Back in the air!

Air Classics, Oct 2003 by O'Leary, Michael

Heroic re-restoration gets the last Boeing 307 airborne

The last of ten Boeing 307 Stratoliners has made its last flight and now resides at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. The magnificently restored airliner left Seattle, Washington, on 27 July for a cross-country flight that included a stop at Oshkosh for AirVenture 2003.

Air Classics readers will recall that this aircraft went through an extensive restoration effort in preparation for its museum-bound journey. During a post-restoration check flight in March 2002, the airplane ran out of fuel and made a water landing in Elliot Bay adjacent to the Seattle waterfront. It was initially thought that the damage sustained in the forced landing and subsequent saltwater drenching would preclude another restoration to airworthy conditions. Thanks to many volunteer workers and the support of the Boeing Company, the airliner was rescued and restored once again.

This aircraft, c/n 2003, was delivered to Pan American World Airways in 1940 and designated Clipper Flying Cloud. It served with the airline until being drafted into service with the Air Transport Command during WWII and then returned to airline use in 1946.

The Smithsonian acquired the 307 in 1972 and stored it for several years. In 1995, with help from the Boeing Company, an extensive restoration was started in Seattle at the same location where the airplane was first built.

Before leaving on its final flight to the NASM, and as a nostalgic farewell tribute to Seattle and the many volunteers responsible for its return to the sky, Clipper Flying Cloud posed for Jim Larsen's cameras over Puget Sound on 24 July 2003.