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Fans mourn rare plane's departure to museum
Martin 4-0-4 at Camarillo Airport once flew celebrities
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Photo by James Glover II
Mechanic Andrew Lombardi, 41, of Fillmore does some work on a twin-engine Martin 404 airplane before a flight to Arizona. The plane, which was once chartered by Mohammed Ali and other celebrities is headed to a museum in Arizona.
Photo by James Glover II
Frank Mormillo, 66, of Duarte takes a picture of Camarillo residents Doug Whitesell, 21, and his father Jeff, 53, in front of Jeff's twin-engine Martin 404 airplane. The two were preparing to fly the plane, which was chartered by Mohammed Ali and other celebrities to a museum in Arizona.
STORY TOOLS 
More from CamarilloRoger Brower stood next to the Camarillo Airport runway on Friday admiring a rare aircraft, the kind Indiana Jones might have hopped on for a ride to some spot on the other side of the world.
"This may well be a one-of-a-kind airplane," said the Santa Paula aviator as he gazed at the 28-foot-tall Martin 4-0-4, waiting for the morning fog to burn away and the aircraft to take off for an Arizona museum near the Grand Canyon.
The day was bittersweet for Brower and dozens of others who came to say goodbye to a piece of aviation history. The plane had been stationed at the Camarillo Airport for 11 years before Friday's departure.
In all, 103 Martins were manufactured, starting in the late 1940s and ending in the early 1950s. The one Brower and others admired at the Camarillo Airport is said to be the last airworthy Martin 4-0-4 in the nation.
With a Pratt & Whitney radial piston engine mounted on each wing and a curved, bulbous-shaped cabin, the Martin 4-0-4 is a classic. It was manufactured in 1952, years before U.S. airlines would be known for their fleets of sleek jets.
The plane was one of the first aircraft to contain a pressurized cabin, allowing the crew and passengers to comfortably travel at high cruising altitudes.
The Martin could cruise at 280 mph, some 100 mph faster than the Douglas DC-3. It also had a range of 1,080 miles, much longer than its predecessors.
This particular Martin went immediately into passenger service, becoming part of TWA's fleet. Then it was sold in 1960 to the E.F. MacDonald Corp., an Ohio company.
The plane's passenger seats were removed and replaced with large, luxurious seats during its conversion into a corporate aircraft. The renovated cabin looked like a large, comfortable living room, a place to while the hours away in red velvet chairs during long flights.
Owner Jeff Whitesell of Camarillo said his father, William, bought the Martin in 1969 and trained him to be an airline pilot.
The family then started a charter flying service. The Martin carried such notables as boxer Muhammad Ali and sports announcers Howard Cosell, Don Meredith and Frank Gifford.
But with the economy stalling in the 1970s, Whitesell's family decided to close the flying service and sell the plane.
Whitesell, who went on to fly for commercial airlines, founded Airliners of America in 1993 to preserve and show classic airliners. He wanted a flagship aircraft for the nonprofit organization. A year later, he chanced upon a Martin 4-0-4, the same aircraft his dad had owned years earlier.
The plane was in poor shape when Whitesell bought it in 1994, but he devoted cash and countless hours to restore it to its former grandeur.
Unfortunately, maintaining and operating such an aircraft became too costly over the years.
Rather than spend hundreds of thousands more dollars on the plane, Whitesell is now giving it to the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Valle, Ariz., south of the Grand Canyon National Park.
"It will have a good home there," said Whitesell, as he stood next to the Martin Friday afternoon.
Minutes later, Whitesell got into the cockpit, fired up the aircraft's engines and took off.
Posted by THX1138 on March 1, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How about a picture...?
Posted by CamarilloMan on March 1, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
yeah, really
Posted by jwbaja on March 1, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
what about the air museum at camarillo airport?!
Posted by schlederdecopan on March 1, 2008 at 12:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We are taking up a collection that will be sent to the Star's editor so that he can buy a camera (with film) and give it to the part-time writer employee (because of the serious 6-7 recent lay-offs)to go back to the airport and get a shot of the plane before it takes off for Arizona.
With these donations, the Star will no longer be regarded as a "nickel and dime" newspaper.
To print this article without 6 photographs is journalist lunacy.
The VC Reporter is not this inept!
Posted by ebrockway on March 1, 2008 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
C'mon, he didn't at least have a camera phone? Have to go to Az for a pic now
Posted by Old_Fart on March 1, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I cant believe, even for the Star, you don't have a picture.
You continue to outdo yourselves in mediocrity.
Posted by CloudyDaze on March 1, 2008 at 4:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'd settle for a nice crayon drawing, oh nevermind, it's the Star. The Press-Courier did better.
Posted by Tom_Johnston on March 1, 2008 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder how many of the prior posters ever actually saw the 404 in real time? Or paid good $$$ to board her?
The CAF presence at Camarillo airport, and those not directly affliated, but located there because of the interest (as with the Martin 404) is a wonderful resource in our community.
Rather than carping on the lack of picture, folks should go there, pay to view, and contribute to keep these aircraft in our community.
Posted by cm1nmcb5 on March 1, 2008 at 5:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/data... ***Picture
Posted by watchherfly on March 1, 2008 at 9:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The pic above looks just like the one I remember from a from few months back, the Martin 404 was sitting outside of the museum when we went out for a tour.
I am not an aviator buff but, my boyfriend wanted to go - the museum tour, the docent, and the planes were all awesome and I would do it again.
They run on donations.
Posted by CloudyDaze on March 2, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Tom_Johnston, yes I did visit and pay to see 'da plane. Regardless, a picture would have been nice.
Posted by ebrockway on March 2, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tom_Johnston
Yeah I paid. Would've been nice to have a pic with the story.
It's time to go to the muesum again, in fact, since they recently added new stuff.
Posted by SueSue on March 3, 2008 at 3:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A photo would have been a beautiful thing with this story.
Oh, I see others thought the same.
To bad the paper didn't come up with that professional journalist idea.
Posted by SueSue on March 3, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
cm1nmcb5: Thank you for the link.
Posted by mmccarthy , Moderator, on March 3, 2008 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There were photos that ran with the story but for some reason did not make it online. I've added the photos to the story for all those still interested. I apologize for the error.
Thanks,
Mandy
Posted by SueSue on March 3, 2008 at 5:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you mmccarthy. I'm still interested. All is forgiven.
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