One of the really nice things about hosting this website are the photos and videos that arrive on a continuing basis from folks wanting to share them. Some are current, while others go back to the mid-1940’s. While I use some on the “Propliner News” page, not all can be used and I’ve created this page to collect and share these items with visitors to this website. I hope you enjoy them.
Don Q C-97G - September 22, 2023
I was in Wisconsin for my daughter's wedding this past weekend and stopped by Dodgeville, Wisconsin to have a look at C-97G N227AR. The aircraft has been on display outside the Don Q Inn since October 16, 1977, when it was flown to the adjacent Dodgeville Airport (now closed). There's a very interesting video titled Landing a C-97G at Dodgeville, where the pilot Tom Thomas gives a talk about landing the massive aircraft on the airport's 2,700 x 30-foot runway. (Footage of the landing begins at 26:09 in the video)The aircraft was delivered to the USAF as KC-97G 52-2764 in 1953. It was later converted to a C-97G and its final assignment was with the California Air National Guard before being retired in April 1970 and flown to Davis Monthan AFB for storage. It was acquired by the Foundation for Airborne Relief in the early 1970'sand registered N227AR. Not sure if it was ever operated by the foundation before being acquired by Don Quinn for display at the Don Q Inn. I found it somewhat encouraging that, even though the aircraft is open to the public and visitation is totally unsupervised, most of the cockpit instruments were still in place. Perhaps the folks in Wisconsin are an honest lot.
Circa 1970 UAL DC-6 and DC-6B's Stored in Tracy, California - September 22, 2023
Richard Broome recently posted an absolutely fascinating circa 1970 photo of 45 former United Airlines DC-6 and DC-6B stored at Tracy Municipal Airport on the Douglas Big Props Facebook Group. United retired the DC-6 on February 28, 1970, with most being put out to pasture at Tracy, a small general aviation airport in central California. According to Richard, N37572, N37577 and N37581 were the last in service but they were not stored at Tracy nor were any of the cargo DC-6A's. The DC-6A's were still very much in demand with second tier cargo haulers and many had long post-UAL careers. The passenger aircraft were essentially worthless as airliners and most of the aircraft stored at Tracy were broken up by Mars Aviation and their valuable components, such as engines sold off. Twenty years later, I flew over this airport on a number of occasions and I can attest that there was no trace of the DC-6's. Many thanks to Richard for sharing Captain Ricky Lewis' photo.
Former BOAC DC-7C Forward Fuselage - September 20, 2023
Antti Hyvarinen visited the European Museum of Hunting Aviation (Musee Europeen de l'Aviation de Chasse) in Montelimar, France on September 16th and photographed the forward fuselage of DC-7C N90802. This aircraft was delivered new to BOAC in November 1956 as G-AOIB and sold to Saturn Airways in April 1964 as N90802. Named "Miss Germany" Saturn retired the aircraft in 1968 and it was stored at MIA. Lucky to escape the Miami scrapman that claimed a number of former Saturn DC-7C's, it was sold over the years to a number of leasing companies. It was leased to the Jolly Voyager Traveler Club in 1970 before being acquired by Aero Union in 1974 and converted to a firebomber. T&G Aviation bought the aircraft in 1979 and operated it as Tanker 115 for a number of years until it was sold to Baquero Servicios Aereos SL in 1995. I don't believe it was operated for very long by Baquero and it was subsequently stored at Cordoba, Spain before being acquired by the museum.
I have a bit of personal history with this aircraft. Hired by Saturn as a summer/apprentice mechanic at JFK during the summer of 1967, I spent a few weekends that spring doing some training at the airport. During one of the weekends, N90802 was being prepped for a flight to Germany, where it would spend the summer flying around Europe. The aircraft got stuck after one of its main gear broke through the thin tarmac on the maintenance ramp and was all hands-on deck to free the airplane. After finally being freed, the DC-7C made it to Germany as scheduled. It's great to see that at least part of this iconic aircraft has been saved. Many thanks to Antti for sharing his photos.
EAA AirVenture 2023 - August 8, 2023
While not quite as many as in previous years, a fairly decent collection of Propliners attended AirVenture 2023. I spent three days at the show and, along with some of my photos, I have included additional photos taken by Antti Hyvarinen, Nigel Hitchman and Roger Syratt. Many thanks to Antti, Nigel and Roger for sharing their photos.
