The history of this Douglas DC-3A DST-A-207C, according to the big DC-3 book by Air-Britain (1984) is:
Delivered as NC25620 to United Air Lines on 14Nov40 and impressed to the war effort, to the USAAF as 42-38326 (designated a C-48B) on 17Mar42.
It joined the Alaska Wingg ATC in April 1942 and went to warmer parts of this world: to Africa on 12Oct43.
It was returned to United Air Lines on 17Jun44 (NC25620) and named Mainliner "Toledo".
Ford Motor Company of Dearborn,MI bought it on 18Jun49 and reregistered it as N301K.
It accepted its Canadian identity CF-VQV for Nat'l Aviation Consultants on 10Aug67. On 21Feb68 this changed again when P.Olesik registered it to his name.
Associates Acceptance Company however, took ownership on 01Nov68.
Things semed to turn for the better again when Arctic Outpost Camps Ltd of Edmonton,ALB bought it in June 1970. but the license lapsed on 24May75 and it was found languishing at Edmonton in 1980. However, CF-VQV did return to service with Arctic at some point afterwards.
I checked the Transport Canada website at the time of writing (Dec.2006) and found CF-VQV was registered on 18Jun70 to Arctic Outpost Camps Ltd, care of McBrian Bros Avn Ltd, Hay River.

In 2019 Joe McBryan sold several DC-3 airframes to Basler in Oshkosh but he hung on to the rare DC-3-DST!

C-GBAJ, Tanker 14

The career of this propliner got under way when Douglas C-54E c/n 27328 (linenumber 274) was delivered to the USAAF as 44-9102 on 26Apr45; it was transferred to the US Navy (BuNo 90402) that same date and it was converted to C-45R.
During 1970 it was stored in the well-known storage yards of Davis-Monthan AFB, in de Arizona desert.
Aero Union Corporation bought it on 13Dec74 and completed a makeover to Tanker 14, tailnumber N62297.
During the early-1990s it was put up for sale, but continued to operate for Aero union and fight large forest fires.
During the winter of 2001/02 the tanksystem was modified, replacing the 1980s technology 8-door system with the RADS-II computer-controlled 12-door type (N62297 was the last Aero Union airtanker requiring this modification).
And then Aero Union cleaned out these Douglas DC-4's...
N62297 was bought by Buffalo Airways, registering C-GBAJ on 15Dec05.
Dirk Septer came across Tanker 14 at Hay River, evidently stored.

As one can see underneath the aircraft, the tank (the socalled "million-dollar-tank") was not included in the deal.
This winter it is expected to be ferried to either Hay River (also a Buffalo Airways base, but mainly for storage) or Yellowknife (main operating base but also with maintenance facilities) and be converted to airtanker again (with a conventional 8-door tank).
It should be ready, in Buffalo Airways livery, in time for the 2007 firefighting season.

Tailnumber C-GBAJ has been painted on rather crudely and its days in the well-known Aero Union colours
are almost over.

Sitting in metallic finish and most parts missing is C-FFAY; this is a C-47 with c/n 4785.

This C-47 Skytrain wore the following talnumbers in its past career: 41-18624 (USAAF), NC57540 (Compagnia Bananera de Costa Rica, San Jose,Costa Rica, 1953), YV-C-AVB (Avensa, 1957), YV-C-LBE (LEBCA), YV-C-TCB (Transcarga, 1969), N47218 (Aero American Corp., 1971) and CF-FAY (Astro Aviation of Red Deer,ALB reg'd 29Nov72).
As CF-FAY it was also registered to Sterling Air Services (Red Deer, 1972), Lambair Ltd (1973) and as C-FFAY it was reregistered in 1975.
It continued after an unactive period, with Perimeter Airlines (1981) and in 1990 to David E.Knox (trading as Knox Air Service of Carberry,MAN.) registering on 30May90.
C-FFAY was registered on 09Feb95 to Buffalo Airways.

Sean Keating sent me a 1989 photo of C-FFAY, operated by Perimeter Airlines:look HERE...
In 2018 it was sold, together with a number of other Buffalo DC-3's, to Basler Turbo Conversions. Before it left Red Deer I photographed it there on 30Sep19: RED DEER 2019.

Bernd Krueger wrote me 31Dec23 with this photo and added: "I came across your site while looking for information on an aircraft I photographed in Oct/Nov 1974 in Thompson, Manitoba. It belonged to Jack Lamb at the time. Thought you might like to see it."

Bernd: "I have no information on the other DC-3s in the photo, I did not write down reg. numbers, but only
recently started looking up aircraft histories if I could make out the registration in the photos. But it would
be one of only 5 other DC-3s that Lambair owned. You can see the list at www.lambair.com/page28/page39/index.html"

I cropped above photo to make the reg clearly readable, as well as the 'Lambair Canada' titles.

Webmaster: don't forget to look at my Red Deer 2019 report where I photographed it on 30Sep19.

