Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

 Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency - Convair 580's

 

Videographer Alex Praglowski, sends out some great photographs to members of his YouTube channel. 

 

In his most recent post, he sent photos of a few active special aircraft with the following description:

 

 

I emailed Alex to ask permission to share these photos with our subscribers and he responded, "Absolutely you may". He also, very generously, sent us a group of photographs specifically for our use.

 

If you are unfamiliar with Alex's YouTube channel, do yourself a favour and Click Here to treat yourself.

 

Special thanks to Ken Pickford for his research on the history of these four aircraft.

 

 

Pictured above (and in this issue's header) is C-GSKR (fin #471), built in 1958. It was one of six variants of the Convair 440 ordered by the U.S. Navy but cancelled before being built. They were completed by Convair on speculation and stored pending future sale.

 

That aircraft was converted to VIP configuration and sold to a wealthy U.S. banking and newspaper publishing family. It was converted to a turboprop 580 in 1962. After multiple subsequent operators it was acquired by the Saskatchewan Government in 2005 and converted to its fire-fighting role.

 

It's noteworthy for being the second-last of 1,076 ConvairLiner aircraft built by Convair, not counting 10 final aircraft license-built by Canadair in Montreal in 1960/61 for the Royal Canadian Air Force, bringing total ConvairLiner production to 1,086.

 

Of those, 178 were converted to 580 turboprops using the Allison 501 engine. There was also a less popular Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop conversion program that modified 65 aircraft, 38 original 240's (known as Convair 600) and 27 340's/440's (known as Convair 640). Pacific Western Airlines acquired six of the latter, referring to them as "Javelin Jet-Prop".

 

 

The three aircraft pictured below were built in 1954/55 as military variants of the Convair 340 and delivered to the U.S. Air Force as VIP transports.

 

After conversion to 580 turboprops and modified for fire-fighting, they were acquired by the Saskatchewan Government. in 2006/07.

 

 

 

 

 

 

above and below.

 

 

 

 

Here are the answers to the tails in NetLetter #1541.

 

We hope you enjoyed the challenge.

 

Visiting Mexico soon? Be careful about how many electronic devices you pack.

 

Tourists arriving at the Cancun International Airport have been nailed by Customs for having too many electronics. Some tourists have been charged nearly $200 USD to ‘import’ their electronic devices while they vacation in the country.

 

With the rise of remote work and pleasure trips, many travelers don’t think twice about tossing an iPad, a laptop, and any other essential devices in their bag.

 

But in Mexico, that could lead to hefty, unexpected taxes due on demand when you go through customs at the airport. if they don’t pay the ‘tax’, their over limit devices are confiscated.

 

Source: riviera-maya-news.com

 

 

You won’t find this tour anywhere else as this is an exclusive tour from InterlineTravel.com. This is our exclusive tour to Spain and the la Tomatina Festival!!!

 

Come join us for a tour of Spain including Madrid, Valencia and the la Tomatina Festival. The la Tomatina Festival is the largest food fight on the world. La Tomatina is a Spanish festival in Buñol, Spain where participants throw tomatoes at each other.

 

It is said to be the biggest food fight in the world. From the festival’s origin as a food fight between friends in the 1940s, it has become a famous tourist attraction and you will be a part of it in 2025!!

Our arrival transfers are from the Madrid Airport (MAD) and from the Valencia Airport (VLC) on the return.

 

Full details at: interlinetravel.com

 

 

This DC-3 was manufactured on February 24th, 1940 for American Airlines as 'Flagship Texas'. Since that date she also served in the USAF, under the colours of Trans Alaska Airlines, Queen Charlotte Airlines, Pacific Western Airlines, Great Northern Airways and Trans Provincial Airlines.

In 1972 her flying career ended when Trans Provincial used her as a spare parts ship for other DC-3's in their fleet. After removal of all serviceable parts, CF-PWH was pushed into the bush adjacent to the Terrace, B.C. airport and abandoned.

 

Thankfully, a founding member of the 'Friends of the DC-3 - Canada' recognized her long contribution to the people of British Columbia and through last minute negotiations with the scrap man, was able to purchase her remains for future restoration. In 1987, CF-PWH was moved from Terrace to the then Transportation Museum in Cloverdale.

 

Upon the closure of this facility, the Township of Langley invited the Friends of the DC-3, North America to relocate at the Langley Municipal Airport.

This Douglas DC-3 in fact, was the first DC-3 to be owned and operated by a 'home grown' B.C. airline, -- Queen Charlotte Airlines. She became Pacific Western Airlines first DC-3 and as such was assigned the fleet number of 301. Today, CF-PWH is the oldest surviving DC-3 in Canada.

 

See also: NetLetter #1397

 

Technical Details: MSN 2198, CF-PWH

 

Source: canadianflight.org