Volunteers working hard to get Miss Montana to D-Day event

MISSOULA, Mont. – Volunteers in Montana are working hard to get a former firefighting plane ready to travel to France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

The 75-year-old Dakota DC-3 known as Miss Montana hasn’t flown since arriving in Missoula in 2001.

The Missoulian reports it has been given two like-new engines, hydraulics and fuel system. New propellers will be installed soon.

Organizers hope to get in about 20 hours of flying time before joining about 20 other similar transport planes from the United States for the multi-leg flight to Normandy starting in mid-May. Miss Montana is scheduled to participate in a reenactment of D-Day, including dropping jumpers from Montana.

After that, it’s set to continue to Germany for an event marking the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

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Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com