The tailnumber C-FYQG is hardly visible anymore; it is a former Navy R4D-1 with c/n 4654. But there was more!

This ('Ready For Duty') R4D-1 was delivered to the USMC (MAW-1) on D28Aug42; it served with VMJ-152 and VMJ-253.
Its military career ended in 1946 and as NC62001 it became registered to Crane Co. in 1951. Later, at some unspecified date) it became N99U for the Beldex Corporation, again later solde to John F.Oster Manufacturing Company of Pittsburgh in June 1963.
It crossed the border into Canada for Ontario Central Air Lines as CF-YQG (21Jul69); it was reregistered as C-FYQG in 1980.
'YQG was bought by Nunasi-Central Airlines Ltd, registered on 26Jun84 and cancelled 09Oct96.
Note: it has panoramic windows! And the wings are square tipped!

Upon a REVISIT IN 2007 I found the Douglas DC-3's had been moved about and hangar cleaned up.

Registered 17Sep18 as N856RB for Basler Turbo Conversions, part of large group of Buffalo's airframes at Red Deer sold to Basler. These also included C-FFAY, -FJWP -FDTB, -GCXD and -FDTH.

UPDATE APR.2024: "The Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina) has ordered two Basler BT-67 Conversions. According to an April 19, 2024 article in the Dutch Aviation Society's on-line magazine Scramble, Argentina is currently negotiating for the purchase of conversion #070, ex N856RB/C-FYQG, which was slated for an operator that since has gone bankrupt." www.proplinerinfoexchange.com (DC-3_news #APR26-2024)

UPDATE JUN.2024: First post conversion flight 23May24, @Oshkosh.

UPDATE MAR.2025 (Scramble.nl): "Basler Turbo Conversions. Last month we reported on two deliveries on one day on 23 January, to Tullahoma (TN). On 13 February the next Basler Project (#70) was also delivered to Tullahoma (TN). This airframe was also delivered in an anonymous grey color. Ex Nunasi Central Airlines CF-YQG. Two days later it was registered to a company called Cognisphere LLC."

Joe McBryan's love for vintage airliners, such as the Douglas DC-3, is legendary!
That is why I was not surprised to find 2 DC-3's stored in the hangar, plus a huge selection of spare parts.
First we walk around C-FDTH...

Plenty of props too!

Inside DC-3 C-FDTH

C-FDTH featured in a few early Plane Savers videos on YouTube, dispensing parts
for the resurrection of C-FDTD in time for D-Day's 75th anniversary.

C-FDTB can be read on this Douglas C-47, stored in the back of this hangar.
If you want to buy it, don't expect it to get rolled out for better few, in a matter of minutes...
The c/n of this "DC-3C-S1C3G" is 12597 and it was manufactured in 1943. Afaik it was sold to Basler in 2019.

Joe McBryan, 'head honcho' of Buffalo Airways, also has a keen interest in vintage cars: 

DC-3 C-FDTB was registered to Buffalo Airways on 09Feb95.

Delivered as 42-92761, it went to Canada as KG485 for the RCAF, on 10Mar44.
It became CF-TEC for Trans Canada, marked '76' and later '376' (delivery 16May46).
It became CF-DTB for the Department of Transport on 19Mar58, later revised to C-FDTB in 1975.

UPDATE: In 2018 'DTB was purchased by Basler Turbo Conversions and reg'd N856KB (18Sep18). On the Plane Savers vlog (YouTube) in winter 2018 we can see how 'DTB is still used as a mirror image for restoring a D-Day vintage DC-3: PH-DTD. These planes (as is 'DTH) are identical with the same modifications on the engines.

A Beech 18 here with its identity in doubt: is it CF-QMF? Identified as c/n CA-226. Or is it?

I noticed this Beech 18 in the back of the hangar but there was so much clutter around, I did not investigate further.
Aad van der Voet (of OldWings.nl) offered help in identifying it:
"I was at Red Deer on 02Jun06 and saw the same Beech 18 there in the Buffalo hangar. Rear fuselage was stripped of all paint (except for the door), but the forward fuselage still had the remains of a white colour scheme with a thin blue cheatline. It's under restoration, outer wings were separate, no engines.
With some effort I managed to get closer and inspected the data plate. It is msn CA-226 and it still carried its former RCAF serial '1503' on the fin."
Later Aad added: "The identification plates of this plane were found in about the usual place on the rear fuselage. These identify this aircraft as CA-226. Perhaps the other numbers and conversion info shown here may also help to solve a bit of a mystery, as the airframe also carried '1503' and is supposed to be c/n CA-103...
Perhaps identifications were compromised way back in the early 1970s?"

