"North by Northwest" bi-plane for sale…

A N3N WWII Navy training plane claimed to have been the plane used to chase Cary Grant through a cornfield in the Hitchcock classic “North by Northwest” is listed for sale in the American publication “Trade-a-Plane”.

Its ad reads….”MOVIE AIRPLANE- Navy N3N– “North By Northwest” Alfred Hitchcook, Gary Grant. Restored to original Coast Guard colors. Approx 300 hours since restoration, 450 HP, Garmin 250XL GPS, Com, TXP (enc), intercom. Outstanding condition. $95,000. Bill, IL/(847) 772-1700″

I don’t know if there is any proof of the claim, but if there is, it’s a nice bit of history.

Also…anyone know how the crash between the plane and the tanker truck was done…a model I suppose.
And was it a real plane burning as seen in the closeup? It looks like odd bits to me, but back then (1959) there were probably a lot of derelict dusters (Stearmans, N3Ns, even classic American bi-planes like Travel Airs were used as dusters until the advent of purpose designed ships in the 60s) out there…so the closeup could have used a real plane. I don’t have it on DVD or VHs, so I can’t take a good look.