A beautiful DC 6, a venerable lady from the 40’s sits forgotten in Lokichoggio, NW Kenya. It was flyable 15 years ago. A pilot had plans to clean it up and fly her back to the USA in the late 90’s. Then he would have volunteered for the Iraq war. No news since then. In the meantime a tree has grown between 2 of the famous mythical radial engines and maybe now the costs to restore are prohibitive. I had no access to this one.
But her sister had a few doors open, so I jumped on the wing and offered myself a tour inside. My colleague has flown both of them in the 90’s! I envy him so much. I prefer older airplanes…(which also implies days with a lot less of painful aeronautical administrations!)
The paint and the propellers came off. The old owner’s name appears beneath.
I wish my Caravan had such a beaten silver engine cowling…
Surprisingly the interior was not looted nor too trashed. The oxygen bottle was intact, most of the instruments are still there….
10 tons could be lifted in normal conditions. In the African bush, a bit more…
I found that old dirty oxygen mask. Poor pilots who had to don that heavy rubber mask, it looks very uncomfortable…
