Lodestar at Louisville Bowman Field

[Tulio]

Well, if nothing is quoted i think it's safe to assume i mean the last post just before mine.. Which is also what i meant -.-

A reference was made on the airplane's ownership history, to Central American A/W. My comment was meant to clarify the existence of such a company based at that particular place.

Saludos,

Tulio

[bjwhite]

I'm from Louisville and I happened upon this site because I was curious if anyone ever rescued the old Lodestar there. I do know it was moved from just in front of the old terminal to a site further away more on the outskirts of the tarmac area.

My friend and I used to come visit the ol' girl all the time throughout high school....I always climbed on the side to peer into the cockpit, etc.

One thing no one noticed or commented on, was that yes it's unmarked, but at an angle you can make out some previous decals down the side of the plane, above the windowline if I remember correctly. It says Hamilton Standard in the size of a typical airline marking. Obviously a propeller manufacturer. Maybe that will help someone identify it.

Would love to see the plane not rot away sitting there...

[mike furline]

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Lockheed ... 0cd644c03f

[Warbird Kid]

So the airport owns it now? And they wouldn't want to sell? Or who owns it?

[bjwhite]

Yeah, I've seen that picture on Airliners.net. That's pretty interesting because I never remembered that paint scheme being on there at all. The times I used to hang around that plane was 1990 (once I got my license) through 1993-ish once life started happening. I've stopped by once in the mid-2000s, but all throughout that time it was always bare metal--no paint.

So someone removed that paint at one time.... interesting though, with that paint on it in that picture, the Hamilton-Standard logos aren't there.

[SaxMan]

It's a tan color now, isn't it? The last time I passed by Bowman was in 2010.

[bjwhite]

I think it's still bare aluminum. However the tan you saw is probably just dirt.

[SaxMan]

I recently passed by Bowman on a visit to Louisville and saw that the plane was apparently no longer there. Anyone know the current status of the plane?

[groundpounder]

I recently passed by Bowman on a visit to Louisville and saw that the plane was apparently no longer there. Anyone know the current status of the plane?

AWOL

[SaxMan]

The Lodestar is still there. It has been moved a couple hundred yards due north of the terminal building. Also, Central American Airways appears to still be operating out of Bowman.

[SaxMan]

The Lodestar is in plain sight from Pee Wee Reese Drive. I wish I had my camera with me! From my vantage point, the plane doesn't look to be in that bad shape other than the missing engines, although I wish I could get a LOT closer! I'm surprised that no one has attempted to "bring it inside" over all these years as the Lodestar would be representative of the kind of "trunk route" transports that served Bowman Field until passenger operations were moved to Standiford in 1949.

It also seems that the Lodestar is not the "drug plane". Those honors go to a DC-4: http://www.bowmanfield.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=8

[SaxMan]

I corresponded with one of the Bowman Field historians. The plane belongs to the Kentucky Aviation Historical Society as of 1994. I'm not sure what their plans are for the plane.