Aviodrome -2007-
Photos © R.LeeuwPhotos © R.Leeuw
On Friday 14Sep07 I went to the Aviodrome, to witness the arrival and departure of propliners on their way to the Air Show at Hamburg,Germany. In particular I was interested in Classic Airlines' DC-6 G-APSA painted in KLM colours, but that visit was cancelled... Nevertheless, a nice collection of Propliners dropped in and radial engines reverberated through the Dutch landscape... |
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On 01May07 I visited the Aviodrome Aviation Museum to witness the formal opening of the Pilot's Mess and the roll-out of the recently acquired junckers JU-52/3m (in fact a CASA 352L Spanish license-built Ju-52). The ceremony was well planned and sharply executed, as below photos bear witness to. |
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| Crowds have gathered around speaker Schout-bij-Nacht pilot (ret.) R.J. Idzerda. The WW2 theme is quite visible here, with the Spitfire and the Pilot's Mess in the background; it is a good location to host a party or a more formal ceremony. The Pilot's Mess was rescued from a campground in Overloon (near the frontline in 1944) and thankfully restored to its present location and condition. |
| The best of the Warbirds: P-51 "Damn Yankee" fires up its engine to provide a flying salute... Pilot was Tom Karst van der Meulen. |
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 The crowd is ready for the roll out... |
 A special day... |
 Please, film this..! |
 Ugh, ugh... |
 Magic ! |
 Now we can have a good look... |
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 Three weeks ago a pile of junk... |
 Proud team, well done ! |
 Cabin, note the parachute... |
 The pilot, with a nice backdrop. |
| In 1932, while Europe was suffering under a deep economic depression, aviation designer and manufacturer Junkers looked ahead and improved the single engine Ju-52 to a three-engined design, improving safety and reliability. Lufthansa took to this idea and started operating the Ju-52/3m that same year and by 1935 Lufthansa operated 50 of these remarkable aeroplanes. By 1939 this number had increased to 70 and various other companies outside Germany tallied 125 of this aircraft, including SABENA (of Belgium) and British Airways. But also the German Luftwaffe became enthusiastic for this metal bird and it saw military use in the Spanish Civil War, the invasions of Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, etc. In May 1940 the Netherlands were invaded and 400 Junkers Ju-52/3m aircraft were involved, transporting troops and equipment, dropping parachutists. Over 6.000 Ju-52s were built, in Germany, France and Spain. For the period up to and including WW2, only the DC-3/C-47 saw more airframes built, but far less Ju-52s have survived. This makes the preservation of this aircraft here at Lelystad very special indeed. |
This Junkers Ju-52/3m has been restored as 1Z+IK, as that particular Luftwaffe aircraft was shot at by Dutch Air Force Fokker C.5 aircraft; it was abondoned as a result on the beach near The Hague.It did help today that we were enjoying the best Spring ever, summer temperatures with brilliant light quality. Timing is everything, they say, and the Aviodrome Team did it again! |
| The procurement of this Junkers Ju-52/3m by the Aviodrome is a tribute to those who fought against the German invaders during those doomful days in May 1940s, when 430 Ju-52s and hundreds of other armed aircraft swarmed like flies over the Netherlands. Fokker C.5 fighters, 15 years old by that time, fought a gallant battle. Between May 10th and 14th the Dutch armed forces managed to take out half of the German airtransport fleet and this haulted the Blitzkrieg effort in its intention to continue with an invasion of England that same summer of 1940. Ju-52/3m 1Z+IK was taken out, after its landing on the beaches of The Hague, where it was damaged beyond repair by Fokker C.5s. Many aircraft dropped parachutists or unloaded troops in this area, near The Hague, to prevent the Queen and her government to flee abroad (a ploy which failed). This aircraft was part of 1e Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung I (KGzbV I). It had landed on the beach but failed to take off as it got stuck in the sand. A flight of 3 Fokker C.5s spotted 20 Ju-52s, including 1Z+IK, on the beach in the morning of May 10th and these and other C.5s returned that afternoon and shot them up in three attacks. 1Z+IK was damaged, but not destroyed; others suffered a fate by fire due to tracer ammunition or were bombarded. 1Z+IK was probably repaired by the Fokker factory, which found a temporary home in the Amsterdam RAI. This Ju-52/3m will get a spot inside the museum, next to its opponent during those fateful days in May 1940; the Fokker C.5 . [Source: Verenigde Vleugels, May 2007] |
 A new prop had been flown in from Boeing in Seattle, arriving only days before. Now the DC-2 will soon have a working no.1 prop and hopefully the DC-2 will be seen airborne again. |
And hardware for the DC-4 was bought too: an engine, 2 props and 2 mainwheels (sponsored by Prins Bernhardfonds Flevoland); all this came from Bill Dempsey's stock and also arrived recently, from Rantoul,KS.Don't expect to see this DC-4 fly ever again, but it would look a lot better with engines than without, mending the present amputated appearance. |
