Tag Archives: dc-3

The KF Centre of Excellence

Usually, when I go somewhere new, I have done some research on what aviation related things might be in the area should there happen to be any spare time to squeeze something in.  I had actually been checking out the layout of the airport at Kelowna before our trip since I knew that Kelowna Flightcraft had their operations and there was an Alaska Airlines paint facility.  I figured it would be worth a drive by if time allowed.

As it turned out, our planned hike got scrubbed because the snow made access to the trail, we intended to try impossible for our not off-road optimized car.  We were looking for something else to do and I asked Nancy is a quick drive by at the airport would be possible.  With nothing else in mind, so generously acquiesced.  We drove up the west side of the airport and passed a pair of Convairs up a side road with a sign saying Open to the Public.

I had no idea what this could be but, when we came back, we drove up to take a look.  Much to my surprise (and Nancy’s bemusement that I didn’t already know), we were at the KF Centre of Excellence.  This is a new museum that the owner(?) of Kelowna Flightcraft has established.  The building itself is a lovely structure.  It is loosely designed to resemble the layout of a plane with a central fuselage element and two wings which are hangars.  The external styling is very nice, and the interior is tastefully finished with lots of wood.  We paid to have a look around with the front desk being a converted nacelle.  (Much of the furnishing is aviation components that have been repurposed.  An office desk from a tailplane, nacelles that have been modified and the café seating is all old business class seats.

The center section of the museum has a lot of exhibits about flying including engines, fuselage components and even an old simulator.  It is quite informative and educational.  We enjoyed looking around.  Then it was to the hangars.  One has a Second World War vintage to it.  The largest item was a DC-3 but it was probably the least exciting.  Alongside it was a Mosquito that had only recently been flown in.  Beside that is a Hawker Tempest which is in an advanced state of restoration to flightworthy condition.  It may well be the only Tempest I have seen.  I’m not sure if I have ever seen one before.

Across to the other side and things are still quite empty.  Clearly there are plans to add more aircraft in due course.  A Staggerwing and a few floatplanes are in place but the two-seat F-104 Starfighter is definitely the most exotic.  It was airworthy until relatively recently.  Sadly, it is rather tight to the wall which made getting shots from different angles tricky.  Still cool to see it though.

I had no idea about the museum.  I had heard something about the Mosquito flying out of Vancouver to a new owner but hadn’t really pieced together what was going on so didn’t realize it was Kelowna.  The whole thing was quite a surprise.  Finding such a collection and in such a lovely building was a shock.  Oh yes, parked out front were two Convairs.  One was the old Honeywell testbed that I have shot prior to its retirement and the other is a retired water bomber.  How cool.  (As an aside, the Honeywell 757 testbed was just down the road undergoing some maintenance work.)

Newly Arrived Dak

I heard that a DC-3 had arrived at Arlington.  It was a plane that had been with Air Atlantique in the UK for many years and was familiar to a friend of mine that had worked there a while back.  I am not sure if I had seen it in the UK or not but had definitely seen shots of it.  It came in during the week and was parked on the ramp at Arlington over the holiday weekend.  Unfortunately, the weather was not great.  However, with nothing much else to do, I figured I would head up and see it.

The rain was pouring down as I left home but it was actually drier and even with a hint of light up in Arlington when I arrived.  Even so, the conditions were not great.  However, the clouds, while plentiful, did seem to provide some interest to the sky.  Consequently, I went with HDR to try and make the best of the conditions.

I am not sure what the plans are for the plane and whether it will remain in its old RAF colors as a Dakota rather than a DC-3 or C-47.  We shall see.  Hopefully it stays in the area and I’ll get to see it flying.

Basler BT-67

Making a cross country flight from Wisconsin to Washington is a long enough trip but it is even longer if you are in something that isn’t too speedy.  A DC-3 is not something that is going to cover the ground that fast.  It will be a bit quicker if it has been re-engined with a turboprop but, even then, it is going to be a long trip.  I think it was the best part of eight hours to make the journey and then overnight at Seattle before continuing on to Alaska the next day.

The arrival of the BT-67 certainly got the attention of a few local photographers.  Sadly, things got a bit cloudy just as it arrived so the conditions were not ideal.  It was still cool to get a shot, of course.  Fortunately, they had parked near the Museum of Flight so I was able to get a few shots of them parked up.  The crew were just closing up so the gate to the ramp was open for them and a kind security guard allowed me to shoot past him without having to deal with the fence.

A Turbo DC-3 From Oshkosh

My cloudy Sunday afternoon included a bonus visitor.  I saw that a turbo DC-3 was heading this way.  Initial estimates had it coming in quite late but they were making good progress and would be in while I was there.  The turboprop conversion means a better cruise speed on a long cross country and, since this flight was direct from Oshkosh, it was a pretty long trip.

I have shot plenty of DC-3s over the years but I don’t think too many of them have been turbine conversions.  This was a nice surprise.  It didn’t hurt that the weather was steadily improving during the afternoon and a hint of sun was showing up by the time it arrived.  That hint wasn’t quite as strong as I would have liked but it was okay.  I also got to see it on the ramp when it parked up near the Museum of Flight.  I think Basler has a base at Oshkosh and, since they do the conversions of DC-3s to turbine power (along with a small fuselage stretch I think), I guess this must be one of theirs.

