Dynamic Aviation announced on November 28, 2020 that company chairman and founder Karl Stoltzfus had passed away the previous night after a five week illness. Karl was one of those larger than life personalities that the aviation community is blessed with and he will be sorely missed by not only be his family but all those who he touched during his eighty year life. My first contact with Karl was during the spring of 2015 when he purchased VC-121A 48-610 "Columbine II" which had been stored in an Arizona airport boneyard since May 2003. The aircraft had been Dwight D. Eisenhower's first presidential aircraft and was the first presidential aircraft to be designated "Air Force One." At the time, it was in real danger of being scrapped as the airport authorities wanted it to be removed from the field. Karl first heard about the aircraft's plight while reading an article I had written a year before in Warbirds International magazine and was the proverbial "right man at the right time." I have no doubt that the Connie would have been scrapped if not for him. Karl had the resources and the will to restore the aircraft and, in less than a year, it was airworthy and flown to Dynamic Aviation's headquarters in Bridgewater, Virginia, where a "better than new" restoration has been underway. I first met Karl in person during my first visit to Bridgewater in August 2016 to gather information for an article. Karl was a gracious host and allowed me to make yearly visits to check on the progress of the project. During my last visit in June 2020 he seemed perfectly healthy and I was amazed to learn that we would be celebrating his 80th birthday a few months later. I'm proud to say that Karl considered me a friend and I’m a better person for knowing him. Here's the November 28th post issued by Dynamic, including a moving tribute by his son Michael, who is company CEO.
It is with heavy hearts and great sorrow that we announce the passing of Karl Stoltzfus Sr., founder of Dynamic Aviation. Karl passed Friday night surrounded by his family. He was loved deeply by many here in the Valley and around the world. We will miss him greatly.
Here are some thoughts written by Michael Stoltzfus, son of Karl, and President and CEO of Dynamic Aviation:
“Dear Friends,
Dad passed late last night, Friday, Nov 27, 2020, after a five-week battle against severe pancreatitis. As you all know he was 80.
His body fought vigorously, to the end, just as anyone who knew him would fully expect. And, just as we would imagine, he was fully prepared weeks ago in both mind and spirit to make his journey to join his Heavenly Father. Dad's example throughout these last weeks was a beautiful testament to his ability to fight the good fight while simultaneously fully accepting God's unexpected change of plans.
There are many lessons that Dad shared with us throughout the years. Two among them guided him. He always insisted that the job be done well and that we always do the right thing. He also gave us a wealth of wisdom through word and deed, and by living a well-lived life – a life of faith and serving others; a life of joy and passion for aviation; and a life filled with hard work, focus, and perseverance.
Over the last number of years, Dad and I frequently discussed the future of Dynamic Aviation. He clearly expressed his interest that we do everything in our power to continue to make Dynamic stronger, that we care for our customers, and trust God’s leading of Dynamic.
So, that is indeed what we will do. And that is what we will do together. We will do it because it is the right thing to do, and we will do it because it’s the best way to honor what Dad created and what we have all built together throughout his lifetime.
For now, though, let’s stand together as we deeply mourn his passing. Let’s give ourselves and each other permission to weep as a sign of our love and admiration for him. And let’s share our stories and fondest memories of him and all the personal ways he impacted us.
We will continue building an amazing Dynamic that honors him and his legacy for years to come. We will continue serving and caring for our customers and for each other, just as he did. And we will continue building upon the foundation he laid, of innovation, passion, and hard work.
Finally, on a personal note, I am eternally grateful for Dad and for his love for me and my family. And I am grateful for the opportunity to have partnered with him in the business for 3 decades and to have been together with him throughout these last weeks. Thank you for your love for Dad and your outpouring of support for our family.
