Brian Donohue wrote me March 2009:
"I stumbled across your site when looking for Air Spray... I have some very fond memories of Air Spray aircraft!
Not that I have ever flown them, but the B-26's were a daily fixture during my flying training in the summer of 2006. I was earning my wings at Skywings through the Air Cadet program and obviously, the bombers were parked in their neat little line.
Towards the end of my course, one of the instructors got together with our commanding staff and talked to Air Spray. We gave one of the bombers a nice little photo op... I figured you'd like to see the results."

Air Spray at Red Deer on my website HERE (2006) and HERE (2007)

Jürgen Scherbarth sent me these photos in March 2009; he wrote:
"Another interesting development happens at Titusville,FL....
Long term resident Fairchild C-123K N4254H (painted as NX4254H respectively 603 from the former USAF Serial 54-0603) has been restored to flying condition and will shortly move up to Alaska after FAA Certification of Airworthness (still classified as 'Experimental' with Category 'Exhibition', must have not flown since at least 1991!!!) to serve with the new Owner COMPASS ROSE LLC, 6382 E BEECHCRAFT RD, WASILLA, ALASKA 99654-9367. " Date of photo 23Feb09.

54-603 C-123B NX4254H was reported enroute to Alaska at Columbus Metro Airport, Columbus, GA on 24Apr09.

This was posted on the WIX-forum in April 2009:
"54-0603, formerly known as "The Cat House" was privately owned and based at Titusville. The owner purchased it from us (Olympic Flight Museum) in Washington in 2003. We purchased it, along with several other planes from Wally Fisk in Anoka, MN around 2001. After being delivered to Florida, it only flew one more time before being put out to pasture and back up for sale. It was never owned by the Air America Foundation but the opposite has been commonly reported. The man that bought it from us was associatied with the Air America Foundation, but that is were their involvement ended.
The current owner purchased the plane and intended to fly it to Alaska. The man that sold it to him had let the plane go down hill after taking it to Florida. It really had some bad problems. An aborted test flight led to some very expensive maintenance and a long delay in time. The work was completed a few days ago and the plane is now heading to Alaska."

You'll find another photo of N4254H HERE, having completed the ferry flight Florida to Alaska, doing flight training at Palmer,AK.

C-47A ZK-BYF (c/n 20051), 21Feb09
At Gisborne for restoration by Gisborne Aircraft Preservation Society for static display at Gisborne Airport.
Date of photo 05Feb09.

Graeme also sent me photo in May 2007:
Guestphotos, page 8

Gary Hilton paid a visit to Vichy-Rolla, Missouri on 11Apr09, to get an update on the stored DC-3's there; these classic transports got a hammering by a violent storm january last year. Gary's photoreport (more than just these four), can be seen on the Warbird Information Exchange (WIX) forum. Gary also provided the following info.

1. DC-3-455 N486C (c/n 6325). Ex-American Airlines and ex C-49K, delivered 28Nov42 to the military until 19Jun45 when it was sold by RFC, to Eastern Airlines as NC19193, to Frontier, to Southern, to Zantop, to Capitol (ex/ N49F, N48UC, N486C Jan 64)
2. C-47 N19721. Since this one had its wings removed prior to the tornado, it suffered the least damage...
3. N47FJ c/n 9053. History: 42-32827, NC63800, N1623, N1823, CF-WCM, N90765.
4. N51938 c/n 25956. Ex/ FAA N25. The worst off of the lot... Still there in 2019! Rumor (FB, april 2019) has it that it has been sold and will be trucked to Michigan! See further down..

Photos of these aircraft also feature on my Guestphotos, page 11 INCLUDING 2021 UPDATE ON N486C !!!

Google Maps shows (april 2019) only 3 DC-3 wrecks remaining, all of them the wings attached. So N19721 may have moved elsewhere..? ATDB.aero has it as 'Derelict at FTW - Fort Worth Meacham Field, Texas.