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Circa-1973 Mojave Stratocruisers - July 18, 2023
Henry Tenby posted a YouTube video from his series "Pre Internet Plane Spotting" featuring photos of retired Boeing B377 Stratocruisers stored at Mojave, California. The photos were taken by Gerd Killian on September 20, 1973 using Kodachrome slide film and are very impressive. It's interesting to note that Gerd appeared to have unfettered access to the aircraft...something that would never happen in today’s world of ultra secure post 9/11 airports!
Alaska 2023 - July 17, 2023
Antti Hyvarinen visited Alaska in late-May/early-June this year and graciously shared many of the photos he took in the "Propliner-Rich" region. While the number of active Propliners is decreasing, there are still quite a few active and still lots to see in the storage areas...definitely worth the trip north! Many thanks to Antti and I hope you enjoy his photos as much as I did.
Anchorage International Airport - May 26th-29th
Wolf Lake Airport/Palmer Airport - C-123K at Wolf Lake and remaining photos at Palmer Airport - May 29th
Nenana Airport - May 29th
Fairbanks International Airport - Active aircraft on Everts ramp - May 30th
First Photo - Former Everts DC-6 bought for house project and stored in residential neighborhood in Fairbanks area - May 30th Next Two Photos - Everts remote storage lot at Fairbanks International Airport - May 30th
Fairbanks International Airport - Everts North Hangar storage area - May 31st
Fairbanks International Airport - Miscellaneous aircraft parked around the airport including DC-6 N4390X, which is used as the emergency response trainer - May 31st
Fairbanks Area - Two former Everts DC-6s and a former Brooks Fuel DC-3, which is parked at nearby Chena Marina Airport - May 31st
First Photo - Two former Brooks Fuel DC-4s (N90201 & N99212) stored on the Chena River in Fairbanks - May 31th Remaining Photos - Everts famous storage lot at Fairbanks International Airport - May 31th
Fairbanks International Airport - Active aircraft on Everts ramp - June 1st
Anchorage International Airport - Desert Air Alaska ramp including three DC-3s and a Basler BT-67 - June 2nd
Remnants of the Brooks Fuel aircraft fleet spread around Fairbanks International Airport and the nearby area
Boxcar Alive in Palmer - July 8, 2023
During Dietmar Schreiber's June 2023 visit to Alaska, he had the good fortune to witness John Reffett firing up the engines on C-119F N8501W. John treated me to the same show in 2019 and I can attest that C-119 engine runs are very impressive. In Dietmar's own words. "During my Alaska visit in June I had the great opportunity to see the Boxcar at Palmer alive. It took more than five hours from the preparation to the final engine run with both engines on full power, but it was worth every single second!" Dietmar also shot a video of the engine runs, which he posted on YouTube. Many thanks to Dietmar for sharing his photos and video.
Nova Scotia Aviation Museums - July 1, 2023
Ken Swartz recently visited Nova Scotia and toured three aviation musuems, including the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum, Shearwater Aviation Museum and Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum.
Greenwood Military Aviation Museum
Avro Anson Mk.II - RCAF 7135 Avro Anson Mk.II - RCAF 7135 C-47B/CC-219 - RCAF KN451
Lancaster Mk.X - RCAF JB226 Lancaster Mk.X - RCAF JB226 C-130E/CC-130E - RCAF 130328 Note: The Lancaster is painted in the colors of an RCAF aircraft lost over Europe that belonged to a squadron now resident at Greenwood.
P2V-7/CP-127 - RCAF 24101 P2V-7/CP-127 P2V-7/CP-127 - RCAF 24101 P2V-7/CP-127 P-3/CP-140A - RCAF 140119 Note: The ID painted on the Neptune is not the original aircraft ID. It is a USN example flown to Canada after retirement.
CP-107 Argus - RCAF 10717 H-44A - RCAF 9592 H-44A - RCAF 9592 Note: The ID painted on the H-44 at Greenwood is not the original aircraft ID and it is a combination of two different airframes (front and rear sections)
CH-46/CH-113 - RCAF 11308 CH-46/CH-113 - RCAF 11308
Shearwater Aviation Museum
C-45/Be18/CT-128 - CF-SEB RCN 312 C-45/Be18/CT-128 - CF-SEB RCN 312 Note: CF-SEB, which had both an RCAF and RCN history, was transported by truck from Quebec to CFB Shearwater in Dartmouth, NS in about 2017.
Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum
PBY-5A/Canso - CF-HFL PBY-5A/Canso - CF-HFL Note: The PBY-5/A is a U.S. example that crashes on a remote lake in Labrador and slung out in the 1980s by CAF Chinook and placed on a barge for transport to the Atlantic Aviation Museum at Halifax Airport.
Budapest's Aeropark Museum - June 27, 2023
I visited Budapest's Aeropark Museum on June 17, 2023. The museum is located at Budapest's Liszt Ferenc International Airport with its focus is on the history of Hungarian civil aviation, featuring airliners used by the now-defunct national airline Malev. Its outdoor collection includes fifteen Soviet era transport aircraft and helicopters with a lone Cessna Citation bizjet. Many of the larger aircraft are open for tours by docents and, luckily for me, they spoke English! The collection also includes an A320 simulator, which was closed the day of my visit. I chose to visit on a Saturday, which was a mistake as there was a large event with many more visitors than on a normal day. All and all, it worked out and the visit was well worth the 35 Euro taxi ride from downtown Budapest.
HA-MOA - Ilyushin IL-18V HA-MOG - Ilyushin IL-18V HA-LCG - Tupolev Tu-154B-2
HA-LBE - Tupolev Tu-134 HA-LRA - Yakovlev Yak-40 HA-YLR - Yakovlev Yak-40
HA-LIQ - Lisunov Li-2 HA-MAL - Ilyushin IL-14T HA-YHF - PZL-Mielec AN-2PF
HA-MHI - Antonov An-2M N1GG - Cessna 500 Citation 41 - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
HA-LAF – LET L-410UVP-E8A HA-BCB – PZL-Swidnik Mi-2 HA-MMG – Kamov KA-26
10029 - Mil Mi-2
The museum's collection also includes an interesting array of equipment and support vehicles including firetrucks, tugs and a number of police and other vehicles.
South African Viking - June 26, 2023
Viking ZS-DKH was recently repainted in original Protea Airways colors by South African Airways Museum volunteers at Rand Airport. Peter Brill reports that, while the paint is pristine, the interior is stripped clean and the engine cowlings are not original. Kudos to the folks at the museum and thanks to Peter for forwarding the photos.
Lancaster Fox Field Relics - May 21, 2023
Mark Vaughn recently visited Fox Field in Lancaster, California and photographed Armstrong Whitworth Argosy N1430Z, C-119C N13745, C-97G 53-0272 and T-38A N962NA. They are remnants of the now defunct Milestones of Flight Air Museum and it was recently reported that the C-97G has been sold. To say the least, ownership of the aircraft has been confusing and hopefully none will be scrapped.
Tillamook Air Museum Mini-Guppy - May 20, 2023
Sean Keating visited the Tillamook Air Museum on a rainy day in February 2003 and photographed former Erickson Air Crane Mini-Guppy N422AU. The aircraft was delivered to Pan American World Airways as N1037V in September 1949 and retired by the airline in 1960. Here's a short history of the airplane from the museum's website. "The museum’s Mini-Guppy was originally delivered to Pan American Airways in 1949 as a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser (prior to its conversion), which it flew until 1960 when it was returned to Boeing and sold to Santa Barbara based Aero-Spacelines in 1963. Converted to a Mini-Guppy, it first flew in 1967. After years of commercial use and ferrying such interesting items as NASA's Pioneer 10 Spacecraft (used to explore Jupiter and the Asteroid Belt) and Goodyear's Europa Airship, it was purchased by Erickson Air Crane in 1988 and used for the transport of large Air Crane helicopters until 1994 when it was acquired by the museum and retired." Due to significant wing spar corrosion, it's extremely unlikely that this classic will ever fly again.
Oregon Sea Heron - May 20, 2023
Sean Keating came across De Havilland DH-114 Sea Heron C-1 XR442 on the side of US 97 at mile marker 247 in Chiloquin, Oregon. It’s located on a plot of grass adjacent to Melita’s Restaurant, Motel and RV Park and across the highway from Chiloquin State Airport. Not too sure what it’s doing there and Sean noted that the right wing is mounted upside down. I guess assembly instructions weren't included in the purchase agreement. For more information about XR442, check out the Aviationweb deja vu and Aerial Visuals websites.