A Pair of Douglas’s Finest

The Lyons Museum included a few larger types in the hangar.  At one end they had both a DC-3 and a C-47.  While notionally different types, they are in principle the same aircraft and one that Douglas churned out in huge numbers.  The DC-3 was configured in a slightly more comfortable way than the C-47 though.  Troop transport was not a luxury business.  Get as many people and bits to where you are going as you can.  The paying passengers were a more demanding crowd and the interior is designed to make them feel like they were being treated accordingly.  Either way, they are both great looking aircraft.

Santa Monica – The Friendly Airport

AU0E5737.jpgMy buddy Pete joined me for some fun in the LA area. Pete is a commercial pilot but any form of aviation appeals to him so we have a lot in common. We had a full day available to go exploring. One part of the day was allocated to a helicopter trip but the rest was open time for us. Our first stop was Santa Monica airport.

C59F0288.jpgI was introduced to this great place by another friend, Paul, who was, coincidentally, introduced to me by Pete. It is a short distance north of LAX but is the total opposite. Santa Monica accommodates everything from light sport aircraft to some pretty substantial corporate jets. What it also accommodates is visitors. A nice terrace area is laid out at the terminal building providing a great spot to watch operations with the runway only a short distance away.

C59F0230.jpgThe tower frequency is piped to the terrace so you know what is going on. There are vending machines and bathrooms to cover both ends of the spectrum and, in the past, I have seen the airport police officers handing out stickers to kids. The place is so welcoming you see lots of parents show up with their kids to watch the planes. As a UK based pilot, Pete found this to be an amazing improvement on his usual experiences at small airports.

C59F0155.jpgI didn’t actually take my camera initially. I wasn’t sure how long we would be there. As it turned out a couple of cool jets including a nice Gulfstream came in while I was cameraless. No matter. I did get it after a while and got a few shots of traffic before our plans took us onward. Before we left, we did walk across the road to the Museum of Flying. Santa Monica was the home of Douglas Aircraft for many years. The museum was sadly closed when we were there but there was a nice DC-3 on a pole along with an A-4 and an F-86 so something nice to see.

DC-3 City of Tillamook

C59F7996.jpgThe Erickson collection did not used to be based in Madras. For many years the aircraft were part of the museum at Tillamook. The old airship hangars at Tillamook were their home. While most of the planes have now moved, one of them still bears a name indicative of its past. This is the Douglas DC-3 named City of Tillamook.

C59F8169.jpgThe aircraft sat on the ramp outside the museum hangar for the duration of my visit. The first evening we were there we had time to stroll around the ramp as the sun set. This resulted in some lovely lighting conditions. It was fun to see the DC-3 in close proximity to some later Douglas products. They shall be the subject of a later post.

C59F8000.jpg

DC-3 Gathering

C59F1987.jpgI have occasionally stumbled on to events that I really should have known about. One such time was a gathering of DC-3s that took place at Rock Falls in Illinois. About 90 minutes from Chicago, this was something I should have known about but didn’t. My friend Paul Filmer apparently knew because he was there. I only found out about it when I heard he had arrived. I already had plans so figured I wouldn’t go. I had arranged to shoot some motorbike riders off-roading in an area not so far away. As it happened, one of the riders was also an autogyro pilot. When we wrapped up the bike shoot, he asked if I wanted to go for a flight. Guess what my answer was.

IMG_8333.jpgWhile we were airborne, we came across one of the DC-3s flying in the local area. He asked if we wanted to follow it so we did. We had talked about heading to Rock Falls before we got airborne anyway. I had texted Paul to watch out for me arriving in a gyro and he thought I was kidding. Once we arrived in the pattern, he realized it was for real.

C59F2055.jpgI got a chance to get some shots of the arrayed Douglas planes as we made our approach. Then, once on the ground, we were able to wander through the ranks of planes. They were in varying conditions with some in pristine shape and others looking like they were after someone with some time and money to bring them back. A couple of the planes were for sale.

C59F1981.jpgIt was a fine collection of planes and, since Rock Falls is not terribly close to a major town, it wasn’t over crowded with visitors. There were plenty of people there but you were not fighting for space. I met up with Paul for a chat and took in all there was to see before my pilot decided it was a good time to head home. A pretty fortuitous turn of events since I had not thought I was going to see any of this when I got up that morning.

Decaying PV-2 and DC-3

wpid8428-C59F1005-Edit.jpgWhile Schellville has a great collection of vintage aircraft in operation, it also has a couple of large airframes that do not look like they are going anywhere in a hurry.  Parked near the runway are a DC-3 and the PV-2 Harpoon.  The DC-3 is a rare sub-type….

wpid8376-C59F0464.jpgThe PV-2 has apparently spent some time as a spraying aircraft and it has some Arizona logos on it from a previous existence.  It doesn’t have any doors on the bomb bay so I am assuming that these were removed as part of whatever conversion was done for the spraying role although that is just a guess.  Both of them are sitting out on the earth and, with the low sun angles you get at this time of year, they look particularly interesting.

wpid8380-C59F0468.jpgWe grabbed some shots of them both while keeping an eye out for any other interesting movements that the field would bring.