Save the Super DC-3 Hula Girl
Donation protected
It's finally happening. We've been working on this since October of 2018, but now the paperwork is signed.
The Goal of this GoFundMe, is to bring "Hula Girl", a former U.S. Navy Super DC-3 ( R4D-8) from its current location in Hawaii to a full service Aviation Repair station in San Antonio, TX for restoration.
The Hula Girls military service spanned from the end of WW2, through The Korean War and The Vietnam War. The Navy sold it to a local, Hawaiian island-hopping airline where the aircraft was used for years to ferry people and supplies between islands.
A bird-strike left her #2 engine damaged and needing repair. After the required repair, and upon its start-up, the engine suffered a hydraulic lock and a piston was destroyed. She was taken out of service and placed into storage until donated to The Fourrier Foundation.
This GoFundMe, is to help defray some of the costs of disassembly, crating and shipping her from Hawaii to Long Beach, California, where she'll be placed on trucks and driven to San Antonio, TX. In San Antonio, it will be worked on by a shop that has already completed two rebuilds of DC-3s. She has been well cared for over the years and will be a great platform for restoration.
The Fourrier Foundation has decided to ship this aircraft instead of ferrying do to the cost and risk. We have a shipping company that will donate half of the cost of shipping if we can raise the funds in the next few months. If it was ferried then the cost of getting a good engine and shipping in to Hawaii, insurance, extended fuel tanks, inspections, permits, and finding a crew would be to much. Also the overall risk is not worth lose of human life.
In Texas she will be reassembled and restored back to her former Navy glory. We are looking forward to going through all her records and learning all of her past history.
What Will She Be Used For
Hula Girl will be used to honor our Navy fling heritage in airshows and fly-ins all over the country. She also will be used to fly Medical persons, supplies, water and food in humanitarian efforts in the event of natural disasters and also in South America and other parts of the world as needed. We feel that it is important to help people in need. These aircraft have a special ability to operate out of small unpaved airfields and carry large loads. That makes it a perfect tool for humanitarian work.
The next 4 months will be used to Schedule the shipping, coordinate and accomplish disassembly. We need the funds within the next 6 months. We hope to have Hula Girl in San Antonio by September 2019.
We will be working with Women In Aviation, and a second non-profit (who hasn't confirmed yet) to get Hula Girl Flying again. This is a Once-In-A-Lifetime experience to work on an aircraft like this.
Please donate. The Fourrier Foundation is in the process of creating a website and it will have up-dates on the progress of bringing this historical aircraft back to life. If you donate and want to see her while she is being restored, we would be honored to schedule visitation in Texas. The Fourrier Foundation a 501 (c) (3) Thanks you for taking the time to read our GoFundMe page and donating to this worthy effort.
The Goal of this GoFundMe, is to bring "Hula Girl", a former U.S. Navy Super DC-3 ( R4D-8) from its current location in Hawaii to a full service Aviation Repair station in San Antonio, TX for restoration.
The Hula Girls military service spanned from the end of WW2, through The Korean War and The Vietnam War. The Navy sold it to a local, Hawaiian island-hopping airline where the aircraft was used for years to ferry people and supplies between islands.
A bird-strike left her #2 engine damaged and needing repair. After the required repair, and upon its start-up, the engine suffered a hydraulic lock and a piston was destroyed. She was taken out of service and placed into storage until donated to The Fourrier Foundation.
This GoFundMe, is to help defray some of the costs of disassembly, crating and shipping her from Hawaii to Long Beach, California, where she'll be placed on trucks and driven to San Antonio, TX. In San Antonio, it will be worked on by a shop that has already completed two rebuilds of DC-3s. She has been well cared for over the years and will be a great platform for restoration.
The Fourrier Foundation has decided to ship this aircraft instead of ferrying do to the cost and risk. We have a shipping company that will donate half of the cost of shipping if we can raise the funds in the next few months. If it was ferried then the cost of getting a good engine and shipping in to Hawaii, insurance, extended fuel tanks, inspections, permits, and finding a crew would be to much. Also the overall risk is not worth lose of human life.
In Texas she will be reassembled and restored back to her former Navy glory. We are looking forward to going through all her records and learning all of her past history.
What Will She Be Used For
Hula Girl will be used to honor our Navy fling heritage in airshows and fly-ins all over the country. She also will be used to fly Medical persons, supplies, water and food in humanitarian efforts in the event of natural disasters and also in South America and other parts of the world as needed. We feel that it is important to help people in need. These aircraft have a special ability to operate out of small unpaved airfields and carry large loads. That makes it a perfect tool for humanitarian work.
The next 4 months will be used to Schedule the shipping, coordinate and accomplish disassembly. We need the funds within the next 6 months. We hope to have Hula Girl in San Antonio by September 2019.
We will be working with Women In Aviation, and a second non-profit (who hasn't confirmed yet) to get Hula Girl Flying again. This is a Once-In-A-Lifetime experience to work on an aircraft like this.
Please donate. The Fourrier Foundation is in the process of creating a website and it will have up-dates on the progress of bringing this historical aircraft back to life. If you donate and want to see her while she is being restored, we would be honored to schedule visitation in Texas. The Fourrier Foundation a 501 (c) (3) Thanks you for taking the time to read our GoFundMe page and donating to this worthy effort.
Organizer
Camille Fourrier
Organizer
San Antonio, TX
