Palmer Municipal Airport, Palmer, AK; 13 Apr 08
A short drive from Anchorage is the town of Palmer, in the shadow of the McKinley mountain range. The area is extremely popular with hikers and the like in the summer months, but at the time of our visit was yet to properly wake up. The reason for our trip to Palmer was to visit John Reffett, and his current project, the restoration of 2 classic C-119 Flying Boxcars.
The aircraft concerned are N1394N and N8501W, and both have been in Alaska for well over 25 years. The aircraft are originally ex-US Marine Corps aircraft, and as such their designation is R4Q-2, broadly similar to a USAF C-119F. In military service, they were used for cargo and troop transport, and were often used for the delivery of paratroops.
In Alaska, the Boxcars are valued for their ability to carry outsized payloads into small strips, in some cases as small as 1800 ft! The cargo compartment is simply huge - when the doors are opened, the freight hold is the same width throughout its whole 40ft length. This enables the aircraft to carry vehicles and other large payloads.
Both aircraft are now owned by John Reffett, and it is his intention to restore both to flying condition over the next few years. This work is done entirely by him and his colleagues in their spare time. Once the aircraft are flying again, John hopes to put them to work once more, hauling freight around the remote parts of Alaska.
Of the 2 aircraft, N8501W is the closest to returning to the air. After service with the USMC, the aircraft was stored at Davis-Monthan AFB, before being put to work on hauling fish across Alaska. The aircraft sat disused at Anchorage airport from 1994-2000, during which time parts were removed for restoring N1394N to allow it to be rescued. Eventually in 2001, the aircraft was flown to Palmer for a full restoration to begin.
Somewhat further from flight is N1394N. This aircraft was flown for many years by Stebbins-Ambler Air Transport, but actually owned by John Reffett during that time, and leased to the company - John was the Flight Engineer for Stebbins-Ambler. An engine failure in 1989 necessitated a precautionary landing at Port Lions, Kodiak Island, and left the Boxcar stranded for over 13 years! During that time, John visited the aircraft to work on it whenever he had the time and money, but inevitably, it suffered at the hands of the weather and vandals.
This aircraft is fitted with an auxiliary jet engine mounted above the fuselage. The controls for this engine are mounted on the overhead panel in the flight deck.
The full story of the restoration and eventual rescue can be found on John’s own site, www.flyingboxcar.com, and makes for fascination reading.
Adjacent to John’s aircraft, 3 DC-3s are stored. They are all ex-military C-47s and are in reasonably good condition, with the potential to be made airworthy if time and money were available.
Of particular interest is N305SF. This aircraft was delivered to the USAAF in Jan 1943 as 41-38749. It saw service in North Africa and participated in D-Day. After the war, it became G-AGWS with Scottish Aviation, and even acquired a UK military serial while being used on trooping contracts in 1951-2. After returning to Canada and the USA, it had a variety of users, before ending up in Alaska, and being used by Majestic Airlines in 1996. Sadly the owner was killed in a crash in 2001, and although the aircraft has since been sold, it remains dormant at Palmer.
Also of interest on the airfield was this ex-US Coast Guard S-62C helicopter, in good condition, but lacking rotor blades, possibly stored for the Winter at Palmer.
Palmer is another fascinating airfield in Alaska and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. John Reffett’s C-119 restoration is a superb project, and I wish him and his team all the best with it. With grateful thanks to John for taking the time to show us around.
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