After a friend and I went flying this morning, we were treated to a neat sight at the Spanish Fork-Springville Airport with a Douglas DC-3 parked on the ramp! Apparently, it made it's final flight yesterday from somewhere back east and is going to be re-purposed and re-located for permanent display as part of a children's playground. A crew was in the process of dismantling the aircraft by removing it's two functional Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines and replace them with non-airworthy ones (most likely for aesthetic purposes).
As cool of a sight it was, I was actually kind of saddened to hear that this old, venerable warbird would no longer fly. But that's the sad truth about the aviation industry: Like anything else, everything gets spent over time after much wear-and-tear, and airplanes are no exceptions as they all have a limited airframe life. I can take solace in knowing that the DC-3 my friend and I saw today will still be somewhat appreciated by generations to come as part of a unique display; we served as witnesses for a venerable warbird's "sunset" moments...
Preview:
 |
| Douglas C-47 (DC-3F) Skytrain (N8061A) parked on the ramp. Formerly with Jim Hankins Air Service, Inc. |
 |
| First delivered to the United States Army Air Force in 1942 as 41-18679. This beauty then went to Canada, where it was registered as CF-CPX, where it flew for Canadian Pacific Airlines from December 1945 until June 1969. During the 1970s, it flew for Harrison Air. In the 1980s, she was re-registered in the United States as N8061A and first flew for Salair. Eventually, this DC-3 made its way to Jim Hankins Air Service, Inc. until the company went bankrupt. A dignifying end now awaits this warbird as she will hopefully be appreciated by children and enthusiasts alike. |
No comments:
Post a Comment