May 2019 update, one Giacinto Lucci posted on FB's Aviation Wrecks & Relics: "Bought a relic the other day & started taking her apart. Old FAA calibration plane. Updates of her will be posted to (Facebook) Round Engine Aero. The fuselage is kinked in at least 3 places, and has some other damage, so we're turning it into a bus/RV. Usable parts to people flying them."
Photos shared on that post show N51938, ex FAA N25.

January 2020 update, shared on Facebook:

DC-3 N51938, some of it saved for posterity! [FB jan.2020]

Pekka Kauppi sent an update on his N90MA, which is destined to become the ultimate garden ornament...
Everytime I suggest something like that, my wife hits the speeddial for the divorcelawyer she has in mind for just such an occasion!
More on N90MA on Photos by Friends & Guests (17)

Pekka is looking for a com console with possible a Sperry A12 autopilot and all the Nav com's etc.
As the photo on the right.

Douglas DC 6 c/n 43124 was delivered to SAS as SE-BDF in June 1948 and named "Alvar Viking".
After a 6 month lease to Olympic Airways 1959 it was bought by Transair in January 1960 and was named "Knut Folke". The aircraft was also leased to the United Nations between October 1961 and June 1963.
After service by Transair, with the new name "Helsingborg", the aircraft was flown by Transavia Holland from July 1966 until April 1968. After that the aircraft took part in relief flights to war torn Biafra; at first it was leased by Nordchurchaid, then bought by Flughjalp and registered as TF-AAD.
At some later date it was declared w.f.u and stored at Prestwick, Scotland. It was finally broken up in 1984.

More photos by Ron Mak HERE..

The Lockheed Constellation, affectionately known as the "Connie", was a four-engine propeller-driven airliner built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in four models, all distinguished by a distinctive triple-tail design and graceful, dolphin-shaped fuselage. The Constellation was used as both a civilian airliner and U.S. military air transport plane
The Constellation was produced in both civil and military versions. The initial military versions carried the Lockheed designation of L-049; as World War II came to a close, some were completed as civil L-049 Constellations. The first purpose-built passenger Constellation was the more powerful L-649 and L-749, followed by the L-1049 Super Constellation and L-1649 Starliner. Military versions included the C-69 and C-121 for the Army Air Forces/Air Force and the R7O R7V-1 WV-1 (L-1049G) WV-2 (L-1049H) (nicknamed Willie Victor) and many variant EC-121 designations for the Navy. [Wikipedia]

Joop Vogelaar wrote me in March 2009:
"I was among some propliner enthusiasts, travelling to Alaska with the HAT organisation last year. While the information on your website was helpful in identifying many aircraft, I was unable to identify this C-46 nose...
I saw it on 02May08 at Fairbanks, in the Everts' storage yard.
Anyone who can identify it for me?"
Thanks, Joop (Zaandam.,NL)

Marty Hall identified it as the remains of N1663M; this C-46F c/n 22548 got shoved hard into a hangar during a mini-tornado down in Laredo,TX in 2003. Someone of Everts Air Cargo went down there, rented a chop saw and cut her up... A shame as she was a low time plane. Photos on A.net
N1663M on my website: Propliner by Ron Mak #3 (Texas, '92) and Blake's Classic Propliners (Alaska, '92)

During the search N1651M was suggested. I photographed c/n 22399 in 2003 with no.2 engine removed and it was reported during 2004 that the tailfin had been removed and I could find no photos googling after 2005.. But I was assured N1651M is still around and one day will fly again!

