(All images (unless stated otherwise) by Michael Martin)
A veteran of the 1997 movie Con Air, this gutted C-123 Provider aircraft permanently resides at Historic Wendover Airfield in Wendover, Utah. C-123 Providers are military transport aircraft that were designed by Chase Aircraft and thereafter built by Fairchild Aircraft. They first flew in 1949, being produced through 1970 and were retired by the U.S. Air Force in the early 1980’s. Additionally they saw use in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard. They were used by a few other nations as well. Today there are still a few airworthy examples flown by private air clubs.
Several Fairchild C-123 Provider aircraft were used in filming of the 1997 movie Con Air. This particular aircraft at Wendover Airfield was non-flying and only used for ground and taxiing scenes. It currently bears the false tail sign N709RR for movie continuity to match that of the airworthy C-123 that was used in flying scenes.
The true identity of this aircraft was something of a mystery for a time. But eventually this plane’s painted-over identification plate was discovered. It was identified as C-123K serial number 20245, once of the 439th Tactical Airlift Wing. Delivered to the U.S. Air Force sometime between 1957-58, it was retired in 1982. The Provider then spent an uneventful 14 years in storage.
Then, in 1996, it was sold and moved to Wendover Airfield in Utah for filming of the movie Con Air. After filming wrapped up, it was donated to the Historic Wendover Airfield Foundation, where it sits as a static display that visitors to the airfield’s museum can explore.
Incidentally and unfortunately, the actual N709RR C-123K Provider that was used for the flying scenes in the movie crashed and was destroyed on August 1, 2010 in Denali National Park in Alaska, killing the three crew members on board. The crash site can be seen below.
(Image: Evanc521, public domain)
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