First post restoration flight

Today, a very grand old lady made her first post restoration flight here in Reykjavik. This grand old lady is possibly one of the most historically important aircraft in the country. It arrived here in Iceland on the 6th of August 1941. On that day, the USAAC was arriving here to take over air defence duties of the country from the RAF. The aircraft carrier USS Wasp was used to transport the 33rd fighter squadron, equipped with P-40C, from Norfolk to Reykjavik. Along with the P-40’s the 33rd was equipped with three PT-17’s for use as trainers and squadron hacks. All the aircraft were flown off the Wasp while she was still some 50 miles off the coast. The grand old lady, Boeing-Stearman PT-17 41-7997 has been here ever since. Through out the war it served the US forces as a trainer and hack. After the war it was bought by the first flight school in Iceland, Vélflugdeild Svifflugfélags Íslands, and was first registered to their name in January 1946 as TF-KAU. It was used by that outfit for about a year, afterwards ending up in private ownership. In 1953, disaster struck while landing on a beach in the west country. The sand was too soft and she overturned on landing, causing some damage to the upper wing and the tail. She was deemed too damaged for economical repairs at the time, and the remains were stuffed in a hangar here in Reykjavik, where she lay untoutched until 1984. At that time Erling Johannesson, a commercial pilot and mechanic, got the remains and has been restoring her since. And what a wonderful job he has done. The aircraft is absoulutly stunning.

The following pictures are taken from here

The nose art is the original one, as worn when in service with the 33rd!