On Monday 13 November KLM/Air France commemorated the first DC-3 service between Schiphol and Le Bourget by flying a DC-3 along the same route. They also launched this website to illustrate the event. In time video images of the flight should become available there.
Its not quite clear to me which aircraft was used as I found this report about the repainted French DC-3 F-AZTE, but the DDA’s PH-PBA could also have been involved in this re-enactment (supported by the fact that F-AZTE wears this registration on the left side and the website mentioned above!).
An interesting effort I think. It’s a shame though that they chose a post-WWII KLM scheme (on F-AZTE) to commemorate a pre-WWII event :p
Edit: Apparently it was the DDA’s PH-PBA which flew to Le Bourget and back in the KLM/AF colours, but I’m still baffled by the fact that the images on the AirlinersGallery Blog under the link above appear to show F-AZTE in the exact same colours :confused: (Those photos are not of PH-PBA as that aircraft has no observation dome on the top of the fuselage).
By: happymeal - 16th November 2006 at 14:42
Was in PH-PBA for the Schipol-Le Bourget flight.
Both PH-BBA and F-AZTE have been painted in the same “double livery” : right side KLM, left side Air France. F-AZTE was a decoy for the short speech by KLM and Air France president after PH-PBA landed in Le Bourget ; she shall be use next year for a “moral booster” tour of the Air France / KLM main bases.
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November 16, 2006 at 10:32 am