displays Beach City
Baby hats, T-shirts, model airplanes, stickers,
and shoes, and there's a floor-to-ceiling photo of
a DC-3 on the back wall. Display cases contain
briefing pamphlets given to passengers on
Air Transport Command flights, an authentic
leather flight jacket, the wings of one of the
pilots of the airplane (which were flown on
the first flight after restoration), and a helmet
rumored to have been worn and signed by
Dwight D. Eisenhower (they are working to
authenticate the autograph).
Beach City Baby looks right at home in the
hangar. The only indication of how close the
airplane came to being scrapped is a photo of
the derelict airplane displayed on the hangar
door. The full restoration of the airplane was
completed in May 2022.
Mechanically, the airplane is like new. All
of the hoses under the engine cowlings were
replaced; exhaust stacks were sandblasted
and powder coated; new hydraulic lines were
installed; broken cockpit instruments were
swapped out; new control cables were run; and
years of grime and corrosion were removed.
Aesthetically, the restoration took the
airplane back to its World War II roots. It
sports an Air Transport Command livery
like the one it had during the war and carries
nose art that was custom designed by artist
Chad Hill of Django Studios. The interior
of the airplane was meticulously restored
and configured as a medevac transport,
with two-by-two seats and stretcher bunks
near the front of the cabin. Signatures from
veterans-some who crewed DC-3s in World
War II-line the walls, occasionally with
accompanying photos.
Volunteers
remove the
rudder of
Beach City Baby
to inspect the
tail section for
corrosion. Years
parked in the
elements took
their toll on the
airplane.
New instruments.
a modern radio
and GPS unit, and
a fresh interior
were installed
during restoration.
62
AOPA PILOT / April 2023

AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 6
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 8
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 18
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 65
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 71
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - 73
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2023 - Cover4
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