Future of airworthy Dutch D-Day veteran Dakota secured

[aerovet]

Dutch Dakota continues to fly in the Netherlands

On 16 October, Dutch Dakota Classic Airlines owned DC-3 PH-PBA made its last fare-paying passengertrip, from Maastricht-Aachen to Schiphol-Amsterdan airport. PH-PBA was one of the very few Dakotas still flying under an Airline Operating Certificate. Increasing financial strain had forced DDA Classic Airlines to decide to cease their operations. So the future for Holland's most popular Dak 'Prinses Amalia', named after the Dutch crown-princess, was insecure!

Until yesterday, when the DDA board revealed that the Dakota will in the future be flown by the Aviodrome museum in Lelystad. As the airline's AOC is soon withdrawn, passenger flights will only infrequently be performed for donors and sponsors.

PH-PBA is a true WW II veteran, which, as USAAF 42-100971 (c/n 19434) took part in the airborne landing at Sainte-Mère-Eglise on D-Day. It was bought by Prince Bernhard in 1946, initially serving as a private heck for the prince registered as PH-PBA (P-rince B-erhard A-lpha), and later as the Dutch 'Gouvernemental Dakota. From 1960 it served as a calibration aircraft with the Dutch CAA. For years it was preserved in front of the Aviodome at Schiphol, but finally restored to flying condition by the Dutch Dakota Association. For the restoration to airworthy status the wings of 'sister' G-BVOL (c/n 9836) were used and the plane was registered back to PH-PBA in 1997.

https://www.scramble.nl/civil-news/ph-p ... nue-to-fly

Attachments

PH-PBA during the D-Day Commemorations in Caen (France) June 2019 (Gert Jan Mentink)

[JohnB]

Good to learn.
For too many years, C-47s were taken for granted and too many airframes, including historic ones, were neglected, abandoned and scrapped... or with lots of new metal became the basis for BT-67s.

It seems thatonly in the last couple if decades has the C-47/DC-3 been appreciated as an historic type.

[Mark Sampson]

I flew in and out of Schipol in late September and early October. A very large and modern airport. In this age of Airbuses and Dreamliners I'd have been astonished to see a DC-3 there. Even if my flight to Philadelphia did require boarding by a bus ride to climb the airstairs, somewhere out beyond the freight terminal, a la the 1950s.
It is a good thing that another DC-3/C-47 is being saved. Just because this site tells us that there are nearly 200 of them still flying, doesn't mean that we should take them for granted.

[Archer]

That is good to hear, thanks for sharing this! I should add that over the years, the Aviodrome has taken on several airworthy aircraft with the intention of keeping them flying, but right now, none of these are airworthy, or if they are, they have not flown for a significant time period. I'm talking about Lockheed L-749 Constellation 'FLE' N749NL, Fokker F.27 PH-FHF c/n 10105, Douglas DC-2 'PH-AJU' NC39165. Let's hope that PH-PBA will have a more active future.

For the restoration to airworthy status the wings of 'sister' G-BVOL (c/n 9836) were used...

And the centre section, and the engines, and the complete tail section. Basically, they bought G-BVOL, which was in an airworthy state, and exchanged the fuselage with the PH-PBA that was at the (then) Aviodome. For many years, you could see the different shade of paint on the DC-3 PH-PBA/G-BVOL mix that was at the Aviod(r)ome. It has since been repainted into PH-TCB markings, but if you ask me, it's still 60% PH-PBA!

[lucky52]

Well, get your flame throwers out. I say park it before it ends up in a smoking hole.