Photos © Ruud Leeuw
Photos © Ruud Leeuw
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While I had planned to travel north along the US westcoast, the longterm weather forecast made me change my mind; instead I went inland, to the southwest... I had a score to settle as I had travelled those parts before during the 1990s, but had very little interest in aviation history then. I would see plenty this time! The flight with Delta from Amsterdam via Cincinnati to San Francisco was minimal in terms of service and comfort, but that is what airtravel is these days if you don't fork out a fortune. When I arrived at SFO, it was overcast, windy and cold. But I got a nice upgrade from Alamo rentalcar so I was ready to roll... |
 The first stop the next day (May 11th) was a visit to the Oakland's Western Aerospace Museum a.k.a. (renamed) Oakland Aviation Museum. It was still cold and overcast. And I was the only visitor this morning, well, not counting my wife who bravely put up an interested face! The propliner remains above is of Douglas DC-6B N444SQ (c/n 45320); its previous identities were- N579, SU-ANO, 4W-ABF, OY-STT, SE-ENZ, N515TP. When Sis-Q Flying bought N515TP from Concare Aircraft Leasing Corp., and had it registered N444SQ in Mar75, it took on a career of aerial firefighting. Macavia Intl'l Corp. bought N444SQ in May85 and one can still see their markings. This Six was stored at Santa Rosa,CA and subsequently bought by T&G Aviation in Feb91 but ended up stored again, at their base in Chandler,AZ. Pacific Harbor Capital Inc bought N444SQ in Feb93 and sold it to Barron Thomas Aviation Inc. in Nov93, until 04Nov97 when Nighthawk Air System bought it (though it remained at Sta. Rosa). After having been stored for some 10 years at Sta. Rosa, it was broken up there (2001?). The front fuselage was moved to the Western Aerospace Museum. [Source: Piston Engined Airliner Production List, TAHS 2007] |
Another splendid aircraft on display is this unique Short S.43 Solent 3 (Seaford 1)...
"That Short Solent flying boat is owned by the owner of N43155, a Grumman HU-16 Albatross (you have that airplane listed on your website) which is parked on the Sonoma County Airport. Rick Grant, of Grant Engineering, Richmond, CA owns the Solent aircraft, along with his brother Randy. Rick still owns the HU-16 solely. The brother, Randy, had been a partner but is no longer. Rick and Randy had bought the Solent with the idea of flying it to the South Pacific... In the early 1970's Lloyd Hamilton, who had owned a Hawker Sea Fury FB 11 (also on the Sonoma County Airport) with a Bristol Centaurus sleeve valved engine, was familiar with the Bristol engines on the Solent. Lloyd inspected the airframe of the Solent at the request of Rick and Randy Grant. He told them there was no way this aircraft would fly to the South Pacific due to the vast amount of work that was needed to repair the corrosion throughout the airframe and getting parts for those Bristol engines...  This plane had been used in the opening scenes of the first Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. Rick and Randy then decided a Grumman HU-16 would be more better suited for South Pacific flights, as parts are readily available and they are a great flyer." |
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Previous identities of this L.10A (as provided by Ogden's Aviation Museums & Collections of North Roger Cain provided the following additional information: "the Lockheed at the newly renamed "Oakland Aviation Museum" had its landing gear loaned out to Linda Finch for her round the world flight, as you mentioned, and the gear was never returned. As you may ave seen, Linda and her husband had a number of legal battles going on a couple years back, and haven't heard much from them or the Lockheed in recent times." |
| Photos of aircraft present at the Western Aerospace Museum , click below image-  |
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It has since then moved on.. to Russia! |
My wife and I had been visiting Sequoia National Park and were heading for Highway 99, when my wife spotted this Herc on the side of the road, on Visalia Municipal Airport. In a reflex I pulled over and reached for my camera: on trips like these always within easy reach... Good thing there weren't any cops around as traffic was rushing past, but I managed to get this one without blurred cars zooming past. I had come across C-130A N531BA (c/n 3139) in May 1995 at Redmond,OR serving Butler Aviation. Tanker 67 was bought by TBM on 02Oct06 and registered on 09Nov06. While with the USAF it carried serial 56-0531. |
Now it was my turn to spot something unexpected... While driving south on Highway 99, near Tulare, I noticed this B-17 on the other side of the freeway, just in time to get the exit and cross to the other side.Here at Mefford Field is a memorial dedicated to the American Veterans of World War II from Tulare County. There are two planes, a B-17 and an F-4, on display. For my other photos at this location: CLICK HERE... |
