Taken from: "The Topeka Capital Journal Online"

A veteran military cargo plane nicknamed Spooky may be more than 60 years old and into its second retirement, but it still is flying from Forbes Field to air shows around the country.

Not only does Spooky, a reborn AC-47, have a World War II past, but it also has a future with Squadron 14, a group of local aviation enthusiasts. Squadron 14 owns the plane and has some plans and goals for her future, said Robert Rice III, the commanding officer and president of the squadron.

Spooky's immediate future includes an appearance at the Wings Over Topeka 2003 air show Saturday and Sunday.

This group of 10 or more left the Combat Air Museum organization to form a new group after the museum members decided to stop flying old military planes in air shows and only do static displays.

Some of the 10 had flown the Combat Air Museum's Kilroy C-47, along with other aircraft, and were interested in buying one of their own. They found Spooky in 1994 and bought her at a small Georgia air museum. That was five years after she was retired from a regularly scheduled civilian air freight company. That was Spooky's second retirement. Her first retirement was from the Air Force in 1964.

This C-47, nicknamed Spooky, was discovered by a local group, which houses and maintains it.

Built in 1943, Spooky had arrived in Europe in August 1944 and had flown military cargo, probably in combat situations. Rice has been unable to turn up any additional history on the plane.

The C-47 and its DC-3 counterpart have a reputation for being among the most dependable of aircraft.

Various members of Squadron 14 have adopted Vietnam-era crews of AC-47s. Squadron 14 now has about 120 members.

Three are pilot captains, and two are copilots. Fewer than 20 of the members are active, since one member lives in England, many live out of state, and some are just DC-3 lovers or Vietnam veterans who want to be associated with that type of organization.

The squadron is the 14th squadron, or chapter, of EEA War Birds of America.

Spooky has a top speed of 229 miles an hour and costs $650 an hour to keep in the air. It has a ceiling of 23,294 feet.

Squadron 14's temporary home -- and Spooky's -- is Hangar 603 at Forbes Field. The hangar is owned by Mid-America Aviation, a fixed base operator which refuels corporate aircraft at Forbes. Mid-America has loaned hangar space to Squadron 14 but needs that space. The situation has inspired one of the squadron's goals -- to build a hangar to house Spooky and the squadron. Rice said the estimated cost of construction is $200,000.

That brings up another goal. Finding sponsors for the squadron and Spooky. The major donor to the hangar fund will get his or her or company name on the hangar, Rice said.

Other goals include getting the three mini guns permanently installed in Spooky's belly and completing the research on Spooky's history.

C-47s still flew missions in the Vietnam war. Some were outfitted as gunships, which designated AC-47s (AC for attack cargo). They provided close air support for ground positions and conducted pre-planned air strikes. Their three, rotating six-barrel Gatling type mini guns, firing through side gun ports could put the equivalent of one 7.62 mm in every 50 feet of a football field in one minute, Rice said. That is 3,000 rounds a minute.

With that bit of military history in mind, Squadron 14 has begun transforming Spooky into an attack cargo craft, although this particular C-47 didn't serve in Vietnam. The squadron has one complete mini gun which they bought from a gunmaker who worked from casts of an original gun. Two more guns are being completed. The guns cost $5,000 each and are complete with ammunition belts.

Squadron 14 had a special inspiration for transforming Spooky into a gunship. The first AC-47 crews were trained at Forbes Field. About eight of the first AC-47s were put into service in August 1965 with the Fourth Air Commando Squadron at Forbes. After training in Topeka, the Fourth was sent with its attack cargo aircrafts to Vietnam in October of that year.

Although Spooky seems like an unusual name for an aircraft, it wasn't uncommon in Vietnam. Spooky was the name used in tactical call signs for all of the AC-47s, because they were considered a spooky old airplane.

Spooky C-47

Role: Military Transport (C-47); early airliner; currently passenger/cargo transport

Engines: Two 895-kW Pratt and Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp radials at 1200 horsepower.

Performance: Maximum cruising speed is 207 mph; ceiling is 23,200 feet; range with maximum fuel is 2,125 miles.

Weight: Empty is 16,865 pounds and maximum takeoff is 25,200 pounds.

Dimensions: Wingspan is 95 feet length is 64 feet 51.2 inches; height is 16 feet 11.5 inches.

Cost: $138,000

Trivia: C-47 was first military production model with 6-inch greater span, revised fuel tanks, R-1830-92 radials, small astrodome and payload of 6,000 pounds, or 28 paratroops or 14 casualties and three attendants.