Paid a return visit to the Aviodrome in Lelystad (Netherlands) last weekend. A surprising amount of work has been done since I last visited, which was good to see. Some new aircraft on display inside, however the outside aircraft have deteriorated quite badly. Notably the very poorly painted Neptune, with paint flaking off everywhere. Some pics of the more newsworthy items:
– The Van Berkel WA replica is continuing apace. A 1919 floatplane design by a Rotterdam butcher (!) of which 40 examples were built and none exist anymore.
– The DC-2 is undergoing heavy maintenance
– DC-3 PH-DDZ has arrived by road and boat from Schiphol. It is planned to be made airworthy again shortly, but requires two new engines and heavy maintenance. Airframe is in excellent condition however!
– The Spijker V-2 replica has progressed a lot. A 1917 biplane of which 78 were built, none of which are around today.
– The former La Ferté Alais Norseman is well underway to fly but progress has been slow.
– The Fokker S.IV restoration which has been underway since 1984 (!). An original and very rare (unique) interwar biplane of 1924.
– Finally an example of the Sagitta 013 has been given the recognition it deserves, and has been put on display.
By: Jur - 8th March 2017 at 10:28
Especially the progress on the Norseman seems to be very slow. This is how she already looked like in 2011!!
By: ericmunk - 8th March 2017 at 10:15
The amusement park approach is still there. Most projects underway are through third party volunteer work. But it is encouraging there’s something going on at least. Connie is safe inside on display but I would be surprised if it were flown anytime the next decades due to costs… Live operations have certainly dwindled down, although a few live aircraft are still based in the T2-hangar. Of the aircraft on outdoor display, the DC-4 and Neptune in particular could do with TLC, and the Meteor and Beech 18 are basically empty shells for decoration only. THere’s also a well worn Tracker sitting in the back, which I wouldn’t be surprised would be surplus in the future as they also hold another much betetr example indoors.
On a brighter note, the B-25 nose is back on display, and a few new things are in such as a pedal-ULV and a folded wing Mignet. The Pou-du-Ciel is out of storage too on display.
By: Jur - 8th March 2017 at 09:54
@ericmunk
Thank you very much for your very nice report. I haven’t been to the Aviodrome for quite some time now, because I was rather disappointed with the whole setup the last time I visited in 2015. Compared to the period before 2013 my feeling was that the operation more and more seemed to move into an amusement park approach and therefore much less attractive to the real aviation enthousiasts. Also live operations of historic aircraft seem to have been diminished to just an occasional one and the intentions to operate the beautiful Constellation seem further away than ever.
It is good to note that restoration work is slowly but well under way on several interesting aircraft and that Dakota PH-DDZ “Doornroosje” will once more be restored to flying condition. Note: the recent April issue of Flypast translated “Doornroosje” into “Cinderella”. However this should be “Sleeping Beauty”!!
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March 8, 2017 at 8:53 am