Several years ago I went to A&P school in Somerset KY. They had a C47 that sat in a field and was torn apart and put back together who knows how many times in the many years of sat there. It was the unofficial mascot of the school. I used to climb up in that plane and sit in the cockpit and nose around the engines and fuselage whenever I got a chance. Toward the end of my schooling they sold the plane to a company in WI that refurbishes C47s. They sent 4 or 5 guys down for a few weeks, bolted new engines on, went through the electronics and landing gear and eventually flew it out. We all had mixed emotions, it was very cool to see it fly after so many years of service as a training tool, but it was sorely missed.
Those guys from WI had some confidence though, no test flights or touch and goes, just taxi, power up, and down the runway they went, all the way to WI.