Photos © Ruud Leeuw
Photos © Ruud Leeuw
 Like the sign on the door says: Welcome Aboard! This is Douglas C-49H CF-PWH (c/n 2198) "Spirit of the Skeena" and is actually owned by the Friends of the DC-3 Canada, who recovered it in 1987 from Terrace,BC where it had been used as a spares ship by Trans Provincial Airlines and subsequently abandoned. This Classic Airliner was originally built for American Airlines and delivered in Feb.1940. It is the oldest surviving DC-3 in Canada!!! Douglas DC-3's with the (passenger)door on the righthand side of the aircraft are rare; PWH has no cargodoor. |
Former identities of this C-49H; NC21793, 42-57506, NC21798 and CF-HCF. Source: North American Survivors by Roy Blewitt (2005); see also at bottom page. |
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Restoration by the Friends of the DC-3 (Canada) group started in 1986 and Sean Keating was involved in this; he sent me some photos and recollections, follow this link |
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In Dec.2006 I received following email- "In 1974 I worked as a wrangler for a guide-outfitter in north-central BC. We flew in a DC-3 from Terrace to a place named Hyland Post, with a year’s worth of supplies, then rafted them down the Ross River to the Stikine River where our main camp was located... The DC-3 could only have been CF-PWH, which is now parked at the museum at Langley. Weird! I never would have made the connection without your efforts." Don McDonald |
This Beech is an Expediter 3NMT and its last tailnumber was/is CF-CKT (c/n A-782 / CA-180).It is former military 2307 and was airlifted here in 1984. More can be learned from the museum's website: www.canadianflight.org |
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My visit was somewhat rushed here... I had lost time earlier that day finding Delta Airpark at Boundary Bay and had to fight my way through traffic to get to Langley. So I arrived here at 15:30, only to find that they would be closing at 16:00! So I concentrated on the displayed aircraft outside and fortunately the friendly staff allowed me some extra time to thoroughly photograph their splendid DC-3. But for the items displayed inside I had no time except a quick photograph of this Waco. Well, it is always best to explore a museum, I find, in a series of visits so no doubt I will be back here. And there is an excellent Greek restaurant here at the airport: another reason for a revisit! Here is some info on the Waco from the museum's website: Serial: 4646, CF-CCW - Manufactured: 1937 - Powerplant: 330 hp Jacobs L-6MB The Waco (wah-co) series of four-seat cabin biplanes were initiated in 1931 and were produced continuously in progressively refined models until 1939. Serial 4646 was manufactured in 1937 at Troy, Ohio as a ZQC-6 model (285 hp Jacobs L-5MB engine) but was converted to an AQC-6 (330 hp Jacobs L-6MB) in 1947. Purchased new by the Department of National Defence, Ottawa, it was operated by the Department of Transport until 1949, when it was moved out to the British Columbia Coast. It was operated by B.C. Airlines, then by a logging company. Dr. Jack Pickup of Alert Bay was the next owner, who acquired the airplane in 1953 and routinely used it as a "flying doctor" float plane. During its long career it suffered several landing accidents. It was donated to the Canadian Museum of Flight in 1980 by Dr. Pickup and is currently undergoing a complete restoration. This aircraft was donated on floats, but for the Museum's purposes, it will be restored on wheels. The first test flight in over 30 years happened on February 13th, 2002 after a twenty year restoration done by the volunteers at the Canadian Museum of Flight. |
Harvard Mk IIB
The following information on the Harvard was obtained through the Museum's website: One of the museum's most impressive artifacts is a North American Harvard Mk II, donated by Dr. Gordon Potter. It is one of the Canadian built Mk. IIB models, built by Noorduyn Aviation in Montreal. The original civil registration was CF-MGI for many years. C-FGME has been on Langley field for about 8 years, and Dr. Potter purchased if from previous owner Brian Beard. In the mid-1980's the Harvard had belonged to Dr. Rolf Yri who used the call letters YRI. It went to the U.S. for a short time before being brought back to Canada. The letters YRI are still located on the side of the plane. |
| Later this trip I had a brief opportunity to revisit this museum with some new-found friends, but lunch, lovely sunshine and good conversation (much was aviation folklore..) kept me from visiting the exhibits. Fond memories are associated with this museum and I am sure I will be back. |
"North American Survivors" by Roy Blewett (Gatwick Aviation Society, 2005) is an excellent handbook to take out on the road or use at home as a reference guide. It offers status and information on vintage transports (both propellor and jets) and are listed by Canadian and US States; there are three appendixes covering aircraft in Mexico, a listing of extant Beech 18s and “US Army Air Force Skytrains and Skytroopers; where are they now?”. The book is in easy to use A5 format and fits easy in any size of bag. The 358 pages offer a huge amount of information and is of great use in planning a trip to N.America. I hope others will follow in the example set by this book.
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