Sincerely, Michael”
There will be a small private graveside service for Karl on Saturday December 5th. In light of the current pandemic, the family requests no uninvited guests at the service. A public memorial service is planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mission Aviation Fellowship at https://give.maf.org/ or by mail at:
Mission Aviation Fellowship
PO Box 47
Nampa, ID 83653
EC-121T Prepped for New Paint – November 13, 2020
Bruce Long posted a report on the repaint of EC-121T 52-3425, which is on display at the Peterson Air & Space Museum in Colorado Springs. I visited the museum in November 2006 and at the time the aircraft had been newly painted and looking stunning in the museum’s parklike setting. Here’s Bruce’s report…"Here are some photos of the ongoing effort to repaint the EC-121T at Peterson Air and Space Museum. They continue to prep the aircraft, and still have a ways to go. The current plan is to prep and seal the aircraft skin to withstand the winter, and finish her in the spring. They have found two holes in the outer skin of the upper radome and some corrosion damage in the tail cone area. Getting those sealed is a priority before winter. You might ask why the Outstanding Unit Citation was sanded down smooth. The original one, put on the last time the aircraft was painted, was made too large. The plan is to reduce its size to something more normal." Many thanks to Bruce for his report and photos.
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Salina Connie Photo Update – August 24, 2020 (March 23, 2021 Update)
Clarke Converse was on a cross country drive to Texas and was passing by Salina Regional Airport when he caught sight of Gordon Cole’s L749A Connie N1206. Curious, he drove onto the airport to have a closer look and was lucky enough to run into a fellow who had ramp access. "Starship Connie N1206…she's sitting at the North end of the Salina, Kansas airport. I saw it from the highway and made my way towards her and got lucky enough to run into somebody that had access to the flight line and escorted me out to go check her out. The gentleman that was escorting me said they tried to fly it several years ago (actually almost 30 years ago) and shelled out an engine. It hasn't moved since and truthfully on my walk around there are so many holes in the aluminum from corrosion that I don't think she'll ever fly again but stranger things happen."
UPDATE: I received a phone call from Gordon Cole who took strong exception to Clarke's report on the condition of the aircraft. He said there is an area on the wing where birds had made a nest and water got in resulting in some corrosion. He said that the corrosion didn’t affect a structural component and can be easily repaired. Gordon also takes exception to Clarke’s statement that “there are so many holes in the aluminum from corrosion that I don't think she'll ever fly again."
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June 2020 Dynamic Aviation Visit – July 24, 2020
I made my annual visit to Dynamic Aviation on June 23rd to check on the on-going restoration of VC-121A 48-610 Columbine II. For a full report on this visit, check out the article I posted on this website. Many thanks to Karl Stoltzfus and the folks at Dynamic Aviation for their hospitality.
TWA Hotel Starliner Damaged During Storm – June 29, 2020
Jeroen Bakker stayed at the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport during a May 30, 2020 layover and took the opportunity to have a look at the hotel’s Connie Cocktail Lounge. While the lounge is closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he was able to walk around the aircraft and noticed that the right elevator was damaged and lying on the ground.
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"The reason I write to you is that you may know someone who is closely related to this project and is able to get this fixed. Because the plane looks crippled now and if this will not be fixed, the elevator will in the end be displaced and probably disappear."
I contacted Carlos Gomez and Roger Jarman, who had restored the aircraft a few years back, and they both were aware of the situation. The elevator had been damaged during a severe storm and arrived Carlos’ shop in Miami on June 25th for repair. Once that it complete Carlos will travel to JFK Airport and repair the damage to the aircraft and reattach the elevator. This will most likely be delayed as a result of the two-week covid-19 quarantine of Florida residents currently in place in New York. While the cocktail lounge is currently closed, the hotel's website says that it will be reopening on July 6th. Many thanks to Jeroen for his photos and report.
Updated Constellation Production Database – May 21, 2020
Dominique Ottello has updated his comprehensive Constellation production database, which includes all production models. The database is in French and English and updates include.
Many thanks to Dominque for all his hard work creating this useful search tool.