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I visited the Aviodrome, Aviation Themepark near Lelystad, the Netherlands on 13Apr07. I needed to try out a new tripod and to see and hear about new developments. In secrecy, work was being done on a recently acquired CASA 352L, with a roll out planned for May 1st, a deadline which looked ambitious for this new static display and much work still needed to be done, as one can see by these images. |
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 During this visit I also wanted to see how the annual check on the Lockheed L.749A Constellation was proceeding. As one can see there is still work to be done and I took the opportunity to make some photos. It seems we will have to wait until 2008 to see a flight of the "Dutch Connie", a matter of funding and budget (insurance!) as the Aviodrome has no permit to operate (paying) passengers to support this project. It is frustrating to note Lufthansa can operate Ju-52/3m D-AQUI, while much older than this Lockheed Constellation, with paying passengers and N749NL cannot. So much for commonality in EU-legislation. History and other details on N749NL, can be found on arrival of the Dutch Connie |
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With the Connie inside the museum things are getting a bit crowded here...But down there, in the middle, is an interesting project going on: the restoration of a Noorduyn C-64 Norseman. This is 44-70509 and it is owned by Stichting (Foundation) Norseman, while the restoration takes place, in full view of the visitors, in the museum. The aim is to bring it back to full airworthiness but this will probably take at least another 3 years. At present the restoration awaits the outcome of analysis on the main wingspars, the result determining full replacement or mere repairs. Kees Hensen kindly showed me around and brought me up to speed on this admirable restoration. In Sep.2007 an engine became available; in months to come the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radialengine will be fitted to the aircraft. A company from Naarden, Belgraver, made its facilities available for restorations to the interior of this Norseman. |
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The Norseman was the brainchild of R.B.C. ('Bob') Noorduyn. Born in Holland, he worked as a young engineer in England for Sopwith and Armstrong-Whitworth. He emigrated to the US in 1920, to work for Anthony Fokker. He organized the Atlantic Aviation Corporation, which became the Fokker Aircraft Corporation. Together they conceived the Fokker Universal, later followed by the Super Universal. He was also instrumental in the design of the Fokker Trimotor. In 1928 he joined the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation and worked on the famous Bellanca Pacemaker. In 1934 Bob Noorduyn and Walter C. Clayton went to Montreal,Canada and started Norseman Aircraft Ltd. The prototype Norseman first flew November 14, 1935. Many Norseman were used during WW II by many countries, but chiefly by the US Army Air Force as a utility cargo plane designated UC-64A. It became the popular replacement of the Fairchild and Bellanca bush planes of the North. The Norseman is the most successfull Dutch aircraft design in terms of numbers built; restoration of this airframe was made possible by grants from BankGiro Lottery and Prince Bernhard Culturefoundation. Specifications: Engine: 550 hp Pratt & Whitney Wing span: 51 ft. 8 in. Length: 32 ft. 4 in. Maximum T\O weight: 7400 lb. Cruising speed: 141 mph. apacity: eight passengers or freight |
The F.2 was Fokker's first airliner, 1918-19 and KLM was one of the operators of this aircraft. |
This is Fokker F.VII H-NADP of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.I really like the display here, with the woman on board waving goodbye, some parcels and suitcases have been put on board... Ready to travel for hours, maybe for days! Further details of this Fokker F.VII can be read on my December 2003 page. |
A diorama display of vintage Amsterdam Municipal Airport.And when one steps outside this museum, the terminal seen here on the left, can be seen large as life! I have another page of Schiphol in 1920s-1930s |
Douglas PH-AJU is a DC-2-142 (c/n 14004) and is seen here in the T-2 hangar of the Aviodrome.In actual fact PH-AJU is a fake registration, as that particular KLM DC-2 crashed in the Syrian Desert (near Rutbah Falls) on 20Dec1934... This aircraft is actually registered N39165 (under the tailfin sits very small 'NC39165'). It is in the final stages of repairs and overhaul and should be present on a variety of air shows in Europe again this season. During 2007 a contract was agreed upon with 2 sponsors to support operations of 'PH-AJU' by the Aviodrome: Goodyear Aviation and KLM. Both had lend support previously, but now financial support became part of the deal too. |
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The bright yellow Piper Cub is a restoration nearing completion. People do work in this museum!
