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Albatross in Cancun

Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:59 pm

I was on vacation in Cancun, Mexico this week. As we flew out today, I saw a couple of junked airliners (727 and something else I didn't recognize) parked with a couple of interesting airplanes. One was a DC-3. It was obvious that it had been sitting there for a very long time. The other was an Albatross in what appeared to be U.S. Navy markings. I got just a quick glimpse of it. It appeared to be in good condition. Anyone know the story on this bird?

Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:58 am

Possibly, the one here?

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/guestphotos-3.htm


Saludos,


Tulio

Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:50 am

It was there a year ago when we were there.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:28 pm

Tulio wrote:Possibly, the one here?

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/guestphotos-3.htm


Saludos,


Tulio


I wasn't able to see the tail number, but that sure looks like it.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:44 pm

Is this the one you are referring to?...

http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/LocationDos ... 417#TheMap

...you will need to click the Satellite button to see the image.

Was the Albatross on the same ramp or elsewhere at the airport?

Mike

Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:44 pm

mrhenniger wrote:Was the Albatross on the same ramp or elsewhere at the airport?
Mike



Yup, that's where it was.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:24 pm

That Grumman is the former World Traveler owned by the Proctors back in the 90's. Somewhere I have the video they made and sold of their trip around the world. That plane was probably the nicest flying RV around. We saw the plane at several airshows in SoCal back in the mid 90's when it was up for sale.

Les

Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:31 pm

BigGrey wrote:That Grumman is the former World Traveler owned by the Proctors back in the 90's. Somewhere I have the video they made and sold of their trip around the world. That plane was probably the nicest flying RV around. We saw the plane at several airshows in SoCal back in the mid 90's when it was up for sale.

Les


I used to live in SoCal. I remember that bird. One time they landed it in San Diego Bay. They anchored it in the harbor. I remember cruising around it in my boat. It was night time and the lights were on inside. I remember it looked just like an RV inside.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:20 pm

That Albatross has been in and around the Cancun / Cozumel area for many years now. Last time I saw her, parked on the ramp at Cancun, she looked like a real beauty. I have a photo of her that I shot when she was parked on the tiny airstrip on Isla Mujeres (which is a tiny island just north of Cancun). In fact, she was the only airplane there. Here's a scan of the old 35mm snapshot that I took:

Image

Kinikia and I will be in Cancun (actually Playa del Carmen) this weekend. Looking forward to getting a glance at the Albatross as our Aeromexico flight comes in to land.

Cheers!

Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:21 pm

As promised, here are some shots of the DC-3 and Albatross parked at Cancun International Airport. Sorry for the horrible picture quality. I shot them at extreme range, through a cloudy, scratched-up MD-87 window, using a little pocket camera. What you see here is the best I could do even with a lot of enhancement.

The DC-3 is definitely a derelict. It appears to be complete except for a missing rudder, but it's in very poor condition.

Image

The Albatross still looks nice, although it doesn't appear to have moved from that parking spot in at least a couple of years. Either that, or they park it in the same spot (on the "next stop, the scrap yard" ramp) at the end of each flight. It used to sit proudly on the GA ramp.

Image

Cheers!

??

Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:14 pm

I had both.
They were pretty cool folks and lived here in OR.
He also made a flight across Russia in a 185.
http://www.strangebirds.com/SB-videos_floatplanes.html

Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:13 pm

k5dh wrote:As promised, here are some shots of the DC-3 and Albatross parked at Cancun International Airport. Sorry for the horrible picture quality. I shot them at extreme range, through a cloudy, scratched-up MD-87 window, using a little pocket camera. What you see here is the best I could do even with a lot of enhancement.

The DC-3 is definitely a derelict. It appears to be complete except for a missing rudder, but it's in very poor condition.

Image

The Albatross still looks nice, although it doesn't appear to have moved from that parking spot in at least a couple of years. Either that, or they park it in the same spot (on the "next stop, the scrap yard" ramp) at the end of each flight. It used to sit proudly on the GA ramp.

Image

Cheers!



Thanks Dean for getting those photos. I hadn't been expecting to see anything interesting when we flew out and didn't have my camera out and ready to go when I saw those birds last week.
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