Lufthansa CEO Announces Cost of Failed Starliner Restoration Project – May 6, 2020 (Updated May 14, 2020)
The German website aerotelegraph.com reported on May 5th that Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had recently stated that the total cost of Lufthansa’s failed L1649A Starliner restoration project was 150 million euros. This translates to about $162M at today’s conversion rate. That’s an amazing amount of money to have spent with so little to show for it. I don't believe the aircraft will ever be made airworthy so hopefully it will one day become the most expensive static display aircraft and not be indefinitely relegated to the warehouse where it is currently stored. Here’s an English translation of the report.
"For more than ten years, Lufthansa tried to make an old Lockheed Super Star airworthy again. Now the total cost of the project is known."
"At the end of the 1950s, Lufthansa's Lockheed Super Star was traveling between Germany and North America. In this tradition, the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung bought three aircraft of the type in 2007. The following year, work began in the US state of Maine to make one of the acquired Super Stars airworthy again. However, in 2018 Lufthansa stopped the project and brought the plane to Germany in 2019."
"So far it was unclear what the whole thing cost. Estimates were always more than 100 million euros. Now Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr replied to a corresponding question at the Group's Annual General Meeting on Tuesday (May 5): “The total cost of the project from 2007 to 2019, after we finished the project and brought the plane back to Bremen, amount to 150 million euros.” However, a large part of this was borne by external donors and sponsors."
Spohr said the restoration to an airworthy state had proven to be too complicated and costly. In the future, the plane should be issued. Where and with which concept, you want to announce later, says Spohr.
Here's a couple of follow-on articles...one published by the Lewiston Sun Journal on May 8th and the second published May 13th by the Robb Report.
One Connie Dies to Save Another – April 25, 2020
When Mel Christler acquired five VC-121A Constellations in May 1970, he had no idea that one of them was a very historic aircraft. That aircraft was "Columbine II" 48-610, which had served as Dwight D. Eisenhower’s "Air Force One" from November 1952 to November 1954. Mel converted the other four aircraft to large acreage sprayers but decided to use 48-610 as a spares airplane since, for some reason, it had a Super Constellation main landing gear installed. By the time Mel sold the four sprayers to a Canadian company in May 1979, 48-610 was derelict and sitting on its tail in a Tucson, Arizona boneyard. Mel learned of the aircraft’s heritage in the early 1980’s and was determined to restore it but the four sprayers had been sold and, since only ten VC-121A/B’s had been built, parts to restore the aircraft were not going to be easy to find.
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Jim Buckwalter lived near Mesa-Falcon Field in 1986 and in addition to his April 22nd account of the restoration of L1049H N6937C, he was also on hand when Mel was getting N608AS ready for its ferry flight to Ryan Field.
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"I did not get to see either one of the Connie’s fly out. I got sent out of Coolidge Arizona to California on the tanker and ended up traveling around and never got back to Arizona. In the spring of 1987, I signed up with ARDCO to right seat N406WA T151. Reporting to Ryan Field a month before leaving on contract to help get 151 ready to go, there was N608AS, sitting next to it." (Editor's note: Parked next to N608AS was VC-121A N494TW, which was to become the MATS Connie.)
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ONE MORE THING..."I saw N608AS fly on a crew training flight out west of Phoenix before it went on a spray contract. The only other Connie of the six based at Falcon I ever saw fly was the former Eastern Airlines L1049C N6228C. In April 1979, it was sold to Aerotours, Santo Domingo. There was a restaurant right on the ramp at Falcon. It was a popular spot and one morning we’re having breakfast and out the window taxies 28C. The place cleared out like it was on fire with plates of food abandoned as everyone ran out to the ramp to watch 28C depart. After a brief run up, the crew took the active. They knew exactly what they were doing. Falcon’s runway was 4300 feet long and they used only enough power they needed to get out of there. Rolled all the way to the end and yanked it off at the last few feet of runway. Dust kicked up at end of pavement Freaked people out, the airport emergency vehicle, a pickup, took off down the taxi way, people were saying they’re not going to make it! The memory of the tragic crash of the Super Constellation N45516 four years before was on folk’s mind. Was an experienced crew, taking care of the engines on 100 octane avgas. 28C made an easy left turn as it climbed out, passing back near the airport for us to admire, before disappearing to the east. We all went back to the restaurant where our ham and eggs were cold! If I’m not mistaken, 28C went nonstop all the way to Miami. It got serviced and registered HI-329, and continued to Santo Domingo. I never got any pictures of that plane."
