PRESS RELEASE
(LAKELAND, FLORIDA – SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo – February 14, 2024) The 50th Anniversary SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo will play host to hundreds of restored vintage aircraft over the week-long event in Lakeland, Florida this April 9-14, 2024. Flying history on display in the air and on the ground during SUN ‘n FUN will include a rare example of the most iconic four-engine transports of the 20th century, the Lockheed VC-121A “MacArthur Bataan.” MacArthur Bataan, built in 1948, is one of only two of its type remaining airworthy in the world.
The VC-121A is more commonly recognized by its commercial aircraft name, Constellation, or simply Connie. With its graceful lines, distinctive tri-tail design, and extensive service with numerous airlines, the Connie is among the most recognized aircraft ever built.
MacArthur Bataan is a Connie with a long career of military and NASA service, was later nearly scrapped after years of outdoor display, and was recently extensively restored to airworthiness by the San Antonio, Texas-based Air Legends Foundation, which currently operates it.
This example of the VC-121 was among several used by the U.S. Air Force in 1949 to fly relief missions over the Atlantic during the Berlin Airlift. During the Korean War it served as the flying command post of General Douglas MacArthur, who named it “MacArthur Bataan” in honor of the Americans and Filipinos who perished during the infamous Bataan Death March of 1942.
Bataan later served to carry many top generals and officials including President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Relegated to the boneyard in 1966, NASA soon repurposed Bataan to serve as a flying test bed used to calibrate ground tracking stations during the Apollo Program.
When that program ended in 1970 it was acquired by the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama, for static outdoor display. In 1993, Ed Maloney, founder of the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California, acquired Bataan and returned it to airworthy status. Painted again in McArthur’s colors, it flew on the air show circuit for a year until Bataan was placed on static display at Planes of Fame’s Valle, Arizona museum location.