Photo by Joop Vogelaar of N1651M in 2008

See also my page: Propliners stored at Fairbanks, 2003

Michael Clayton forwarded me these photos by Carlos Abella in January 2009-
TC-37 in AMRIV / Argentina

Carlos had written: "Last Jan17th , I visited : Area Material Río Cuarto (website Museo Tecnologico Aeroespacial), in Cordoba province.
The Museum used to be closed on Saturdays, but people there helped me attend, to read Roll Out. So - I could enter! Lucky me..
I'm sending you some pictures of the C-47 TC-37 preserved there; it is undergoing a slow restoration.
As you can see, it has a special interior, with four seats, plus simple seats to carry troops
It was very hot inside, over 50º C!
The museum has all the components to restore this C-47. But it needs money...
There are also other planes. An MS760, a Douglas A-4, and an Aerocommander, etc."
Best regards,
Carlos Abella
Roll Out
http://aerospotter.blogspot.com

UPDATE (26Nov21): "First at all, I want to thank you for linking news from my blog.
About the TC-34, Javier Mosquera discovered that it was purchased by a particular fellow who pretends to build a motorhome or something similar. Mactrail company. On the left in the sidebar you can find a tool to translate the text.
Kind regards. https://aerospotter.blogspot.com/2021/03/acerca-del-tc-34".

"Aviation Museums and Collections of the Rest of the World" by Bob Ogden / Air-Britain (2008) shows this TC-37 to be c/n 20007, ex/ 43-15541, TA-07.

Dirk Septer sent me these images, writing:
"This was Amigo's Nomad C-GFOB, taken at Courtenay, BC"
"The Nomad is a converted PA-23 Aztec; Air Muskoka in Ontario, who holds the STC, does a number of conversions each year.
With a larger payload, it cruises 50 mph faster than the Beaver on the same amount of fuel/hr., with addtional safety of two engines."

Amigo Air ran between Nanaimo and Vancouver. The owner was Randy Hanna, who started with the Nomad and then got the Beech 18. Randy also owned and ran Hanna Air out of Vancouver, BC.
Both photos were taken at Amigo's Nanaimo floatplane base around 26Jan06, just days before they sold out to Seair.

And this was Amigo's 2nd aircraft, the Twin Beech (used in the making of the movie Godzilla), C-GGGF (cn CA-267).
The name on C-GGGF, which had been sitting as N1042H for a few years at Tyee Spit in Campbell River before Randy bought her, is "Kaneohe Beech". It was named after the lagoon in Hawaii, from which the former owner, Pat Magie, operated for 16 years.

Randy Hanna himself answered my post on the AvCanada forum:

"I started the company December 1999, operating in the gulf islands, similar MO to Hanna Air Services which was started in 1985 and sold in 1997. Hanna Air flew C150/C172/C180/C185/DHC2/H295 Helio Super Courier/Noorduyn Norseman floatplanes...

We, my wife Brenda and I, began Amigo with some simple Island skeds using a Stinson w/0470 on EDO 2440's to test some market ideas and resume scratching the itch, that often having an airline more than satisfies. Silly us.

Anyway, we suspended the OC during year 2000 and sold the Stinson, returned to work overseas for a year, and returned to Saltspring in March '01. Bought the Aztec Nomad GFOB, since also during 1999, I had been a demo pilot for the company (Aztec Nomad Inc) who does the conversions based in Muskoka Ontario. I had a demonstrator in B.C. in 1999, and sold myself on the high performance and low costs of the Nomad. So, I bought one. It went on-line and the OC resumed May 2001.

We re-positioned to Nanaimo in July 2001, to be nearer family. Of course everything went south on 911...

We nearly lost everything in the doldrums that followed. Not good at giving up, we dusted off old plans from '96, to create a route from Nanaimo Harbour to Vancouver Airport. We started the route December 12th, 2001 and it grew rapidly. It was about the same time Air Canada announced bankruptcy....

We enjoyed the business and it kept growing. We added the Beech 18 in 2003, C-GGGF, which had been in Alaska prior.

As company's go, we physically tired by late 2005, too big to be small, too small to be big. Another company purchased our operations and took over the interests during January 2006.

Amigo Airways Corp. reverted to its incorporation number of 578471 BC Ltd. The OC remains valid to date. What to do..

We decided that after the loss of a very close friend in the Grumman Goose crash late November 08 near Sechelt, and many others lost to accidents over my career.... that I would return to float training in my spare time, aside from my regular Twin Otter floatplane job.