2021 Super Constellation Calendar Available – April 22, 2020
The 2021 Super Constellation Calendar (ISBN#978-3-672-45655-9) has been published by German publisher Calvendo GmbH and can be ordered via their website. Created by Arie Wubben, the calendar can also be purchased worldwide in selected bookstores, department stores and is also available at Amazon.com and other online sellers.
Save-A-Connie's 1986 Super Connie Rescue – April 22, 2020
Jim Buckwalter recently shared his 1995 experience flying right seat on DC-4 Tanker 119 on my ProplinerInfoExchange website. Jim lived near Mesa-Falcon Field and recently forwarded a report and some photos of the 1986 rescue of L1049H N6937C by the Kansas City based organization Save-A-Connie. These folks were retired TWA mechanics and pilots with decades of Constellation experience and, in little more than two months, had the Super Connie ready for the ferry flight to Kansas City. The aircraft thrilled airshow crowds from the late 1980s to 2005, when an engine failure grounded it. The mechanics and pilots that rescued 37C have either flown west or are too old to keep the old girl flying so she's currently on static display in the National Airline History Museum’s hangar at Kansas City Downtown Airport. While the aircraft is in excellent condition, the lack of financial resources and technical expertise will probably result in it never flying again. Anyhow, here’s Jim’s report and photos.
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I’d like to thank Jim for his report. I’m looking forward to his promised report and photos of Mel’s work on N608AS.
Qantas Founders Museum Super Connie Moves to New Home – March 28, 2020
In early March 2020, the Qantas Founders Museum Super Constellation was moved to its final display position under the museum’s new Airpark Roof where it joined the museum’s B707 and B747. This marked the culmination of a remarkable 5½ year effort that began in September 2014 when the museum purchased the aircraft from the Manila International Airport Authority. The Super Connie had been abandoned for 26 years at the airport and was in poor condition. A project team was quickly dispatched by the museum to disassemble and prepare the aircraft for shipment back to the museum, where it arrived on May 24, 2017. By July 2018 the aircraft had been externally restored and painted in period Qantas colors as VH-EAM "Southern Spray." Volunteers completed the cockpit and interior restoration in 2019 and the aircraft was ready to take her place under the Airpark Roof. The $14.3 Airpark Roof will not only provide shelter to the museum’s Super Connie, DC-3, B707 and B747 but will also include a state-of-the art sound and light show night experience.
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South African Airways Museum Starliner Update – March 8, 2020
Peter Brill reports that electricity has been restored and interior work continues on Starliner ZS-DVJ at Rand Airport. He forwarded the following photos.
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Mementos from Opposite Ends of Constellation Era – March 4, 2020
I recently received photos of two Constellation mementos…one from the start of the Constellation era and one from near the end. Greg Vinci’s father Sam was one of the original electrical engineers that work on instrument design for the Constellation. Greg inherited a framed photo of a C-69 that had the signatures of many of the individuals involved in the early design of the airplane. At the other end of the spectrum, Lonnie Bohm sent me a photo of a spark plug that had been installed on one of the engines that powered L749A N6020C on TWA’s last passenger flight on April 6, 1967. It was given to his father, who worked for TWA in New York for 37 years. Thanks to both Greg and Lonnie for sharing these small slices of Constellation history!
