XC-99 to be scrapped!

[Nathan]

Got news on FB with someone in the "know" that the XC-99 will be scrapped within 10 years. No one has the money or means to fix it.

[Steve Nelson]

Last I heard, the disassembled carcass was being shipped to AMARG for indefinite storage, because the NMUSAF doesn't have the money or manpower to restore it, nor the space to display it. Seems like turning it over to Pima would be a no-brainer, but it may be too much for even them to take on.

SN

[mustangdriver]

No it's being stored at AMARC until they can get some of the aircraft in the restoration line completed, the new building up, and the current Air Force 1 and R&D buildings empty. It is indeed in worse shape than initially thought, but not being scrapped.

[WIXerGreg]

I'd like to hope they'd recognize it's rarity even though it's huge, will be expensive to restore and in a way is excess to their needs in Dayton. When I did the behind the scenes tour two years ago it was mostly outside with some pieces (stabilizers?) inside. We were told then too that it was headed to the desert, some restoration work (again a stabilizer I think) had been done already because of it's poor condition. The restoration backlog in Dayton is something like 30-40 years.

[Nathan]

I was told shipping is free by the ways of a C-5. Problem would be able to do it but ahhh where to put something like that. I would think if you had to transport it by road you'd have to take out lines and have police escort! It doesn't even have to be restored. As is , would just be as cool.

I hope your right, Chris. If so that is good news.

[Nathan]

The restoration backlog in Dayton is something like 30-40 years.

Perhaps if they stop worrying about foreign aircraft and presidential aircraft and focus on domestic built aircraft they wouldn't have that problem(cheek in tongue)

[Steve Nelson]

I'm not sure if there are any more Presidential aircraft left for Dayton to collect. Pima has a couple, but that place is rapidly becoming "NMUSAF West" (or maybe "Udvar-Hazy West.") On the nautical side, Pensacola has the Marine One helo in which Nixon made his exit, as well as the S-3 in which Bush 43 landed on USS Lincoln. Battleship Park has a Navy Huey in which a POTUS rode, but I don't recall the specifics.

SN

[Triplane102]

Hmm..Not sure, to M.A.M?,..Better than scrapped!... ( I'm temped to joke about giving it to Erickson Aircraft Collection,..as "Madras Maiden II", but best not, Sorry, it's late Sunday Night, just grumpy my team lost AGAIN!! )

[JohnB]

When I last saw it in 2011, in many pieces in front of the NMUSAF Restoration hangar...it looked like it had already been scrapped.

[Pat Carry]

If there is no hope in restoring it because of its sheer size and its overall condition, then it needs to be scrapped. This is just a start of the scrapping issue. Within the next 10 years all of the WW2 planes that sit outside will be scrapped. Instead of restoring the XC-99 how about take those resources and get some of the WW2 planes inside somewhere.

[Mike]

Within the next 10 years all of the WW2 planes that sit outside will be scrapped.

Wow! The museums at Castle and March are going to look pretty bare!

[Pat Carry]

Within the next 10 years all of the WW2 planes that sit outside will be scrapped.

Wow! The museums at Castle and March are going to look pretty bare!

Me bad. I should have been more specific. The planes that sit as gate guards on air forces bases (Barksdale for one) and at other museums that dont do anything to keep the panes looking good (the armament museum at Eglin comes to mind) will be the ones affected. Its already happening. At the Museum of Aviation (their B-52 and KC 135) and most recently Hill AFB has said they what to unload planes and maybe their B-29. It is not a bright future for many of these planes. Heck the B-17 at Tulare,Ca I understand is falling apart. How long much longer will that plane be around? It cant be too much longer.

[ZRX61]

I'm getting sick of hearing about the darn thing. One guy has started multiple threads on the WIX FB group about it. I'm kinda hoping they scrap it just to shut him the hell up.

[Jack Cook]

I'm getting sick of hearing about the darn thing. One guy has started multiple threads on the WIX FB group about it. I'm kinda hoping they scrap it just to shut him the heck up.

Bullseye!! The world needs more aluminum siding!!!

[Nathan]

As always people will always just pick what they feel is important. I guess I should forget about helping someone starting a museum with a cold war theme. Any cold war airplane is just worth being scrapped. Not much importance. All ww2 planes should be saved but everything else is not worth anything but scrapped.