Presidential Helicopter Arrives at March Field for Restoration

The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter used by four presidents will be within a short drive for Riversiders at the March Field Air Museum.

The helicopter arrived at the museum via highway on June 29, where it will undergo both restoration and display.

"This is a momentous occasion, not just for the museum, but for the Inland Empire, because we have never had a presidential aircraft here," said Jamil Dada, President of the March Field Air Museum, at the unveiling.

Museum staff had restored the helicopter 21 years ago, but since then, it has been on display at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda. This time, after the restoration is done and while a new hangar is built at the library, the helicopter will be exhibited in the March Field Air Museum's restoration hangar.

The Sea King was manufactured in 1961, at a cost of $1 million. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford used it. It took Nixon to the Vatican City in 1969, to meet Pope Paul VI. It landed on Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty, the same year, to open the now-defunct Immigration Museum. Nixon took it to the pyramids of Cairo, where it ferried Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and he returned to the White House on it after his visit to China in 1972. The helicopter took Nixon on 181 trips.

The museum held a reception for the helicopter, attended by roughly 100 people. The event was slightly delayed because the helicopter was too short for some highway overpasses, forcing a detour off the 60 at Jurupa Avenue before rejoining at Mission Inn Avenue. Among the attendees were Riverside City Councilmember Chuck Conder, 452nd Air Mobility Wing Commander Bryan Bailey, and former Restoration Manager Rudy Lerma, who conducted the restoration in 2005. Lerma, who still volunteers on the museum's restoration team, started the program by sharing stories about the work he did on the helicopter.

The helicopter was mothballed on a Rhode Island marine base after President Gerald Ford retired it. The Nixon Library wanted to acquire it, but the project was stymied by the cost of transporting it from Rhode Island to California. That's until Brigadier General Jim Rubeor, then-Commander of the 452nd Air Refueling Wing, told Dada they could transport it with the museum's own Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The helicopter safely arrived, but without the tailpiece, propellers, wheels or tires. Each had gone missing since the helicopter arrived at the base.

Sikorsky Aircraft provided the missing pieces, and is funding this restoration as well, with additional funds from the Nixon Library and a donation by Charles Keller.

Keller said he funded the restoration because he reached the point of life where he gives back. He is a fan of Nixon, having known his Chief of Staff, and having had the opportunity to meet him while in college.

"I just have an admiration for the president and his whole team," Keller said.

This time, the restoration will be done by Ponsford Ltd., run by Gordon Ponsford, a third-generation conservator who previously worked at Arlington National Cemetery, and on artifacts from the Titanic. He'll have a team of six, with three on the Sea King's exterior, and three on the interior, with his daughter, Samantha Ponsford, leading the interior team.

"It's a hell of an honor," said March Field Restoration Manager Alex La Monte. "We're going to help and learn. We're all going to learn."

The situation is a full circle moment for even the museum's new Executive Director, Michael Ellzey, who previously held the same role for the Nixon Library.

"I'm privileged to do this. It's a blessing," Ellzey said.

Ellzey isn't the only recent hire. Keegan Chetwynd joined as curator in February, having previously served as chief executive officer of Virginia Beach's Military Aviation Museum, and Pamela Baird joined as director of operations.

"We know it's in good hands," said Joe Lopez, chief operating officer of the Richard Nixon Foundation.