Herpa 1:200 McDonnell Douglas C-54: Aero Union Skymaster Air Tanker

This model can be displayed on the stand or with the landing gear down

The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian airliner, the Douglas DC-4. Besides transport of cargo, the C-54 also carried presidents, prime ministers, and military staff. Dozens of variants of the C-54 were employed in a wide variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue, scientific and military research, and missile tracking and recovery. During the Berlin Airlift it hauled coal and food supplies to West Berlin. After the Korean War it continued to be used for military and civilian uses by more than 30 countries. It was one of the first aircraft to carry the President of the United States, the first being President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.

Aero Union Corporation was an aircraft operation and maintenance company based in Chico, California, United States. It was known for operating aerial firefighting aircraft, training crews and making custom designed firefighting systems tailored to specific aircraft requirements. After years of controversies regarding the operation of the company and the safety of its aircraft, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) canceled its contract, and the company was forced to shut down soon after.

In 1960 Dale Newton and Dick Foy participated in their first fire season with a surplus B-25 Mitchell. Newton & Foy operated for that season under the name Western Air Industries. The following year they purchased their first two B-17 Flying Fortresses and changed their name to Aero Union. In 1962 the company moved their operations from Redding, California to Chico. Between 1975 and 2000, the company used Douglas C-54 aircraft as tankers and as general support aircraft, nine being in use in April 1990.

On July 29, 2011 the U.S. Forest Service announced that it had canceled its six-plane contract with Aero Union after the company's planes failed their required safety inspections. In April 2011 Aero Union had voluntarily disclosed that its planes were not current on inspections and were in violation of the contract. The contract, worth about $30 million a year, made up about 95% of the company's income. Less than a month later Aero Union informed its employees that they were out of work and that the company was shutting down operations. That August Aero Union failed to make its lease payments to the City of Chico and the lease was declared invalid by the city that September due to concerns that the city would be unable to re-lease the facilities if they became tied up in bankruptcy proceedings. Reduced to a staff of 5 people after the last round of layoffs, down from approximately 230 in 2008, CEO Brett Gourley claimed “The company is in sort of hibernation mode” and was looking for other sources of income. Aero Union has since completely shutdown all of its facilities, websites and other points of contact and is assumed to be out of business. In February 2012 PMI held an auction of Aero Union's aircraft assets, including 8 P-3 Orion aircraft, various spare parts and their intellectual property (MAFFS II and FIREHAWK firefighting systems). Only two aircraft were bid upon and those bids were rejected as being too low. In May 2012 another auction of tools and equipment, but no aircraft, parts or intellectual property, went through with the majority of it selling. Former Aero Union Tanker 23 acquired by Airstrike Firefighters, with plans for 6 more P-3's.