The Sea King helicopter — which served as a flying Oval Office from 1961 to 1976 — took to the skies Monday, June 29, but not for another flight.
The helicopter was lifted out by crane from where it’s displayed at the Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda to be transported to the March Field Air Museum just outside Riverside for a two-year restoration that will return the historic aircraft to its glory days when presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford used it for travel.
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Visitors a presentation of the history of the presidential helicopter at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda on Monday, June 29, 2026. Officials announced the construction of a new educational center on the campus and the restoration of the helicopter that will be completed at March Field Air Museum in Riverside. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Visitors a presentation of the history of the presidential helicopter at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda on Monday, June 29, 2026. Officials announced the construction of a new educational center on the campus and the restoration of the helicopter that will be completed at March Field Air Museum in Riverside. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Once completed, the restored helicopter will return to the Nixon Library and become the centerpiece of a new education building breaking ground next year.
As part of an initiative to advance American citizenship, education and literacy, the new Center for American Civics Education will house interactive educational programs, including a situation room for eighth-grade students to roleplay a contemporary issue alongside their peers.
“American civics is the story of all of us, and the story of our country,” said Jim Byron, president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, which is undertaking the expansion. “We look forward to opening this new building for everyone.”
In addition to middle school programs, the center will feature additional galleries and a new cafe open to the public. The Sikorsky VH-3A helicopter — which guests will be able to step inside and tour — will be at the center of it all.
“To be able to have this helicopter opened again, inside and out of the elements, with its doors always open to visitors, that’s really preserving history, which is crucial to our mission,” Byron said.
The restoration of the helicopter is being led by Georgia-based military artifact conservation group Ponsford Ltd. The project will focus on refurbishing the exterior and replicating the interior to preserve the historic materials while allowing guests to explore the aircraft.
The Sea King was first restored at the March Field Air Museum 20 years ago after it was rescued from a boneyard in Rhode Island. It has remained outside the Nixon Library as a loan from the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
According to Brig. Gen. Matthew Tracy, commanding general of the Education Command and president of the Marine Corps University, the helicopter was almost transferred to the Smithsonian two years ago for restoration and permanent display.
With the help of Charles Keller, a philanthropist and sole benefactor of the helicopter restoration, the Nixon Library will be able to keep the helicopter as a long-term loan from the Marine Corps.
“The thing about this helicopter, or any artifact like this, is it’s not about one moment in time,” Keller said. “It really represents the place where we’re so lucky to live. In order for us to not repeat the mistakes of the past, we’ve got to learn about the past.”
Both the helicopter restoration and new building are scheduled to be completed in 2028.
According to Gordon Ponsford, founder of Ponsford Ltd., the restoration will take anywhere from 18 to 24 months. The company specializes in military aircraft and has worked on restorations around the globe.
“We do this worldwide,” Ponsford said. “We’re over in England restoring an AV-6 at one of the Air Force bases at Lakenheath and we were over in Guam doing Japanese shore guns for the National Park Service a few years back.”
The Sea King helicopter will remain at the March Field Air Museum until the new civics building is completed.
The museum plans to incorporate the restoration hangar into its general exhibitions so the helicopter can remain on display for people to see.
“The restoration hangar is at the far end of our museum property, and it is not a part of our exhibit experience at this point,” director of the museum and former director of the Nixon Library Michael Ellzey said. “We’re gonna change that as a result of having a presidential helicopter in our facility.”
Ellzey served as director for the Nixon Library from 2015 to 2022 and oversaw an off-site detailing of the helicopter during that time.
“This is a partnership that is reconnecting after so many years,” Ellzey said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to do something so consequential as to restore the Nixon presidential helicopter.”