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Former Nordair Super Connies Soldier On as Restaurant Centerpieces in São Tomé – March 4, 2020
As reported on this website on November 22, 2018, contrary to previous reports, former Nordair Super Connies CF-NAL and CF-NAM had not been scrapped in São Tomé Airport and were part of the Asas D'Avião Restaurante Santola located at the airport. Riku Helppi visited São Tomé on January 31st and February 6, 2020 and photographed both aircraft, confirming their continued existence. The Super Connies were used during the Biafran Airlift and were abandoned at São Tomé in early 1970 after the conflict had ended. While the exteriors of both aircraft are in desperate need of some TLC, the restaurant appears to be open for business. Many thanks to Riku for allowing me to post the photos and to Antti Hyvärinen for forwarding the photos to me.
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Indian Naval Museum Super Connie Gets Some TLC - February 11, 2020 (February 13, 2020 Update)
On May 3, 2019 I reported that Super Constellation IN315 on display at the Naval Museum in Goa, India was looking a bit tatty and needed some attention. Perhaps the folks at the museum read my website because Dane Rapajic recently visited the museum and reports that the aircraft’s exterior is being repainted. Many thanks to Dane for his report and photos. Now, if they would just replace the truck tires installed on the main land gear!
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Dome Assembly Urgently Needed for Hamilton Standard 43H60 Propeller - January 25, 2020
I recently received an email from Patrick Smart, who rebuilds vintage round engines and runs them at shows around the UK. A couple of years ago he acquired two R3350 engines from L1049G Super Connie 5T-TAF, which was abandoned at Luqa, Malta in 1968. The aircraft was flying contraband to Biafra and was impounded by the local authorities. It was towed to the nearby village of Kirkop and made into a restaurant in 1974. The restaurant closed in about 1988 and it was destroyed by a fire set by vandals in January 1997. The Malta Aviation Museum Foundation acquired the remains and somehow two of the engines made their way to the UK, where Patrick acquired them. He is in the process of getting one of the engines running and, while he has the props, he needs a dome assembly for a Hamilton Standard 43H60 propeller. Here’s his appeal.
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"At one of the shows a couple of years ago I was approached by a chap wondering if I was interested in a couple of R-3350's from the Connie in Malta 5T-TAF. They were already in the UK and, after a few beers, I have been the proud owner of two of the engines since last summer and they now reside in Topcliffe North Yorkshire UK."
"I plan to make one running engine from the two. Obviously they have stood for over fifty years and need a good bit of work to get one running again. One of the engines has now been dismantled and is in the final stages of being prepped before getting painted while the cylinders are being cleaned and overhauled. I have to use six of the cylinders from the second engine as there has been a lot of condensation over the years which has caused a fair bit of corrosion in a few of them. A full pictorial rebuild can be found at Historic Aero Engine Facebook page."
"There is one bit missing...the Hamilton Standard 43H60 propellers we have are missing the dome assembly. We have full control of the propeller, even though we crop them down. The R-3350 will run a prop of about 9.5ft diameter and will still develop some decent power and we feather the props for road transport. David from the Malta Aviation Museum, where the engines came from, has looked everywhere for the dome assemblies to no avail. So I wondered if you could but a request out there via your site to try and locate a usable dome to complete the prop assembly for this Connie engine. I hope to have the engine ready for its first run by late autumn of this year."
If you can help Patrick find a dome assembly, please email him at patrick@maddison4x4.com
Restoration of SAA Museum Starliner Nearing Completion - January 16, 2020
Peter Brill recently visited the South African Airways Museum at Rand Airport and reports that the restoration of Starliner ZS-DVJ, both inside and out, is nearing completion. He forwarded the following report and photos...."Latest fotos of SAAM's Starliner ZS-DVJ/c/n 1042 at Rand. This beautiful L1649A has been finally reassembled and is now being completed inside out. Former Lufthansa D-ALOL. A great achievement by all my volunteer friends of the SAAM."
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----Created 31 January 2004------Updated 23 March 2021----