Warbird Information Exchange

Anyone like deHavilland Caribou? I shot the following pics at the Pen Turbo facility at Cape May County Airport, New Jersey, on Memorial Day 2012. Sorry they're not "Al Sauer" quality, but all I had was my little camera. It sure was sad to see those once-great aircraft corroding away in that harsh, salty climate. They're only a short distance inland from the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. I wonder how long they'll survive?

Long-distance shots from the airport perimeter fence:




The rest are a lot closer!

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

Very nice pictures Dean, I was there a few months ago but did not get any good pictures of the Caribou. Did you visit the NAS Wildwood museum too?

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

I'm a former Cape May County resident and used to have dinner theater down there in Erma. Them there Caribou have been there since at least Nov 2003. I think there is a legal issue surrounding them. And yes the salt air down there is epic. A girl I knew down there had the entire front subframe drop off a dodge Neon from corrosion and rust.

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Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

One of their turbine conversions was over in "an overseas combat theater" last year actually doing no kidding airdrops and off-field deliveries of troops and supplies. So, despite the ones in your photos wasting away, they are allowing others to be legitimate combat workhorses!

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Randy, what engines does that Moose have?

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TADan: Yep, Cindy and I spent an hour or so touring the Museum. I wish we'd had more time, but some is better than none. Nice place! I love the vintage wooden hangar. They have some really interesting displays and interactive things to do. I spent a few minutes flying the Corsair simulation. Fun! I guess if I have one complaint, it would be that there was NO ONE staffing the hangar other than the young lady in the gift shop running the cash register. I really wanted to get into the restoration shop and check out the Avenger they're restoring (in fire bomber clothes!) but there was literally no one around to even ask.

Randy: Glad to know that some of Pen Turbo's conversions are workin' for a living. I think the concept is great, and I'm surprised that there isn't more of a demand (or maybe there is, but no one has any money!). Nice photo, by the way.

Stoney: They have PT6A's. Full story here: http://penturbo.com/

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

For completeness they are (or were):
N51NC 261 ex-Spanish AF
N52NC 26 60-5435 then Spanish AF
N53NC 263 ex-Spanish AF
N54NC 49 62-2391 then Spanish AF
N55NC 61 61-2400 then Spanish AF
N56NC 133 62-4190 then Spanish AF
N57NC 72 61-2594 then Spanish AF
N58NC 302 Marked as N50NC ex-Kenya AF.
N82NC 259 ex-Spanish AF
N84NC 284 ex-Spanish AF
N86NC 286 ex-Spanish AF
N88NC 38 60-5444 then Spanish AF
N94NC 44 Ghana Air Force, N90568 Joseph Masin W. Germany, TR-LSJ Air Inter Gabon, C-GJLP La Sarre Air, N90568 Registered in Rodenkirchen, Germany
N95NC 135 62-4191 then Spanish AF
N128NC 28 Fuselage only, ex-Ghana AF, Indian AF
N131NC 131 Fuselage only, ex-Indian AF
N155NC 155 Fuselage only, ex-Indian AF
N162NC 162 Fuselage only, ex-Indian AF
N176NC 176 Fuselage only, ex-Indian AF
N181NC 181 Fuselage only, ex-Indian AF
N194NC 94 Fuselage only, ex-Ghana AF, Indian AF
N238PT 238 Turbo conversion ex-Kenya AF
N268NC 268 Fuselage only, ex-Indian AF
N300NC 303 ex-Kenya AF
N555NC 15 60-3764 then Spanish AF
N888NC 58 61-2398 then Spanish AF
N1017H 243 ex-Tanzania AF
N9013M 80 62-4145
N9016L 37 60-5443
N84893 282 ex-Abu Dhabi army

Also some which never made it out of AMARC:
N60NC 124 62-4182
N80NC 186 63-9739
N98NC 125 62-4183 marked as N43888 exUSDA.
N91NC 217 63-9755, N43891 USDA marked as 63-9755.
N43897 86 62-4150, USDA

And one which has escaped into the wild:
N600NC 237 ex-Kenya AF Palm Beach Aviation turbo conversion.

Twenty years ago I went to grad school in the Phoenix area. I'd be out at the apartment pool and every day at 4-5 pm, a Caribou would go into Sky Harbor from the south.
I was told it contained freshly assembled blue jeans ...it would take cut denim down in the morning and bring back blue jeans in the evening.

Don't now it that was true or not.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Those planes are SEXY,don't you think ?

Also,it's time for you to learn some other languages other than american english.

Cominciamo:quegli aeroplani sono belli,come tutti gli aerei,che sono fatti per volare.

OK:help needeed ?:that means,those planes are beutiful,like all aircraft are,for they were meant to fly.

Just joking,Francesco.

PT-6, although I don't know what version. Funny to think of those itty-bitty engines inside those huge cowls.

In talking to the crews, they said that there was lots of testing of different shapes of cowls, locations to mount the engines inside that area, etc, and strangely what they have was the best.

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A quick look at Google Earth shows 18 complete airframes and 2 fuselages. Very cool!

I did my flight training in a college in New Jersey and would go there to see the Caribous and visit the museum. I was even grounded for 3 weeks because I spent 3 hours in the Museum and came back later than my instructor had endorsed. The museum was worth the grounding. Didn't stop me from further visits.

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"According to the map, we've only gone 4 inches."

I had fun landing it on a 1200' strip with a 90 degree crosswind 20 gusting to 22 3 or 4 time a day for 2 years. Should would like to fly it again, did get to ride on one at OSH a couple of years ago.

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I always like the "boo", does anyone know the status of the company ?

I wonder what it would take to shake one loose ?