Photographer Manuel Delgado

The well preserved flight deck of the last remaining Varig Electra

In the remote storage area at the Museu Aeroespacial. I'd long wanted to photograph a Varig Electra, having been denied the opportunity in 1992 when the fleet had been recently been withdrawn from service on the Rio-Sao Paulo airbridge. Although I'd written for permission to access them in store at CGH, ultimately that wasn't allowed so my only hope hung on this one preserved at Musal. Until recently it was shoehorned into a hangar in such a way that photos were effectively impossible, but was delighted when I heard it had recently been moved out for building repairs.

Photographer: Not known.

Photographer: Not known.

Photographer: Not known.

Photographer: Not known.

Photographer: Not known.

Photographer: Bo-Göran Lundkvist.

Photographer: Not known.

Location unknown but possibly San Francisco. Photographer: Not known.

Sitting abandoned at YQF.

Built in 1959, flew with Eastern Airlines for ten years. Then served with several operators in Honduras, being converted to freighter around 1977. Joined Conair Aviation in 1997 serving as a fire bomber, "Tanker 53". Transferred to Air Spray, in the same role, in 2000. Seen here on a brief detachment to Campbell River in the summer of 1999, to fight a forest fire which had broken out locally.

Built for American Airlines as N6111A in 1959. To Air California as N278AC in November 1966 and flown by them until 1969. Bought by various leasing companies between 1970 and 1974 and leased to Ecuatoriana as HC-AZL in June 1974. Sold to TAME and operated as HC-AZL/FAE150 between October 1974 and April 1986 when bought by Varig and registered PP-VNJ. Bought by Interlink in South Africa and registered HR-AML in October 1993. Registered EL-WWS in December 1997 and flown to Linz for spares use by Amerer Air. Later scrapped.

In 1970 Vance International Airways was purchased by McCulloch Oil Company, changing the name to McCulloch International Airlines. Re-equipped with American Airlines Lockheed Electras, they flew potential land buyers to properties near Lake Havasu City, AZ. This aircraft would see the color scheme updated by changing the green cheat line to red and eventually adding the McCulloch logo. Later with Ansett ANA and Evergreen International Airlines, the aircraft was with the Armada Argentina as 6-P-101 when it crashed on September 29, 1989 at Almirante Zar Naval Air Station at Trelew, Argentina.

This aircraft was operated by Global Associates, a joint venture of the Atlas Corp. and H.C. Smith Construction Co., and used to fly personnel and supplies to the various bases that supported the Kwajalein Missile Range, headquartered on Kwajalein Atoll. It was one of two Electras used during the contract period from Nov 1979 to an unspecified date in mid-1980. Photo by Tim White.

Taxiing to the gate after landing.

This a/c was delivered to LANSA on 26 January 1971, the third of four Electras operated by the airline. Two were lost in fatal crashes, the second one occuring on 24 December 1971, which resulted in the Peruvian government shutting down LANSA permanently.