Vintage plane, modern task.

Years ago, a lot of photos of this airframe could already be found online, including those of its sad end in 1996. However, hardly visible on those were the 'Instone Air Line' titles on the cargo doors. As I have this shot that shows them at least partly I gladly responded to a request to upload it. [Pentax MX, Fuji Sensia]

One of the world's last active Bristol Freighters wearing the titles of both Instone and Atlantic. It had been delivered in March 1955 to the Royal New Zealand Air Force as NZ5912.

This aircaft is operated by Air Atlantique on behalf of Thales for radar development. A jet APU can be seen fitted to the fuselage and this is used solely to power the radar equipment. An unusual vertical stabiliser is also fitted behind the tail wheel. Strange that this old aircraft, made in 1944, is used for developing advanced radar 60 years later.

Sold in Canada not too long after this shot but returned to UK in 7.94 as C-FDFC, sadly to be written off in a take-off crash two years later