How We Found It

Unfortunately, NC97W was a victim of the unforgiving High Sierra environment. After the incident at Monache, the aircraft was transported to a storage facility where it sat, untouched, for many years.

Without young men around to go on hunting expeditions, Sierra Airways ceased operations during the war. Hallberg bought out his partner, Austin, in 1941. In 1982 Hallberg started restoring 97W, but was not able to finish and sold the project to John Desmond in 1987.

The Desmond organization began a full restoration in 1999 but never finished.

In 2015, John and Karen Machamer bought the project and moved it to Gettysburg, PA. They started work on the restoration in earnest in 2020.