OSHKOSH, WIS. – The Lockheed Constellation, regarded as one of most beautiful airliner designs ever created, will return to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2025 for display throughout the entire week. The 72nd edition of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in convention is July 21-27 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The aircraft, a C-121A model that is part of the Rod Lewis collection, is owned and maintained by the Air Legends Foundation of San Antonio, Texas, and is in military markings that reflects its time as a military transport. The airplane, named Bataan, will be displayed on AirVenture’s Boeing Plaza showcase ramp during the week.
Bataan was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in January 1949 to operate within the Military Air Transport Service. After being used during the Berlin Airlift to transport personnel and equipment, Bataan was converted into a VIP transport. During the Korean War, it was used as the personal transport of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who gave it its nickname. Retired in 1965, Bataan was pulled from the boneyard by NASA in support of the Apollo program before it was decommissioned in 1970. From 1970 to 1992, the airplane resided at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum before Ed Maloney of the Planes of Fame Air Museum secured it. From 1995 to 2016, Bataan resided at Planes of Fame’s auxiliary location at Valle Airport in Arizona.
Air Legends Foundation acquired the airplane in 2015. It was flown to Chino, California, in 2016 for restoration work, which was performed by Fighter Rebuilders. The Constellation made its first post-restoration flight in June 2023 and made its inaugural Oshkosh visit a month later. Afterward, Bataan then went to Aerometal International for its historic interior finish.