The Airplane has landed!
Or 'does Belinda now have an airport?'
"It all started when our son Joe called and said he'd seen a paper at Mr. C’s, telling about a tag sale at Alan and Merna Furney’s. The paper advertised two WW11 mannequins in uniform.
As we have several WW11 items, most notably 187 framed WW11 newspapers, I thought they would be a nice addition.
When I drove into the driveway the first you notice is an airplane.
I approached Alan I asked if they still had the mannequin. Alan said 'yes' and I looked at them and we made a deal.

I then asked if the airplane was for sale..? Alan said 'I suppose so', but that is as far as it went.
To get the mannequins I had to go home and get the Yukon.
I told the boys I needed help and that I wanted their opinion on something else we might buy... Joe and Josh drove separately and quickly guessed what the object was when they drove into that driveway.
The other boys already guessed what I was interested in.
We loaded the mannequins and bought some other items and, as we were leaving, Alan gave me a price that he would sell the airplane for.
I told him to give me a couple of days.
I think I took one day before I called him and made the deal.
Alan expressed gratitude that the plane would be on display and not scrapped.

The boys was all in agreement that we should have that airplane at the patch. We decided that we would move the plane on the coming Sunday.
Brad Heaberlin and Josh Schrader brought trailers to haul the wings. We met at Furney’s around 1 o’clock and started on the wings. Just a couple of pins held each wing. The left wing came off fairly easy, but the right wing was pretty stubborn.
After a couple of hours, and a trip to get a torch and an air hammer, the wing was off.
Justin brought his tractor to pull the main part back to the patch.
Joe scouted out the path with Jason leading and Josh Schrader following.
Gravel was taking all the way crossing Highway 5 and G-76. The procession came through Columbia and then took Highway 14 down to the patch.
Needless to say it was an attention getter!

Beech 18 (UC-45J) '94710' in Iowa; contributed by Joy Pierce.

It now sits in a prominent place along the highway. Hopefully it will be an attraction in the fall during pumpkin time. The airplane has already gathered a lot of interest.

The plane is a twin engine Beechcraft UC-45J built by Beech Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas in 1942.
It was part of the war time production for the Army Air Corp but was diverted to the Navy, as they had a more pressing need. The transfer took place on 27Apr1944, at the Naval Air Station in Seattle, WA.
It’s serial number is 51098.
The Navy used the plane for navigation training as a SNB-2C.
After the WW2, 5 passenger seats were added and it was now a JRB-4. Later on a new fuselage and landing gear was added. The plane was put back in service by the Navy on 11Oct1951.
The plane logged over 11.850 flight hours, changing custody 22 times.
The plane spent much of its life near the Pensacola Naval Air Station, before its final transfer to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base {the aircraft graveyard}.
The Department of Defense designation on this plane was changed to UC-45J on 25Aug1967.

On 12May1969 the plane was donated to the Iowa Western Community College, for their aviation program.
The engine and propellers was used by students until 1997, when the decision was made to dispose of the plane. Salvage price was $300.00, that’s when Alan Furney stepped in and of August of 1997 the plane was moved to Furney’s studio at Knoxville.
There it was used for photo shoots and a display.
On 05Nov2017 it was moved to the Pumpkin Patch.
There it will be on display again, beginning a new chapter.
The number on the tail is 94710."

Beech UC-45J 94710 in Iowa. Courtesy Joy Pierce.

The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft.
Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Cold War conflicts. A limited number of highly modified United States Air Force aircraft served in Southeast Asia until 1969.
It was a fast aircraft capable of carrying a large bomb load. A range of guns could be fitted to produce a formidable ground-attack aircraft.

A re-designation of the type from A-26 to B-26 led to confusion with the Martin B-26 Marauder, which first flew in November 1940, some 20 months before the Douglas design's maiden flight.
Although both aircraft were powered by the widely used Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp eighteen-cylinder, double-row radial engine, they were completely different and separate designs – the Martin bomber originated in 1939, with more than twice as many Marauders (nearly 5,300) produced in comparison to the Douglas design. [¬Wikipedia]

My KGEY LOG REPORT has N961S in '79 & '80 as 'all metal' (id'd as c/n 10872, ex/RCAF 22120)
N5215R was moved to the aviation museum at Battle Mountain,NV - painted as N5216R
N5216R was reported at the C-119 at Battle Mountain museum but when bleached it showed N5215R underneath
N5216R was preserved on H&P's ramp but a different tail number appreared underneath

Q: Would H&P have taken the trouble to repaint an all metal bird in RCAF c/s for presentation at its office?
Q: Was the identification of the all metal C-119 perhaps incorrect?
Q: The label was most probably put on by the museum's staff: its identification based on what ?

Douglas C-54E-15-DO VH-EAY (c/n 27352; ex/ VH-PAF). This aircraft is now with HARS, underwent full restoration to airworthy condition and has been allotted the registration VH-EAY.