Ex - LN-TRF

Re-registered from G-LIDE which was cancelled in August 2024 and has reverted to the US registration it wore when new in 1978.

This Irish-based aircraft was visiting Gloucester in connection with the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup horse racing event which was held nearby on this date.

A genuine pre-WWII civilian DC-3 delivered to TWA in April 1939 as NC14931 and served with them until February 1952. It subsequently passed thought the hands of numerous operators and was last active flying out of Laredo, TX., as XA-KTB with Aero JBR, but had been withdrawn and stored by 2008. The deteriorating aircraft was acquired by the Fourrier Foundation in 2018 and moved from Laredo to San Antonio, TX., where they planned to restored it to airworthiness and use it for humanitarian relief flights in South America and Africa, although there have been no recent reports of their progress.

This aircraft was accepted by the USAAF as UC-78 43-31765 in January 1944, it served until retired in April 1945 and civilianised as N51760 in July 1945. After having only two subsequent private owners it was acquired by the Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach, VA., in 2017, where it is currently on display in civilian colours wearing the names "Donner", "North Pole Express" and " Santa's Lil' Helper".

This registration was cancelled on 27th May 1982, and the aircraft was last reported stored dismantled at Montréal/Saint-Lazare Aerodrome, QC., in 2005.

This registration was cancelled on 1st June 2017 due to the expiration of the aircraft's Registration Certificate.

The aircraft is a Franklin Gander conversion with 260hp IO-470 Continental engines. It spent many years in Alaska as N28676 & N85U where it was wrecked/sunk several times. It has a modified nose cap, G-44A bow, no 2nd step aft, McKinnon retractable floats and a fairing behind the main wheel wells. It was re-registered N144SL in October 2018 and sold to a new owner in New Zealand and was last noted dismantled at Ardmore Airport, North Island, awaiting restoration in March 2022. (Credit: Bill O Bailey for much of the above).

Later restored to standard tricycle undercarriage configuration, but cancelled from the USCAR on 30th May 2018 due to the expiration of the aircraft's registration certificate.

Tragically this beautiful aircraft, and its unique P&W R-1535 engine, was destroyed and builder /pilot Jim Wright killed when it crashed in Yellowstone National Park, WY., on 4th August of the following year whilst returning to its Oregon base after attending Oshkosh AirVenture 2003.

Deleted from the Canadian register in May 1993 when it was sold to the USA as N7058U. This registration was in turn cancelled in April 1995 when the aircraft was sold to South Africa where it became ZS-OIJ.

The aircraft had recently made a post restoration flight from Kissimee, FL. It went on to be based with the Southern California Wing of the Confederate Air Force based at Camarillo, CA., where, after severe corrosion was detected it was decided that a complete tear-down restoration was required. This lasted over 20 years and it wasn't until 15th May 2016 that it made its first post-restoration flight. It now flies out of Camarillo painted as PBJ-1J BuNo. 35243 of Marine Bombing Squadron 611 which was lost on a mission in the Pacific in May 30 1945. (Credit: Warbirdregistry.org)

After a number of vertical hover flights, this prototype made it's first manned wing-borne flight from Turweston on 03-03-2025. It is powered by 16 batteries "each about the size of a briefcase", a top speed of 100 mph and an endurance of 1 hour.