Bob Parmerter, author of "Beech 18, A Civil and Military History", had this to say: "I too doubt the CA-226 identity since the Buffalo Airways hangar photo paintscheme looks just like a May72 slide of CF-QMF... John Hume contacted Joe McBryan of Buffalo Airways last year, and he says that "..it is CF-QMF that is in his hangar. He also notes that he & David From were the only two to have flown it since RCAF release (about 1,300 hrs)."
"The FAA file shows that CA-226 had a cargo door installed in Nov74 while the Buffalo Airways a/c seems to have a standard oval cabin pax door. The vertical stabilizer with RCAF 1503 on it could have come from A-703 N3126B since the etched 1503 could show up on the bare metal tail after paint was removed."
"I don't know anything about the whereabouts of A-703 after 1970. It is common to interchange the vertical & horizontal stabilizers and even the outer wings on Beech 18s, esspecially after accidents such as the one CF-QMF had..."
John Hume also contacted the curator at the Aerospace Museum of Calgary who notes that they have nothing to do with CF-QMF.

Buffalo Airways' Beechcraft 95 C-GYFM, Canso Air Tanker Birddog.
So how does this work: does a leadplane gets retired when the planes it has lead (Catalina's) go into retirement ???

You may want to check out Mikey McBryan's Plane Savers video (Episode 77, 19Mar19) where he walks around Red Deer, he and his father Joe McBryan take the viewers on a grand tour over the airport here.

C-FPQM is Canso PBY-5A c/n CV-425.

The days of these flying boats working as Airtankers, fighting the large forest fires, are over; their role have been taken over by (e.g.) other scoopers such as the Canadair CL-215 (becoming a classic in itself) and the CL-415.

The Consolidated Vultee PBY-5A, also known as the Canso, was originally designed and built for the military as a submarine patrol aircraft. It is fully amphibious, allowing it to take-off or land on ground or water, plus it had the ability to search the world’s oceans for enemy submarines for up to 18 (!) hours without refueling.
When these aircraft left military service, they were either used to carry passengers to/from water destinations, or were converted to the water bombing role... The addition of two 400-gallon water tanks and a water pickup probe permitted the Canso to scoop 800-gallon loads of water off a lake near the forest fire and drop the loads in very quick succession.
Buffalo Airways operated 4 such water bombers and retrofitted them with up-to-date technology in bombing- and computerized foam-injection systems. The Canso proved to be a very important resource for protecting the Northern forests.

C-FPQM is Canso PBY-5A c/n CV-425
More than 300 examples of the Catalina were built by Canadian Vickers and subsequently named named 'Canso'.

'MountainAven Protecting N.W.T. Beauty'

From World Catalina News, November 2017:

PBY-5A Catalina C-GFFC

I found on the Catalina Society News (Oct.2006 issue): "..despite Buffalo’s disposals, they acquired the former SLAFCO Catalina C-GFFC some time back and after remaining at its former base at Moses Lake,WA for some time, it was flown, date unknown, to Red Deer,ALB where it currently resides."

But the mecanic working on repairs here (damaged during a storm by ground equipment), was hired by a new owner and expected the Catalina to be ferried to the Eastcoast shortly (see below).

Catalina Society News (Feb07 issue) contained following info:
"On 31Oct06 reg C-GFFC was cancelled from the Canadian register upon sale to the USA although no US marks or its new owner are yet known. Prior to cancellation, it was ferried to a new home at Sanford,ME where it will be restored for new owner Jim Knowles. Part of the project will be to re-install blisters and bow turret although the latter is a long-term goal at present. Just after arrival at Sanford, it was hangared.
Its designation OA-10A is in real doubt as it is officially registered with the construction number ‘013’ which is not a ‘real’ Catalina c/n and it is usually also quoted as CV-483 which was a Canadian Vickers-built USAAF OA-10A, serial 44-33972, reportedly scrapped. It seems likely that some ‘creative paperwork’ by a post-war conversion company was responsible for the confused pedigree of this Cat and the real identity may never be known!"

C-GFFC

Firefoam 104

C-GFFC tanker 766

Some last repairs

In close up

North Star cockpit

Somewhat ashamed I must admit that I was preoccupied with making my way to the Reynolds Transportation Museum further up north, and I completely forgot to check for this North Star cockpit !! I knew it was lying around at the airport somewhere, but after my visit with Air Spray and Buffalo (and feeling the effect of a skipped lunch), I just drove off... But Arnold Begeman was more thorough and he photographed it on 25Jun06. It was a good thing he did, because when he checked again on 01Oct06... it was gone?!? Arnold returned to Red Deer in Jan.2007 and reported the cockpit back in position, apparently it had spent some time in Buffalo's hangar. Here is a photo which Arnold made in Jan.2007: Photo by Arnold Begeman

Fortunately I found an opportunity to revisit Red Deer in 2007 and that time I did not forget to photograph the Canadair North Star!

Noorduyn Norseman UC-64A CF-UUD, photo by Arnold Begeman

The Transport Canada website showed the info that it was registered to Glen Crandall on 02Jun93 and the last Certificate of Registration dates from 29May05. This plane was built in 1942.

Back to CANADA -2006-

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