Delta Air Transports Convairs and DC-6Bs were amongst the last piston engine propliners to frequent the skies of the Low Countries (and Southend in England!)

I photographed this brand new Metropolitan from the old ground enclosure above the road tunnel in Heathrow Central, aged 12 with my first camera. The original paint scheme applied in the Convair factory and'equipado con radar' from new to avoid the worst weather on the way to your Spanish Holiday

Seen through the glass from the terminal building at Zaventem.

"Alcázar" served Iberia from February 1957 until transfer to the Spanish Air Force in October 1972.

Although looking good here, not long for this world. A former Iberia and Spanish AF Metropolitan, she crashed on a passenger flight near Colorado, 45 kms SE of La Paz on 21.8.92, descending in poor weather and flying into Chacaltaya Mountain at FL150

Formerly Iberia's EC-AMU, DAT sold this Convair to American Airlines in 3.77 for use on their Virgin Islands connections. Passed on to All Resorts Airlines in 11.82, stored at Carlsbad, CA in 1990 and scrapped by the end of the decade. The white-top Delta 440 behind is OO-VGJ (ex Cameroon). They flew a five-daily ANR-AMS schedule

The aircraft is being worked on in the Iberia hangar. I saw this aircraft three years later at Miami by which time it was N819TA.