By Valerie Macon
In the open field beside the new Aviator Hangar Bar and Brewery in Fuquay-Varina, an astonishing relic from history sparks curiosity: a hulking Douglas C-54 aircraft. I caught up with Mark Doble, CEO and owner of Aviator Brewing Company, to find out about the history of this plane, and how it landed in his brewery complex.
The C-54 is not just any old airplane. Not only was it used during World War II as a transport plane to carry cargo for the US military, but it also played a vital role in the Berlin Airlift of 1948–49. At the end of World War II, Germany was carved up into occupation zones. A portion of Berlin controlled by the Western Allies was surrounded by a region under Soviet control. On June 24, 1948, the Soviets blockaded West Berlin, obstructing roads and railways, threatening to starve the city’s two million inhabitants in hopes of seizing control. But American and British pilots aboard C-54 aircrafts launched an around-the-clock airlift, delivering life-saving food, medicine, water and coal. During the entire airlift, which lasted about a year, they delivered more than 2.3 million tons of supplies to West Berlin in 278,000 airdrops. More than 5,000 tons were flown in daily, rescuing the city’s 2 million inhabitants from starvation. “If you visit Berlin today,” Mark says, “you’ll still find memorials honoring the airlift. Tempelhof Airport’s terminal still stands as a monument to the moment when airpower literally saved a city.”
How Did One of These Legendary Planes End Up in Fuquay-Varina?
In 1994, the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation based out of Monmouth Executive Airport in Farmingdale, NJ, purchased this Douglas C-54 and transformed it into a Flying Museum and Memorial Exhibit complete with artifacts, historical photos, and a computer-animated tour guide to bring the story to life. As a representative of the aircraft used during the Berlin Airlift, it was named “Spirit of Freedom.” For 27 years, it appeared at airshows and events across the US and across the world educating visitors on the subject.
Then, on April 13, 2020, a tornado swept through Lowcountry Regional Airport in Walterboro, South Carolina, where the C-54 was parked. The plane was slammed into a hangar and sustained an initial estimate of $300,000 in damage. Later, after a full evaluation, the damage was estimated at $2 million. The plane sat in disrepair at Walterboro Airport for a year. When reconstruction began at the airport, the damaged aircraft was becoming an eyesore and the airport manager demanded “Spirit of Freedom” be removed.
This is when word got to Mark Doble that a historic plane needed a new home — and he had just the spot for it: a 5-acre restaurant, brewery and event complex under construction. A deal was struck, a donation was made to the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation, and “Spirit of Freedom” had a new mission.
Eight Hours, Two Trucks and the C-54’s Last Flight
The plane is 94 feet long, 28 feet high, has a wingspan of 117 feet and an empty weight of 39,000 pounds, Mark relates, rather offhandedly. “Yeah, I drove down to South Carolina with one guy and a few cases of beer. It’s aluminum, so we just took a gas-powered chainsaw to it, cut the airplane into pieces so that it would fit on a truck. We had that thing ready to load in about 8 hours.”
Two flatbed trucks later, the C-54 was resting in its new home at the Aviator Hangar Bar and Brewery. “We put it back together; we’ll clean it up, repaint it, and build a bar inside,” Mark says. The fuselage will be air-conditioned, decked out with tables, chairs, and Berlin Airlift displays, while the cockpit will be restored for visitors to explore. The wings were too massive to reinstall, but one of the aircraft’s four powerful R-2000 radial engines will be displayed inside the bar.
More History on Tap
Another relic hangs on the wall at the Brewery: a P-51 Mustang fuselage panel from the iconic WWII fighter. The P-51 was known for its speed, which could reach up to 440 MPH, and its range of over 600 miles, ideal for long-range escort missions for B-17 bombers over Europe. Mustangs were the only aircraft able to fly with the bombers all the way to the target and back again. They are credited with destroying numerous enemy aircraft, essentially helping to win air superiority over Europe. However, the panel display has swastikas on it, which upset some patrons who didn’t understand the context. As a result, a sign has been placed under the panel explaining that it was a common practice among Allied pilots to paint small swastika symbols on their P-51 as “kill marks” indicating the number of enemy planes they downed.
The Aviator Hangar Bar and Brewery: A Hub of History, Entertainment, and Community
This 5-acre compound has something for everyone. Located at 688 Brewing Drive in Fuquay-Varina, the Aviator Hangar Bar and Brewery seamlessly blends history into a massive indoor/outdoor brewery, a distillery, a restaurant and bar with live music five nights a week, a breakfast spot, and a concert-ready grassy field where the iconic repurposed C-54 now lives. As Mark puts it, “It just gives people a good opportunity to go out and do something.”
