'Beach City Baby' coming to New Philadelphia for Memorial Day weekend

Times-Reporter
·2 min read
Work was done on the engines of the Beach City Baby before the aircraft left its longtime home at Beach City.
Work was done on the engines of the Beach City Baby before the aircraft left its longtime home at Beach City.

NEW PHILADELPHIA — The fully restored "Beach City Baby," a World War II-era C-53 plane, will be visiting Harry Clever Field in New Philadelphia during the Memorial Day weekend and will be available for tours.

The plane will be parked in front of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1077 hanger at the northern end of the field.

The interior of the Beach City Baby is shown before the plane left its longtime home.
The interior of the Beach City Baby is shown before the plane left its longtime home.

The "Beach City Baby" will be open for tours Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to late afternoon, depending on weather. There is no set fee to tour the plane. Donations will be accepted to keep it flying.

On Saturday there will be light food and beverages such as hot dogs and soda or water available at a minimal cost.

On Sunday, the EAA chapter will hold its traditional pancake breakfast of eggs, pancakes, sausage, orange juice or coffee for $8. Anyone in World War II uniform or flight line attire gets a free breakfast on Sunday.

There will also be other airplanes of interest on display further down the taxi way.

The plane was on the factory floor in Santa Monica, Calif., when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. It was accepted by the U.S. Army Air Force just weeks later in January 1942.

It was originally used to ferry supplies and personnel to England. In 1943, it was transferred to Egypt and used in the invasions of Sicily and Italy.

After the war, it was used by Danish Airlines and then as a corporate aircraft in the United States. From 1963 to 1983 it was known as Buckeye One and was the favored aircraft of Ohio Gov. James A. Rhodes as he flew around the state. The airplane participated in the opening of many general aviation airports in the state of Ohio.

Following retirement, it was taken to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, where it sat until 1990. Ohio University bought it and removed the engines for the university's DC-3 plane. In 1992, Ken Joseph replaced the engines and flew it to the Beach City airport. The "Beach City Baby" sat again until Jason Capra rescued it in 2015.

After 4 years of basic repairs, the plane flew the first time in 26 years on Oct. 26, 2018.

The plane is now based in Franklin, Pa., and will be visiting many cities throughout the region this summer.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: 'Beach City Baby' coming to New Philadelphia for Memorial Day weekend