It is my goal to try to ensure in the future that new and old float pilots learn from my past experience, learn from others mistakes.... learn to follow the safest path most often found in applying good old common sense, ....that events of last November and accidents that are preventable, can possibly be avoided by emphasizing during pilot training, that Safety is FIRST.If perhaps I could prevent one more accident from happening in the future, by training a pilot today to make safer decisions tomorow, it would give me great piece of mind.
The floatplane programs I offer and those to come, will focus on safety and its practical application in all areas of the floatplane industry.
I can always be reached through AvCanada and wish everyone a safe season."

Beech 18 C-GGGF on Airliners.net

Karl E.Hayes wrote an immaculate monograph on the DHC-3 Otter, depicting the individual histories of these fascinating bushplanes and I quote from his work the details of c/n 408-
"Otter 408 was delivered to the RCAF on 29th December 1960 with serial 9425. It was allocated to No.6 Repair Depot as a spare and put into storage at the Dunnville, Ontario depot. On 8th February 1962 it was assigned to 411 Squadron at Downsview, also used by 400 Squadron. It is mentioned in the 400 Squadron history during February 1963, flying to Lake Scugog with air cadets. On 6th September 1963 it was damaged in the course of a training detail from Downsview, flown by a 411 Squadron crew. Two of the Squadron's Otters were on a proficiency training trip. One landed successfully on a nine hundred foot grass strip some twenty miles from base and the pilot reported that the surface was satisfactory. The pilot of 9425 made one inspection pass of the field and landed. When he realised that he could not stop within the confines of the field, he cut fuel and switches. The Otter came to rest against a line of trees at the far end of the field. As the accident report summarised: “The pilots selected a field which was too small, with obstructions at the end, leaving no margin for error”.

Such was the damage sustained by 9425 that this crash marked the end of the aircraft's military career, after only eighteen months of active duty. It was taken to Dunnville for assessment by 6 Repair Depot, where it arrived on 18th September '63, but it remained in storage and a decision was made to dispose of the aircraft in October 1964. It was transferred to the Government of British Columbia, Department of Highways and after rebuild was registered to them as CF-BCG in April 1965, the BCG of the registration standing for BC Government. It was based at Victoria on Vancouver Island. There was a later change of registration to C-FBCG and operator to the BC Department of Commerce, Transport and Communications. The Otter was painted in an all-yellow scheme and remained in government service, flying throughout British Columbia, for eighteen years. It provided a full range of bush services to the government, including many wildlife surveys.

The Otter was sold to Burrard Air Ltd of Port Moody, BC and was registered to that company in February 1983. It was used by Burrard Air for more than three years on charters along the BC coast. In July 1986 it was sold to Red Baron Leasing Inc of Anchorage, Alaska who leased it to Sound Adventures Inc, based at Lake Hood in Anchorage, registered N666SA. In April 1988 it was sold back to Canada and reverted to C-FBCG, registered to its new owners, Aerokon Aviation Ltd of Whitehorse in the Yukon. Its period of operation was brief and it was destroyed in an accident on 29th May 1990 at Pelly Crossing, a First Nations settlement on the bank of the Pelly River, 282 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse. BCG was hauling fuel on the day of the accident. During climb out, the Otter lost power and settled into the trees. It crashed and burned, seriously injuring the two on board. The following year, Aerokon Aviation acquired Otter C-FODW (403) as a replacement."

Allen explains: "Attached find a scan of a photo I took of the original C-GIXZ, shortly after the 1982 Shamattawa incident referred to by Alexandre Avrane...[see link below -Webmaster]. The starboard maingear ran into the ditch and culvert that ran parallel to the runway, seen under the starboard wingtip and tore the main gear attachments off the spar! 'IXZ came to rest on the taxiway to the Shamattawa apron area. This C-GIXZ was scavenged and scrapped in Shamattawa. The second 'IXZ was wrecked in Kenya, at Lokichoggio."

