N49AG question

Skystef · Post by **Skystef** » 20 Aug 2003, 17:15

Though question: last year a dc-3 c/n 11737 was ferried from bru to orly.
Does anybody have more info, like who owns the plane?

It was this N49AG

SkyStef

Post by **sn26567** » 20 Aug 2003, 21:38

On the photo it has a Belgian military registration. Why does the text mention that it is N49AG? Was it sold by the Belgian Air Force to a private collector who did not have the money to repaint it?

Skystef · Post by **Skystef** » 20 Aug 2003, 23:11

André, seems that U never heard of this plane.
A brief history:
the DC3 was operated by a company called Air Dakota to make nostalgic flights. The plane arrived on March 27 1996 from a company of Mali. Flights started later in summer, repainted in old B.A.F. markings & fake registration OT-CWG, to celebrate 50 years B.A.F. @ Brustem. Offically it went to the US register to avoid problems in setting it into the Belgian register. (Lot of paperwork to get certificate of airworthness, etc, etc). So it had small N49AG painted below the OT-CWG marking see carefully @ pic. Flights ended in November 1998, then it was parked @ Melsbroek inside hangar, later outside. It departed to ORY in spring of 2002, still wearing the B.A.F. scheme.

Note: later on (96/97) Sabena was asked to paint the plane in old style markings, but for some reason they refused, so the nostalgic flights silently disappeared from sky

But the question remains: who owns the plane right now. I know its still airworthly & based @ ORY.

SkyStef

Post by **sn26567** » 20 Aug 2003, 23:32

Thanks SkyStef. I was totally unaware of the history of this ancestor.

777 · Post by **777** » 23 Aug 2003, 22:24

At that time Sabena prefered to spent money on new Airbusses instead of nostalgic flights, like does SAA, KLM, Delta , American, Qantas, ....

Andre

SkyJet · Post by **SkyJet** » 24 Aug 2003, 21:58

Air Dakota was set up by Georges Betrand, head of Temploux-Namur, Belgium, based company Publi-Air.
The intention was to make nostalgic flights with the DC-3 in the original Belgian Air Force color scheme.
However, because the aircraft was a converted ex-military machine, the Belgian Civil Aviation Authorities [BCAA] refused to grant the licences, meaning no pax could be flown...
The aircraft ended up, unemployed, in the rented ex TEA-hangar at the north side of Brussels Airport.
The hangar could't be closed hermetic, so pigeons and birds could easily enter. Needless to say, the aircraft soon was covered with droppings and looked derelict...
Air Dakota refused to pay the rent for the hangar, wich eventually led to the DC-3 being towed out and stored outside on the apron.
In the mean time, during testruns, one engine blew, so the aircraft could not leave BRU anymore...
2 years ago, the aircraft was put up for sale.
A UK-based company, comprising of 2 brothers, repaired the engine and made the aircraft "airworthy". The BCAA issued a limited Certificate of Airworthiness [CoA], so the aircraft could be ferried. Due to the bad weather the departure had to be delayed a few days, meaning a new CoA had to be issued...
Finally, the aircraft departed for Paris-Orly to the new owner...

I hope to provide more details concerning the current owner and so on very soon.
Pictures of this machine soon on Airliners.net

Skystef · Post by **Skystef** » 24 Aug 2003, 23:23

SkyStef thanks gracefully SkyJet for this story.

I recall the situation bout postponing the ferryflight very well.
Pilot & I discussed, and the advise was not to go, and wait a few days.
Eager to know more

......

SkyStef

Lyulka · Post by **Lyulka** » 29 Aug 2003, 11:18

those former Belgian owners, are they the same as the ones from the dc3/C47 at EBOS?

Skystef · Post by **Skystef** » 29 Aug 2003, 12:04

The dc-3 @ ebos used to be of a company called Legend-Air set up by Christian Vanderslyen in 1989. I guess it went to the luxembourg register for the same reason as N49AG to the USA register, lets say avoiding "some difficulties" with the BCAA in obtaining an CoA.
This plane made also some nostalgic/promotional flights between 1990-1992, but this ended in tragedy on July 21 1992

, when on a very windy day @ ebos the dc-3 hit a cargoplane which both were "parked". The dc-3 hasn't tasted the sky since. In 1997 Legend-Air was liquidated.

I'm not sure if there is link between both companies, i guess not, perhaps somebody can offer more info.

SkyStef

K-lux86 · Post by **K-lux86** » 09 Mar 2005, 16:14

empty

HorsePower · Post by **HorsePower** » 09 Mar 2005, 22:39

I personnaly know the current owner of N49AG. If you want more info, just e-mail me.

Regards

Seb.

Skystef · Post by **Skystef** » 09 Mar 2005, 23:07

Hello both,

@ K-lux86: thx for clearing things out.

@ HorsePower: U got mail.

Brgrds S

Aviation24.be

N49AG question

N49AG question

DC-3 douglas