
May 1992 to
Mid Atlantic Air Museum (MAAM)
N7471 - c/n 233 - a V.745D series Viscount
United States registered
21 May 1992
Re-registered from N555SL
15 June 1992
A team of volunteers arrived at Chino Airport to start preparing the aircraft for its first flight since 1989. The team consisted of Ralph W Hoffmaster - President of the CAA, Paul Breslin - CAA Member, Eugene 'Pappy' Strine - MAAM Vice President and Dave Readinger - MAAM Member. Hoffmaster and Breslin were ex Capital Airlines employees so they welcomed the trip back in time.
Some of the tyres needed changing and replacement wheel bearings were fitted where necessary. Apart from servicing and greasing, the systems were found to be operational.
20 June 1992
Eugene 'Pappy' Strine - MAAM Vice President and Dave Readinger started up the Rolls-Royce Dart RDa6 Mark 510 engines. The No.1 (port outer) engine had a fuel flow problem but this was soon resolved and all four engines were found to be acceptable for the proposed ferry flights.
22 June 1992
Russ Strine - MAAM President installed fresh radios and other modern avionics.
23 June 1992
A test flight was carried out by Richard ' Dick' Davies who was an experienced Viscount pilot originally from the UK. He had flown the Viscount for British Airways with over 5,000 hours on type. Russ Strine sat in the co-pilot's seat but this was his first Viscount cockpit flight. It had been planned to fly the aircraft to Albequerque, New Mexico but the weather forecast at their destination was poor so only a local area flight was carried out which proved successful.
24 June 1992
Departed Chino Airport, California to Albequerque Airport, New Mexico - Tulsa Airport, Oklahoma - Clark Regional Airport, Louisville, Kentucky where they stayed overnight. Funding for the ferry flights came from CAA members together with sponsorship by the Chevron Oil Company and United Air Lines.
25 June 1992
Departed Clark Regional Airport, Louisville, Kentucky to North Central West Virginia Airport at Clarkesburg, West Virginia.
The aircraft was then repainted here in Capital Airlines livery by the West Virginia Air Center.
Other spares including Dart engines and propellers were acquired from two aircraft stored at Georgetown, Delaware which were originally nominated for the National Air & Space Museum (NASM). These aircraft were subsequently scrapped.
August 1992
Ferried from North Central West Virginia Airport, Clarkesburg, West Virginia to Carl A Spaatz Field, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA in Capital Airlines livery with the incorrect fleet number of '384'. This aircraft was ordered by Capital Airlines in 1957 with fleet number '389' but it was never operated by them as the sale was not completed.
22 August 1992
Displayed at the Wilkes-Barre airshow, Scranton Airport, Pennsylvania, USA which was only a short hop from Reading.
October 1992
An authentic Capital Airlines interior was removed from one of the ex United Air Lines Viscounts stored at Georgetown, Delaware.
July 1993
Flown into Ronald Reagan National Washington Airport, Arlington, Virginia, USA for the 1993 Airliners International convention and remained on static display throughout the event. It caused quite a stir amongst the DCA controllers.
February 1997
Noted at Carl A Spaatz Field, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA being restored back to flying condition after a long period on the ground due to a defective Dart engine.
Cabin interior being restored
September 2000
Cabin interior noted being restored to passenger configuration (a second time? See Oct 1992). The interior came from Viscount N7439 (C/N 137). However, the aircraft was still grounded.
2001
Noted still undergoing restoration and still requiring a replacement Rolls-Royce Dart RDa6 Mark 510 engine which is the main reason it had not flown again.
Faded external paintwork
October 2015
Noted still on display outside with faded paintwork.
March 2020
Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) the museum closed to the general public until further notice.
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