 Further down along Highway 99, a little north of Bakersfield, one finds Shafter. Or Minter Airfield to be precise. I knew there was supposed to be a museum here, but I was rather more looking for a certain B-26C Invader... In the foreground one sees repairs ongoing on the electrical system of N97VR, a 1942 North American AT-6D Texan (or Harvard) with serial number 42-84680A (Source). N97VR was registered to Gaillard Aviation Corporation (a Delaware-registered company) on 27Mar06. This AT-6D was a bonus, but I had come to see the Invader which can be seen in the distance... MORE... |
| Day 4, May 13th, was another busy day. I had a quick look at Mojave Airport (we spent the night in this windy desert town), but since the 1990s a number of building have been added and a look at the ramp seemed impossible, so we quickly made tracks towards the destination of the morning: Lancaster-Fox Field. I had not arranged a visit, so I tried my luck ringing the bell. Unfortunately, a fire had broken out in the area and they were standing by for instructions and had no time to show me their airtanker aircraft. While the airport had grown since my last visit in 1997 or 1998, it was still possible to snap some pictures over the fence. |
 Lockheed SP-2H N355MA (c/n 7229) Minden Air |
 Lockheed SP-2H N4692A (c/n 7247) Minden Air |
In the end the windconditions at the fire prevented these Neptunes from going there; by that time I was having an excellent tour at the museum and my window of opportunity closed for these firefighters.  Lancaster-Fox Field's Milestones of Flight air museum |
| After lunch in the cosy cafetaria at Lancaster-Fox Field, we headed down for Los Angeles, circling the mountains on an easterly course. While driving we saw the fire, at Mount Baldy, which had prevented me from visiting the air tanker base earlier. |
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Leaving Lake Elsinore I had a quick stop at Perris,CA to see what was happening at the para club here.
deHavilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter N708PV (c/n 489) shows the big door to jump from. N708PV was registered to PM Leasing Inc. of Perris,CA on 02Feb96. |
 Reading last instructions.. . |
 DHC-6 N64150 (c/n 150) PM Leasing Inc, Perris,CA R01Nov94 |
 Short SC.7 Skyvan N4NE (c/n SH.1885) PM Leasing Inc, Perris,CA R02Aug94. See also on Ken Swartz's gallery, march 2020 |
 Dc-9-21 N127NK, reg'd to Bennie E. Conatser of Perris,CA on 09Dec03. |
 From Perris we drove to Hemet-Ryan Airport (KHMT). It is always a pleasure to visit these airtanker guys, because they are friendly and hospitable (provided they are not on alert of course). The CDF people proved to be no exception and Erik showed me around, CLICK HERE.. |
N62936 is a Beech D18S (CA-38), registered in 21Feb08 to Prop & Jet Air Museum (Riverside,CA).It features splendid nose art: 'Sweet Dreams'. Some close ups of this 'Mini DC-3' on the presentation at the bottom of this page. I also met Douglas 'Doug' Medore, who was getting his hands dirty on some small engine and showed me his collection. MORE OF PROP & JET AIR MUSEUM |
When we left Hemet-Ryan Airport that should have been it for the day. No more planes. The remaining afternoon was planned for a scenic route to final destination Lake Havasu City (and maybe to Kingman the next day). But the weather forecast was 'dangerously hot' for that part of the world and we decided to head for Blythe where we would nightstop. The good news was I had time to squeeze in one more air museum... |
Through the desert of western Arizona we drove to Tucson. Various locations have propliners here, though I found them all inactive.One sure place to call upon is the airfield on the Avra Valley road: Marana Northwest Regional Airport. For a report, visit the page of the propliners of Maricopa Aircraft Service. You'll see aircraft of ATW Aviation as well. |
 Next stop is Ryan Field, along Highway 86 some 70 kilometers west of Tucson. |
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Tanker 152 (below left) is Douglas C-54D N9015Q (c/n 22178). It was delivered to the USAAF in 1945 with serial 43-17228. It served until 1960 when it was stored. As N9015Q it was registered to EMI Services on 28Dec78 and seized by US Dept of Justice in Aug79. It has been operating for ARDCO since early-1980s. In March 2007 it was reported as sold to Air Elite LLC but perhaps this fell through. Its tank has been removed so it is no longer an airtanker. UPDATE: N9015Q flew on 17Mar12 KBTR-KOPF (recorded on Flightaware.com). |
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| Tanker 151 is Douglas C-54E N460WA (c/n 27359/305) and is equally for sale (2006 total 23.382 airframe and price $200.000). UPDATE: Carlos Gomez of Florida Air Transport bought N460WA and this Douglas C-54E was ferried via Gulfport-Biloxi IAP on 04Feb2010 to Opa Locka (KOPF) near Miami,FL. And indeed the career of N460WA found a new chapter. John Vogel wrote me a nice update with images taken in 2002, 2003, 2013 and 2014! See Photos by Friends & Guests (43). On Sean Keating's gallery on my website I have photos of N460WA (23Jan2020) showing a very different appearance! |
