Volunteer Bart Farzati is standing next to a Quick Change Engine Kit showing the fresh look of newly replaced hoses. This Quick Engine Change (QEC) Kit will be fitted with an R-28000-99W Engine. The Kit has had the Oil Tank overhauled and is fitted with all new hoses. Build-up of the engine should take Volunteers about two months. Upon completion of the engine build-up the C-123 Aircraft will be pulled into the hangar for an inspection and installation of the right engine.

We hope to have the aircraft airworthy and available for the 2007 Air Show Season by May 2007.

AIRCRAFT ORIGIN: David Tallichet of MARC had stored at VMI in Tucson, AZ five C-123Ks that he had acquired from the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Air Heritage approached Mr. Tallichet with the ideal of getting one C-123 back to Beaver for flying purposes thus relieving him of the cost of storage.

An agreement was drawn up that Air Heritage would become the owner of record and that Mr. Tallichet at sometime in the future would recover the airplane. A group of Air Heritage volunteers traveled to Arizona to begin getting the airplane ready for its ferry flight back to Beaver. This took six weeks of hard work and money.

Take-off from Davis-Monthan AFB was uneventful and the airplane ran well. Upon landing in Texas one main landing tire blew, and with the other members of the recovery team all ready home, this left only the four crew to deal with the tire. The headquarters of the CAF being just on the other side of the airfield became a blessing. The CAF helped our members order and repair the tire. The flight was further delayed more by bad weather. The trip took a total of 12 days before landing at Beaver County Airport.

It would be another year before the "Thunder Pig" would fly again, due to much more work needed and the FAA requirements. Since then the airplane has attended many major airshows in the north-east and in 1997 appeared in two movies. The "Naked Man" and for Show Time Cable "Universal Soldier 2".