In the background is another DC-2, which actually is owned by the DDA Airlines (which has its headquarters at Amsterdam IAP) |
This DC-2 has c/n 1288 and was bought in feb87 by the Dutch Dakota Association (DDA) from an Australian owner (many years it had been stored at Bankstown) and it was subsequently transported to the Netherlands in 1988. At first it was stored at Badhoevedorp, then transferred on 08dec92 to DDA's hangar 3 at Schiphol. It was meant for restoration to become another 'PH-AJU' but proved to be too much of a challenge. On the photo I can just make out figures Peter Kelly came to the rescue: "the DC-2 in the Aviodome collection was once A30-14 in the Royal Australian Air Force and had been in storage for many years before it went to Europe for your collection." |
G-DAKK (C-47A c/n 9798) sits patiently for the public and... potential buyers!I was promised the missing prop would come soon.  Some nice photos of G-DAKK and other Aviodrome residents can be found on my page Props by Night. |
PH-ALR is now under tender loving care by the ROCvA, the educations center of Amsterdam Airport; students can study Aviation, Travel and Tourism there. Work by students on PH-ALR have progressed well, they were responsible for putting engines on last year (1.000hp Wright Cyclone ones, not the more common Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasps), albeit non-workable ones (as yet). Douglas DC-3 PH-ALR "Reiger" is a douglas C-47B with c/n 16218/32966. It was delivered to the USAAF as 44-76634 in 1945, transferred to the RAF as KN487 and stayed in military service until 1950. It was bought by Skyways and registered as G-AMCA. Air Atlantique bought it on 20Jul77. By 2002 it was reported at Coventry, stored and partially dismantled, it had reached the end of its operational life. The Aviodrome bought it in 2003 and painted it in KLM's high visibility colours of shortly before WW2; these bright colors and large "Holland" lettering was to prevent to be mistaken for military transports and get shot at. |
Fokker F.27-100 PH-FHF (c/n 10105) of the Fokker Heritage Foundation has its here too.Last year it was operational, but it seems this year's program has not been published yet; whatever problems they have I hope they are solved soon and hopefully PH-FHF will take to the skies again. I have a detailed history of this vintage F.27 on my page VH-NLS |
This is Lockheed SP-2 Lockheed SP-2 Neptune 210, which is undergoing restoration and was beautifully repainted recently. This patrol aircraft played an important role with the Dutch Marineluchtvaart Dienst (MlD).The Neptune entered production as the P2V-1 in 1944 and ran for 19 years, a success story for Lockheed. Most numerous variants were the P2V5 and P2V-7, the latter becoming P-2H in 1962 when standardisation of US military aircraft designations. The MlD received 31 aircraft. Twelve P2V-5 aircraft were delivered between Oct53 - Jan64 for 320 Sqdn. They served until Jun60 - Mar62 when they were sold to Portugal. Fifteen aircraft of the P2V-7B and -6S variants were obtained for use by 321 at Hato, Curacao (replacing Grumman Trackers). Aircraft wre delivered with the solid nose, but most were converted to the glazed-nose SP-2H. Neptunes were also obtained from the French Navy. Martin Herbert has an interesting website on the MlD. Serial 210 had construction number 726-7263, had code H on the tail and flew with no.5 and no.320 squadron. [Source: Dutch Military Aviation 1945 - 1978 by Paul A.Jackson / Midland Counties Publ.] Most people will remember this aircraft in KLM livery... as it was used as an instructional airframe by KLM for a long time. See my (2003) page Nighttransport for the Aviodrome and Prop Transports on Schiphol. |
Hopefully this Catalina PH-PBY will look ahead towards a busy season.More on the Dutch Cat can be read on my webpage The Dutch Catalina Restored |
More photos taken during this visit, see my Flickr.com account Organisations cooperating with the Aviodrome (Dutch) & www.verenigdevleugels.nl/organisaties.html (Dutch) |
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