Spirit of Flight Museum to Raffle 1957 Ford Thunderbird to Restore 1935 Lockheed 12A Electra

The Spirit of Flight Center's rare 1936 Lockheed 12A Electra Junior is already under restoration. The museum is raffling a pristine 1957 Ford Thunderbird to raise money to help with the Electra's rebuild. (photo via Spirit of Flight Center)
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The Spirit of Flight Center in Erie, Colorado took delivery of a rare Lockheed Model 12A Electra Junior in June, 2017. The iconic aircraft rolled off the production line as serial #1205 and soon became an  executive transport with the Continental Oil Company, registered as NC16079. The aircraft was impressed into military service during WWII, heading up to Canada as part of the Lend-Lease Program. At one point in the aircraft’s history, it was owned by the legendary aircraft broker, Charles Babb. Interestingly, it was Babb who signed Amelia Earhart’s pilot’s license, and we all know her close connection to the Lockheed Electra!

Charles Babb (left) at his wedding on September 21st, 1945… a veritable who’s who of WWII American military aviation greats including Gen. Jimmy Doolittle at center (with Gen. ‘Tooey’ Spaatz to his right). Gen. Curtis LeMay is in khaki to the far right. (photo Charles Babb Special Collection, San Diego Air & Space Museum Archive)

The museum has already begun restoring their Electra Junior back to flying condition, but needs to raise funds to help with the effort. Towards this end, the museum received the generous gift of a pristine 1957 Ford Thunderbird which they will be giving away via a lottery. Please see their recent press release for further details on how you can enter to win this amazing car and help restore a rare Lockheed beauty!

The Spirit of Flight Center recently received the gift of a fully restored 1957 Ford Thunderbird. The museum now plans to give it away to a lucky winner.

“We are incredibly grateful that a 1957 Thunderbird was gifted to the museum,” said Gordon Page, President of the Spirit of Flight Center. “The donor saw our Lockheed 12A aircraft project and wanted to do something to help get it back into the air. We had no idea they would give us a collector car to raffle off to help the process.”

The Starmist Blue Thunderbird has only 35,000 miles and was fully restored in 2006. It has a 312 cubic inch V-8 engine and automatic transmission, and it is loaded with features including hard and soft tops.

The 1957 Ford Thunderbird which you could win while helping the Spirit of Flight Center restore their Lockheed 12A Electra Junior. (photo via Spirit of Flight Center)
The 1957 Ford Thunderbird’s pristine interior. (photo via Spirit of Flight Center)
The 1957 Ford Thunderbird’s magnificent 312 cubic inch V-8. (photo via Spirit of Flight Center)

“We plan to hand over the keys to the car at our 10th Annual Spirit of Flight Day event on July 14th, 2018,” said Gordon Page. “I can’t wait to see the look on the winners face,” added Page.

People can enter to win the car by making a donation to the non-profit Spirit of Flight Foundation at www.spiritofflight.com. All proceeds will help fund the restoration of a 1936 Lockheed 12A Electra Jr. that the museum acquired earlier this year.

“My wife has wanted a ’57 Thunderbird since we started dating, so you can bet I will be making a donation,” said museum supporter, Mike Castro. Castro added, “It’s even the right color.”

Click the image below to buy your ticket to win!

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About the Spirit of Flight Center: Founded in 1998, the non-profit Spirit of Flight Center facility features over 1000 aviation artifacts at its Erie (CO) Municipal Airport facility. Aircraft including a rare German Messerschmitt Bf-109, L-19 Bird Dog, and a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter jet are among the collection.

The Spirit of Flight Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and uses tax deductible donations to support its mission to save aviation history.

Contact the Spirit of Flight Center at info@spiritofflight.com for more information.

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