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One book I hugely enjoyed reading during this trip was in fact Bill's book "Surplus WWII U.S. Aircraft" (ISBN 978-0-9655730-6-1): fantastic photography and magnificent registration of a bygone era plus a great inspiration to any aviation photographer!  In 2026 read of his passing: "William T. Larkins passed away in 2021, at the age of 99." Regret we did not come to meeting but my travel plans 2008 had changed and could not contact him in time. "..the passing of William T. Larkins, 1922 - 2021, the last of the great vintage aviation photographers and historians from the early days, he will be missed by many."  aahs-online.centennialofflight.net/pubs/articles/50years eastbayhillsproject.org/photographer/william-t-larkins/ |
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On the friday and saturday I had a few hours to seek out some of the Salvage Yards in Tucson,AZ |
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This Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar N13743 is part of a line up dedicated to aerial firefighters. |
| We had reached our point of return and now started a northerly course. We left Tucson for Phoenix, but stopping en route for a quick visit to the remote airfield of Coolidge. Sunday 18May08. This is the home of International Air Response (formerly T&G Aviation), |
Phoenix has a lot of airfields in and around town; they vary in size and operations. This is Chandler Municipal Airport, which sits slightly south of town.I walked in here because I thought I could use a lunch here but they had just closed. So, instead, I took some pictures of a few interesting airplanes. N62712 is a Piper PA-18-150 (c/n 18-7809105), registered to Chandler Air Service since 14Apr03 and was manufactured in 1978. Behind it sits N3810F, a Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 (c/n 0778), also registered to Chandler Air Service 9since 09Jul02). Great Lakes Aircraft Company on Wikipedia |
 N83447 is a Piper PA-18-150 'Super Cub' (c/n 18-7609138), registered to Chandler Air Service on 18Dec07. The Piper PA-18 'Super Cub' is a two-seat, single-engine airplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the Piper PA-11, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930's. In close to 40 years of production, over 9,000 were built. |
N11NW is a Republic RC-3 'SeaBee', a remarkable aircraft indeed.It was registered to Louis B. Hudgin of Gilbert,AZ on 17Mar92. You may have seen it before: an RC-3 Seabee appears in the movie 'The Man With The Golden Gun' taking James Bond (Roger Moore) to the island where his enemy Scaramanga lives. The aircraft is destroyed in the film... I had come across the SeaBee before, at Sioux Lookout last year, and more details about the SeaBee can be read THERE... |
 I thought this Twin Beech was N25W, but that tailnumber seems to belong to a Hawker 800XP jet... |
Update jan.2011: "Grant F. King passed away, new owner is pending." |
| Actually, I thought to find stored propliners here, but found a very tidy regional airport which did not match the background of photos I had seen. I had Chandler Municipal Airport (KCHD) confused with Chandler - Gila River Memorial Airport (34AZ)... Better leave that for tomorrow then! We had a terrific sunday lunch at Texas Roadhouse and found a Quality Inn; we were in a hurryto get out of the heat, into the the pool, aaaaaaaaahhhhh!!  |
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| After a refreshing and relaxing time at the poolside, we drove into town. Before visiting relatives, I told my wife, I just quickly had to go and see someone... We briefly visited Danny and his family, as since I had learned the year before what he had done (only the dream of probably every aviation enthusiast: get an actual plane into his yard!), I just had to meet this guy. The visit was brief but very rewarding. |
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| Douglas C-54Q c/n 10854 has an interesting history, both concerning its active history as well as how it got here! Purchasing this forward fuselage did not go without complications but former and present owner have reached an agreement, I am happy to report. N44915 is also somewhat of a famous aircraft... It is R5D-3 / C-54Q "Carole Jeune", which flew with the US Navy unit VX-6 for use in the famous "Deep Freeze"-operations in Antarctica. And it was the first aircraft to land in Antarctica on wheels! This particular aircraft, then registered 56528, participated from the earliest beginnings of the project in 1955, until it was retired at Litchfield Park, AZ in Dec64. Extensive coverage of its history can be found on Page 11, Photos by Friends & Guests. Note below, the 2 photos on the right, panels for the crews to plug into, to stay warm in Arctic conditions as well as to keep the equipment going. |
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 I finally got to Chandler (Gila River) Memorial Airfield... The next day, with Danny's directions, I found it quite easily. The propliner community, present in considerable numbers since the 1980s, are disappearing here fast and I am glad I found an opportunity to visit. SEE MY REPORT. |
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See my revisit to Goodyear and the area in Oct.2017 |
