It was nice to see this airframe again, 36 years (almost to the day) after I first saw it. It looks quite different now, and time hasn't been very kind to it. In between, this Super DC-3 spent about 15 years with the Colombian AF as FAC1632, from early 1990 until early 2005, when it was acquired by Tom Graziano and parked here at Benson a few months later. The aircraft was sold to another owner in May 2018, but all in all it appears that it has not flown at all since arriving at Benson almost 20 years ago. The faded "Super DC-3" and "Douglas" titles are still visible, but its former red Douglas-style trim has now completely faded away.

Built for the USAAF as C-47A 42-24158 but delivered to the US Navy as R4D-5 Bu39070 in 1943. Rebuilt as R4D-8 c/n 43360 in 1952. To N4458H in 1983 then N34AH in 1986. Impounded for drug running in the late 1980s and became FAC1632. Back to N34AH in 2005. Stored at Benson, AZ. Cancelled from the register in 2018.

Long on my i/d query list, I was delighted to eventually locate the probable con no. for this Super Dak. Remained in service at Madrid AB for many years and said to have become N34AH

Bare metal C-117D (ex US Navy BuNo 39070) photographed shortly before going to the Colombian Air Force as FAC1632. While there, it remained current on the US Aircraft Register as N34AH, and in fact returned to the US as such in 2005. It was then parked at Benson, AZ and was still there by 2024. Unfortunately, it appears the aircraft did not make a single flight during the nearly two decades of storage there.