March Field Air Museum is proud to announce the fourth installment of “Up-Close Aircraft Days” on Saturday, April 14, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. As part of the interpretive new program, a different aircraft is featured each month with the next focused on the Fairfield C-123K Provider. On the second Saturday of each month throughout the year, Museum guests will have the opportunity for a close-up look – sometimes climbing stairs to get a close-up view into the cargo bay or cockpit, other times even climbing aboard.
For the upcoming “Up-Close Aircraft Day” focused on the Fairchild C-123K Provider, guests will see how the cargo aircraft is designed to take off and land from short runways in remote locations and learn how this aircraft model played a central role in some of the fiercest combat of the Vietnam War. On this day, visitors to March Field Air Museum will get an up-close view of the Museum’s recently-repainted C-123K through the open cargo ramp and crew compartment doors.
Controversial and divisive, the conflict in Southeast Asia was many things—but most of all it was a helicopter war. In the early 1960s, the U.S. faced a determined adversary skilled in the tactics of irregular warfare. Struggling to overcome an enemy who avoided direct conflict and who melted into rice paddies, mountains and jungles whenever conventional forces arrived, a highly-mobile, rapidly-deployable assault force was required. Airmobile Assault, with helicopter transport as the key feature, became the favored solution. But to be viable, troops and supplies needed to reach remote locations, and the dense foliage needed to be reduced. The C-123K provided a solution that helped meet all of these needs.
Incorporating a rear ramp for parachute jumps, cargo drops and parachute drag unloading, the C-123 could carry most Army wheeled vehicles and howitzers. Because its fuel storage design reduced the chance of fire during combat, the C-123 was used extensively in Vietnam as the primary Agent Orange defoliant sprayship. The Museum’s C-123K was specifically designed for troop transport, highlighting another dimension to the variety of tasks performed by the Provider. Used by the USAF for intelligence gathering during the 1964 Simba uprising in the Belgian Congo, further demonstrating this aircraft’s wide range of abilities, it has recently been repainted to show off its unique heritage.
To preview the next “Up Close Aircraft Day” happening in May, an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter which served during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq will be featured. (The Museum’s website features extensive information on each aircraft in its collection of over 80+ total, for those wishing to learn more.) Knowledgeable museum docents, dressed in period uniforms whenever possible, will be on hand to assist visitors, provide information and answer questions.
“This new ‘Up-Close Aircraft Days’ program allows March Field Air Museum to showcase the incredible aviation heritage of the U.S. Air Force and military, and especially Riverside’s own March Field,” said Executive Director Paul Hammond. “Today known as March Air Reserve Base, this architectural gem of a military installation in 2018 is commemorating its presence in our community for 100 years. March Field is the West Coast’s oldest continuously operated military airfield and a birthplace of the modern Air Force that our nation relies upon today.”
Each “Up-Close Aircraft Days” opportunity will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the scheduled date (Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and is included with regular Museum admission: $10 for guests ages 12 years and older; $5 for children ages 5 to 11 years; and free for ages 4 and younger. In case of inclement weather, other aircraft may be substituted. March Field Air Museum is a top-rated TripAdvisor attraction located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base.