 There seems to be no shortage of interesting airports in the Phoenix area; one very interesting airport is Mesa's Falcon Field Airport which has a considerable selection of propliners present, in active status, in museum preservation of stored.CLICK HERE FOR MY REPORT |
 Tuesday 20May08 we headed north, to Sedona. But... I noticed we were going to drive past Deer Valley airport and knew there was a Fairchild C-123 Provider stored here. And indeed, amidst 'WIP' (work in progress) sat C-123K Provider N123K (msn 20014 ex 54-0565). '40565' was purchased in 2003 by All West Freight. It needed its fuel bladders replaced and delivery to its new home in Alaska has been postponed to 2006, to 2007, to ..? but it is still being worked on at its old homebase at Deer Valley Airport near Phoenix, Arizona. When Bill bought it, N123K hadn't flown for several years.. It probably hasn't flown since previous owner Thunderbird Aviation sold it in January 1998 ! More about All West Freight on OldWings.nl |
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In 2014 I came across it once more and was glad to see it had found a new home at Arlington,WA. |
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 In Sedona the weather turned.. From blistering heat we went to cloudy skies & fierce winds. I had booked a short scenic flight in this WACO YMF N196RB (c/n F5C-071) but it was cancelled due to high winds. The next day, after waiting and some discussion, I got my flight after all. An open cockpit is exciting! |
True vintage airliners decorate the tarmac here at Valle,AZ.In the foreground is Martin 404 N636X (c/n 14135) and further down is N240HH, which is a Convair CV240 c/n 47 in Western AL livery. SEE MY VALLE,AZ REPORT. |
What does one do on a miserable day in Salt Lake City? Well, visit the Hill Aerospace Museum of course!Click on the image to go to the photopage. |
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Images by Nick Taylor in Feb.2015 can be found on Photos by Friends & Guests (41). |
| Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II, it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews before being deployed to the European and Pacific Theaters. It was also the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29 unit which dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. A museum is being set up, www.wendoverairbase.com  The training of B-29 aircrews and the testing of prototype atom bombs was the last major contribution of Wendover Field during World War II. After the end of the war with Japan, some crew training continued, but at a reduced level. For a while, B-29s were stored there. In the summer of 1946 the Ogden Air Technical Service Command assumed jurisdiction over all operations at Wendover Field except engineering and technical projects. Transferred to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1947, Wendover was used by bombardment groups deploying on maneuvers. With the establishment of the U.S. Air Force as an independent service, the installation was renamed Wendover Air Force Base in 1947, inactivated in 1949 and retained in a caretaker status. It was transferred to the Ogden Air Material Area at Hill AFB in 1950 and the range continued to be utilized for bombing and gunnery practice. By 1965, the airfield was closed. The non-flying components were inactivated in 1969 and the entire facility declared surplus in 1976. In July 1975, the base was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1977, the government deeded much of the airfield to the City of Wendover, to include the runways, taxiways, flight line, former hospital complex and hangars. Some acres, including the radar site, were retained by the military. Beginning in 1980 the 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag), Nellis AFB, Nevada, used Wendover for exercises, but they were discontinued after 1986. [Source: Wikipedia] |
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David Schmitt saw N5216R in the same position, in May 2010, awaiting an uncertain future. Max
wrote me in Feb.2014: Raymond Meyer of the Aerospace Museum of California (in McClellan,CA; site of the closed/former McClellan AFB) wrote me in July 2017 The C-119, with Jet pod 137, is still there. It is not NMUSAF property and you have a better handle on its ownership, if any!" In Sep.2017 T received following update from a Lander County (NV) official: Two guys got together, started this website in 2017 rollingboxcar.com/ with hopes getting the money together to move N5216R to Alaska and put it on wheels. |
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 The last visit to a major 'propliner place' was to Santa Rosa's Charles M. Schulz / Sonoma County Airport (KSTS). It has a fair sized museum and quite a few propliners stored. SEE MY REPORT. |
 On our way to San Francisco, for our flight home the next day, I had one last final stop for a propliner: Schellville... About 10 years ago I saw a DC-3 here and while N139D had gone the PV-2 Harpoon N10PV (c/n 15-1182) was still here.. |
Actually, the tailnumber on the aircraft reads NL10PV.. |
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| Well, it's been fun... And exhaustive, rewarding, entertaining, educational, inspirational !
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ARDCO for Aerial firefighting...
