Hobby Master 1/200 HL5003 VC-118 Liftmaster "The Independence", Late 1940s
Hobby Master 1/200 VC-118 Liftmaster "The Independence", Late 1940s HL5003
The Douglas DC-6B first flew on February 10, 1951 with its first scheduled passenger
flight on April 11, 1951 with United Airlines. The DC-6 might have had the same wingspan
as the DC-4 but that is all. The DC-6 fuselage was longer and stronger and pressurized.
The more powerful engines used a 3-bladed propeller capable of reversing pitch for
braking. The DC-6B was the most successful of all the DC series of aircraft with the last
of the 288 produced being delivered on November 17, 1958.
By 1947 the existing U.S. Presidential VC-54C �Sacred Cow� aircraft needed replacing.
The USAAF ordered the 29th production DC-6 with modifications to meet the Presidential
needs. The rear section became a stateroom while the main cabin could seat 24
passengers or 12 �sleeper� berths. The VC-118 was officially commissioned on July 4,
1947 and named Independence in honor of President Truman�s home town. In May 1953
the Independence was retired as the Presidential aircraft and in 1965 was put in a
museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.