What ever happened to the 2 Douglas transports?

Shame to see them gradually getting worse,, surely something can be done and at least one saved?

For sure it seemed that they wanted one (was even put in writing in a newsletter) and were even talking of flying it, but as to why it fell through – only hearsay on the why part, but some issue around being able to do a thorough inspection was what i was told though whether the sellers or buyers were the obstacle I don’t know

So Skymonster,Mike Collett was interested,don’t suppose you know what the stumbling block was?Cos if Aces High is interested in saving them and with a little more support from the preservation movement we must be able to make progress.Sadsack so there is spares inside the fuselage,sounds a bit of a Tom Reilly when he bought a helicopter because it was stuffed with B-25 parts.Oh how I miss those lazy days at his establishment.Keep the feedback coming I know we can make a difference.:)

I believe they have been run up since arrival but this was curtailed due to fuel leaks .

Mike Collett was hoping to acquire one of these but there were problems with the acquisition earlier this year. I believe that there is still interest…

Andy

re;

new tyres and brakes, its all on the website. They appear to have spares stashed inside as well. I wonder if they have been run up since arrival.

Does anyone else think these should be saved?

Do you know what sort of spares these come with and what new parts have been fitted.On Sherman Aviation website it gives build dates of 1944 &1945,true? If so then even more so we can’t let proper warbirds go to the scrapper!!Imagine if this was a Spitfire or Hurricane imagine the ‘public’ outcry.:(

re;

they even come with spares and have had new parts fitted. What an absolute waste.

They deserve a future that isn’t a saucepan

Been keeping a loose eye on these two for some years now,soo sad if we cannot save them.I know we cannot save everything but if they can be made airworthy for ferry flight then why not permanently or has the dreaded corrosion word started to take hold.Blimey chaps if we can get and keep the mighty Vulcan where she belongs then why not at least one of these?Don’t our future children deserve to be reminded of the debt that was made by so many during The Berlin Airlift?Now where is my piggy bank!:eek:

Well the C-54 has a little RAF history and Churchill had one for a few months but I’d be amazed if one of these is saved….the one that was painted Spirit of 76 (in 76 :)) (scrapped now?) had actually been in RAF service

They’re up for sale at $75,000 each here:

http://www.shermanaircraft.com/showspecs.php?ad=67
http://www.shermanaircraft.com/showspecs.php?ad=70

Colonel Gail Halvorsen was the pilot’s name. It would be nice to see at least one of them taken to Coventry (in a good way!)

I think there was another thread about these two a short time ago. They were acquired and came to the UK for a film about the Berlin Airlift which was intended to focus on the pilot nicknamed “The Candy Bomber” who threw Hershey bars out of the cockpit window to groups of children on the approach into Berlin. I think the film was pulled because the finance disappeared and the two aircraft remained unwanted at North Weald.
As far as I am aware there isn’t a DC-4 in preservation in the UK. Considering that they were very much a part of the early days of independent airlines in the UK it would be a real shame to see these two scrapped. Now if we got a flyer and a static out of these 2 that really would be a bonus. Maybe Red Bull fancy a companion for their DC-6 and the AAM would be a good home for the other but as Duxford appear reluctant to take on large airframes sadly this is not likely to happen.

They have been offered again lately, one or both could be made airworthy and possibly fly out, or they need to be roaded out, as they need the ramp space, otherwise may be scrapped.

Current Flypast page 9 LOL

I dont think they are suitable for a return to flight

Apparently from the mag yes they are David, and one is a WW2 survivor.

I couldn’t see the serials Keith, but Yak11 has shown that they are two different aircraft. There are various differences including a fairing on the fwd upper port side fuselage, and small circles in the centre of the windows on the ‘The Spirit’.
Oops, N.Weald!:o
Any info on these two?

It pays to never dump a photo ?? Two views of “Spirit of Freedom” at Duxford, look at the tail fin code and wording ?

And compare with the best I can do from the North Weald aircraft (not Biggin James ! )

Two different aircraft I think ?????

Keith 🙂

Thanks for that Yak11, I can spot subtle differences between the two airframes now aswel.
Be nice to see the KC-97 at Duxford!

Can anyone share the histories of the two N.Weald DC-4/C-54s with us?

Different aeroplane, same paintscheme I believe

http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/

That’s the one Strangey, pitched up with a Constellation, bit of a surprise I seem to remember?

I will never forget the sound, man that Fiesta was noisy!:D
That was the last time I visited Dux, 14 years ago?

I can never understand how a cherished and restored aircraft, that obviously costs hundreds of thousands of pounds and man hours to operate, suddenly ends up looking unkempt and unloved?
The example with the blue cheatline would look lovely at Duxford, especially with the AAM, or even alongside the Hastings in a Berlin Airlift theme.

ideal a/c for Newark, but I guess the costs are prohibitive. A real shame.

They have been mentioned, but not part of the Collecting Policy and too much other expenditure in the pipeline! 😉