If
you have visited the museum over the last few years you may have noticed
the C-82's appearance, unfortunately not a good one. With rollers in
hand, a little more than five years ago volunteers from the 7th Airlift Squadron
graciously spent their free time fleshing up the appearance of the
aircraft. Time and the weather and have not been kind to the aircraft,
not even the birds who pushed their way into the boom to the C-82 to
nest.
During
the next few months McChord crews and Museum volunteers will give the
C-82 a factory fresh appearance that for this former MATS workhorse is
well deserved. Members of the 62d Maintenance
Squadron will use airbags to carefully lift the C-82 off of the stands
that has taken pressure off of the aircrafts large tires for more than
15 years. Soon there after the Packets wings will be removed, and towed
to close by the McChord Corrosion Control Facility (aka Paint Hangar)
where sheet metal restoration, and bird proofing will take place before
the aircraft is moved into the hangar for painting. The C-82 will be in
the hangar for about a month because of a planned construction project
that will replace the concrete in the front of the hangar, completion of the F-102A Delta Dagger,
scheduled for late September.
