Penhold, AB, Canada - April 2007
Every time I'm in Penhold, I try to spend a little time wandering around the airport. Of course tightened security means you can no longer walk up and around the lines of vintage airplanes, but I was able to snap a couple shots of some of Buffalo Airways' derelict DC-3s (with permission of course).
I always love the look of faded paint and missing parts, but if you look closely at this DC-3 there's something else missing - the passenger door! Actually, it's on the
starboard fuselage, the original location of the passenger door on pre-war DC-3s and a guarenteed indication that you're looking at a DC-3 and not one of thousands of converted
wartime models. (Trevor McTavish)
According to the Buffalo Airways website, this is DC-3 serial number 3264 (R) DST-A-207C, a Douglas Sleeper Transport that was originally sold to United Airlines in 1940 and
christened "City of Toledo." Typical of Joe McBryan, it's for sale but only to collectors or museums. (Trevor McTavish)
With no paint and without finding this DC-3's serial number, it's difficult to know just where it came from - or what adventures it had. (Trevor McTavish)
CF-YOG has a number of interesting modifications that set it apart from the other DC-3s sitting around Penhold. There's a fairing ahead of the engine exhausts, squared-off
wingtips and a large picture window on both sides of the cabin. She also has a small passenger door (on the port side of the fuselage) instead of the larger military cargo doors.
Seeing all the names on these planes always makes me take a moment and think of the companies that have gone before. Some I'll recognize, but there are so many I don't. Who was
Nunasi Central and what were they doing to need a DC-3? (Trevor McTavish)
Of course, leaving a vintage airplane out in the elements means the fragile parts will weather and wear. The fabric may be torn on this aileron, but the underlying structure
would be more than ready to be used should Buffalo Airways need a replacement. (Trevor McTavish)