Document text
Photo by Bob Pennell New project for the airport - Rogue Valley International - Medford Airport manager Bern Case climbs into the large cargo area of the old Boeing freighter/tanker donated to the airport by the owner of Erickson Air Crane. Case has big plans for the big aircraft. Old tanker will be airport display Korean War vintage KC-97 donated by Erickson Air Crane By CHRIS BRISTOL As a self-described "Lockheed brat," Bern Case has a thing for planes. The walls of his office at the Medford airport are lined with photos of aircraft big and small, from World War II fighters and bombers to supersonic spy planes and rare commercial productions. One wall is dedicated to Lockheed, the giant defense contractor where Case's father spent most of his career. These days, it's a big Boeing that has captured his heart. As director of Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, Case was in perfect position when rumors began to swirl that Jack Erickson wanted to get rid of an old freighter/tanker that has been parked for years like a derelict junker at the airport. Erickson is the high-flying founder of Erickson Air Crane, now retired and off to parts unknown. The plane is a Korean War-era Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, also retired. "He's pretty hard to get a hold of, so my first request was in writing," Case said. "It took a while to evolve, but he was pretty willing from the get-go." In a classic you-scratch-my-back deal, Case convinced Erickson to donate the plane to the airport. Erickson gets a six-figure tax writeoff and the community gets a new plaything. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve the deal today. The retired Boeing KC-97 that has perched at the Medford airport for years will soon be put back to work as an exhibit and meeting space. If all goes as planned, sometime in the next month or two Case wants to have the plane towed about a quarter-mile to a spot at the edge of the airport overlooking Biddle Road, where it will become an instant -- and immense -- landmark. He also wants to have the plane restored for school tours (the airport is a common field-trip destination anyway) and overnight adventures for groups like the Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol cadets. He says businesses and civic groups could even use it as an novel get-away for meetings or conferences. With zillions of fun-to-flick switches and plenty of gizmos like radar tubes, navigation sights and intercom handsets, the plane has more sex appeal than look-but-don't-touch exhibits at some dusty old museum. "There's enough kid in me that I get excited just thinking about it," he says on a quick tour Tuesday. "Can you imagine a couple 12-year-olds not having fun in here?" Make no mistake about it -- this plane is no puny Piper Cub. Built sometime in the early 1950s and based on the same design as the B-29, the KC-97 Stratofreighter has a longer wingspan (141 feet, 3 inches) than its fuselage (117 feet, 5 inches). The cockpit sits more than 30 feet off the ground. It cruised at 260 mph, with a maximum speed of 325 mph, thanks to four 3,500-horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial piston prop-driven engines. In its heyday, KC-97s formed the backbone of the Air Force's military transport service. For most of its career, the Medford plane was used for air-to-air refueling. Much of the equipment is still intact. But the days when it serviced fighters and bombers in flight are long gone, a victim of the jet age. Erickson bought the plane for parts. Firefighters used it to practice airport emergencies like crash landings and runway fires. Pigeons nest on it. Boeing made more than 800 KC-97s, along with 55 civil models for commercial use called Stratocruisers. A handful remained in use as recently as 1996. But not Medford's. Case says he is sure the plane will serve a purpose, even though its flying days are over. "I think we'll get a lot of use out of it," he says. "I really do." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA