Air Heritage Inc.

Air Heritage Inc is a non-profit 501c3 flying aviation museum located just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Beaver County Airport in Beaver Falls.

We are a 100% ALL VOLUNTEER group of people who are dedicated to the restoration, preservation and flight of historically significant aircraft as well as the preservation of aeronautical materials and artifacts. In addition to our aircraft, we also have a small museum located at our hangar full of Aviation Artifacts. We are open free to the public six days a week from 9AM till 5PM, Mon-Sat.

All funding for our restoration projects are raised through our three annual fund raisers as well as donations made by those who tour our museum and our own members. We receive neither government funding, nor have any corporate sponsors to help in the preservation of these aviation relics.

We have been flying our various restored aircraft for nearly 20 consecutive years to air shows across North America spreading the history and experience of aviation with people of all ages.

History of the "Luck of the Irish"

In January 2013, Air Heritage Inc. made the decision to acquire a C-47 that had been ferried to our airfield. It was the dreams of many at Air Heritage to get a C-47. At the time we purchased it, we had no clue the history behind the aircraft, but we have since found it with the help of many.

We found the WWII pilot to whom the aircraft was assigned to, Captain Edward “Elmo” Frome, who was still alive at 95 years old. We were able to make contact with him and his daughter who provided us with valuable information on his plane. We are also working on finding the other remaining crewmen of the plane or their next of kin.

We received a copy of the 75^th Troop Carrier Squadron War Diary which has given us the complete detailed history of our plane in World War II from the time it entered service in 1944 till May 28^th, 1945 when it flew its last mission.

Air Heritage Inc. will be the very first civilian operator of this C-47. It has only flown with the USAAF/USAF, US Army and the State of Florida’s Lee County Mosquito Spraying Division.

History During World War II

Our plane was delivered to the 9th Air Force's 75th Troop Carrier Squadron on September 30th, 1944. The 75th TCS itself was a part of the 435th Troop Carrier Group, which itself was a part 53rd Troop Carrier Wing.

The plane is too young to have flown in Operation Overload or Operation Market Garden, but it did make it to two other large campaigns. Our plane flew two Resupply missions over the Battle of the Bulge on December 24^th and December 26^th,1944 in which it dropped supplies from parapacks as well as from inside the fuselage to the surrounded troops below in the city of Bastogne. It also took part in Operation Varsity, the single largest air drop of troops and supplies during a single day, even to date. Over Varsity it towed two Waco CG-4A gliders full of troops.

Overall, it flew in 25 Fully Combat-Operational Resupply Missions in the European theatre from its base in Welford Park, England and Bretigny, France. It also flew 13 missions in which it evacuated American, British, French and even German POWs. We have records for at least 96 missions of various types, which it had taken part in during the war.

Our plane was also one of just three C-47’s used to deliver the Stars and Stripes: Victory Edition to various air bases throughout the region.

Restoring Luck of the Irish

Our goal is to restore “Luck of the Irish” back to the state it was in when it flew its last mission during World War Two on May 28^th, 1945.

In order to do this, we must raise at least $150,000 dollars to be able to do the complete restoration the plane deserves. Any money raised over our goal will go towards future maintenance for the plane, to allow it to continue attending air shows well into the future as well as paying off the aircraft itself. 

Timeline for Restoration

Exterior

Our goal is to have the exterior of the plane completed by the Fall or Winter of 2013 as it will begin attending air shows in early 2014. To do this, we must complete the following tasks:

• The removal of the current civilian paint scheme it wore from Florida
• Treating any skin damage that may be found
• Recovering of the fabric Control Surfaces
• Making operational checks of all flight systems
• The installation of all the correct and original communications and navigational antennas
• The restoration and installation of original WWII Parapacks; something no other C-47 in the world has that we know of, either on static display or flying
• The re-installation of the aircraft’s Astrodome (The dome window at the top of the fuselage used for navigation at night)
• The application of the correct Army Air Force paint scheme with the correct insignias 
• The application of its original WWII nose art and name
• The replacement of all windows as they have been etched by the chemicals used in spraying

Interior

Putting back together the interior of the plane will be a much longer process, mainly due to the fact we will have to search for a lot of parts which may be very difficult in locating. This will more than likely take place over a couple years time and will include doing the following jobs:

• Stripping and repainting the entire inside of the aircraft
• Sourcing and installing original WWII Metal flooring
• Sourcing and installing original WWII Metal Bucket Seats
• Sourcing and installing an original Navigation and Radio room. Some radio stands and desks/chairs may have to be custom built for this
• Sourcing and installing original stretchers and stretcher provisions.

Why Donate?

Your donation will not just help in bringing a WWII aircraft back into the air, but it will help a World War Two Combat Veteran return to the air.

Our plane is not just another war bird that will be painted up to look like another aircraft that served in the War with a decorated history. Instead, our plane has a documented and decorated history of its own; a history that needs to be told for generations to come.

We must preserve this history, but not of the just plane itself, but also what the men did in these planes during the war and how they affected the lives of millions, such as these evacuated French Nationals.

We intend on educating people the history by not only having the plane to look at and the stories of Mr. Frome and his crew to tell, but by creating traveling exhibits that will go with the plane to all of the air shows it attends. These exhibits will become a permanent part of the aircraft and will tell the true story to everyone.  

Aircraft are more than just a machine, for many they are a symbol. For example, at a previous air show, a woman recognized our plane as a C-123K after seeing it in person for the very first time in her adult life. As it turned out, she was from Vietnam and had been evacuated by a C-123 when she was just a few months old along with her family.

Another example would be at an Andrews Air Force Base Air show a few years ago with our L-21B. What is special about our L-21 is that it still wears the original paint scheme it flew with in the Italian Army from the 1950’s throughout the 1970’s. A man approached us sobbing. As it turned out, this Italian man was the very pilot our plane was assigned to. He returned the next day with his logbook to show us before we left.

We have the opportunity to bring this war hero back to her former glory and educate thousands on just what these men did in it and have the same experiences with others as we have had with the L-21 and C-123.

Every Donation helps.

Whether you give a little or a lot, every bit counts. If you can’t donate monetarily, please help us reach our goal for funding this plane's restoration by spreading the word through any way possible to those who may be able to donate. All donations will come with a gift to show our appreciation of your generosity.