C-141 Engines arrive
On October 7, major additions arrived for the YC-141B on site. As the culmination of a long and involved process, four complete Pratt & Whitney TF-33 engines finally arrived and will be placed on aircraft 60186. AHTC’s Bill Paden had been chasing these engines and other parts for years, but now they were actually here. During the previous week, AHTC’s Scott Major, Bill Estes, Bob Bennet, and Boone Barnes made the trip to Mid-America Airport and lead the removal of the engines and pylons from aircraft #70166. That was the last of the 285 C-141s built by Lockheed for the U.S.A.F.
AHTC was provided invaluable assistance from the 126th Air Refueling Wing of the Illinois Air National Guard, which had assisted on the previous two trips to Illinois for leading edges and flaps. In the coming weeks, the entirety of AHTC’s dedicated team will be needed to process and attach the engines. Once that is complete, all that will remain to complete the restoration of 60186 is to paint the engines and pylons, plus a few minor touchups.