More on this subject on my page Abandoned Wrecks of the North..

Jürgen Scherbarth sent me this image in March 2009, he added:
"..just returned from a short trip to Florida and Georgia.
Former Calhoun,GA and Rome,GA R4D-5 N47060 (ex BU39095 and 43-9095) c/n 19066 was delivered 11-9-43 (data checked on plates), converted to DC-3 by World Aircraft Museum Inc. Po Box 368, Belwood Road SE, Calhoun,GA 30701 on 29.01.1982...
It has recently made its way to Thomaston,GA with at the controls the one-and-only Mr. McSwiggan himself!
The aircraft is now under slow restoration to standard FAA 135 certificate conditions. The interior still contains US Military VIP Configuration (5 rows with 3 seats each and a toilet in the back) for the Illinois owner."

On the FAA N-inquiry website I found N47060 registered to Northern Illinois Aircraft Museum Inc of Gilberts,IL on 13May03. Good to know work on it continues.

In 2001 I had come across this Classic Airliner at Rome,GA. See my report on the Deep South

In 2007 Aad van der Voet (of Oldwings.nl) wrote me this:
"N47060 was, and still is, owned by Mr. Chad Nobert Koppie from Gilberts,IL. He is a very active 69-year old retired airline pilot and he is also the man behind the Northern Illinois Aircraft Museum Inc., to which N47060 was registered on 13May03. The museum's address is the same as Mr. Koppie's home address".

Tor Welch appeared confused by the early history of this aircraft, he wrote on DC3 Yahoogroups in March 2009:
"Something appears to be wrong with the USAAF Serial number shown in your recent correspondence regarding the Navy R4D-5 BuNo 39095.
When I looked it up in Joe Baugher's Air Force List, there was no C-47 listed in that number block...
Then I the looked it up in the official Douglas Production List, and here is what is listed under c/n 19066:
19066   C-47A-65-DL   xxx   42-100603
DESIG.   R4D-5   (BuNo) 39095   43-9095, N47060   [MUSEUM]?
So.. it appears that the original USAAF Ser No. was 42-100603, but then a later number 43-9095 is shown.? This was perhaps a created (fake) number by a museum? Or maybe, after serving in the Navy, it was returned to the Air Force and renumbered? Highly unlikely, that!

Iain C. MacKay was able to paint the full picture:
c/n 19066 was assigned to the USAAF as 42-100603, but diverted to the Navy as Bu39095 in Nov 1943. After being stricken in April 1966 and stored at Davis-Monthan, it was transferred to the US Army Missile Command in April 1972 as "43-9095", a corruption of the Navy BuNo.!
Info from the Air-Britain publication, "DC-1, DC-2, DC-3 The First Seventy Years", published 2006.

N47060 ended up with Basler Turbo Conversion in Oshkosh,WI; see Ken Swartz' photos on Photos by Friends & Guests 36.

The exif data of these images dates them to Sept. 2008.
An earlier photo, which shows it as Spanish AF 22-24 in the hangar, is on Guestphotos Page 21 (by Haasnoot)

Ilyushin IL-18 of Tabso.
Iin the background: an Anglo Cargo BAC 1-11 Freighter on lease from Tarom, and at the far end also a Lockheed Constellation can be recognised by its sleek lines.

Soviet equity in TABSO was reacquired by the Bulgarian government in 1954 as part of the Soviet forces' withdrawal from Bulgaria. The airline was now simply known as 'Tabso': a brand name without any meaning which survived until 1967, often in the shadow of the headline phrase Bulgarian Air Transport. In 1956, Tabso bought its first Il-14 aircraft. In 1962, it began Il-18 services which, alongside the expansion of Bulgaria's inclusive-tour tourism industry, began to put the airline's name on the European and world map. The turboprop type overflew the Equator to Kenya and the Atlantic to Peru. By 1967, An-24s had arrived for domestic and regional flights.
In early 1968, Tabso was rebranded Balkan Bulgarian Airlines.
More on WIKIPEDIA