On May 23, 1996 it was ferried to
Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), where it was based for
some time. It operated cargo flights in
the eastern DRC; destinations included
Kalemie, Manono, Fungurume, Kamina
base, Kabalo, Dilolo and Mbuji Mayi. On
March 22, 1997 it departed Dilolo via Ndola
for Rand Airport, arriving 8hrs and 30mins’
flying time later.
The total airframe hours since
September 24, 1943 was just 12,438 hours.
The aircraft had some small defects,
which were not rectified – and the aircraft
was parked. Later, Wally Gale died and
the business he and John Gaylard owned
was liquidated. In 2002, the aircraft, by now
partly dismantled, was sold at auction to
Captain Flippie Vermeulen.
It was inspected, stripped pending
restoration and placed in storage for the
next seven years.
Restoration began on April 5, 2009,
with the aircraft receiving a Check V and
conversion to modern standards. During
structural repairs, at least three bulletholes of a small calibre were repaired in the
left nacelle and aft fuselage.
The work at Springbok Aviation Services
to bring the DC-3 back to flying condition
began in August 2009 in Hangar 5 at Rand
Airport and was completed a year later.
The aircraft was painted with the titles
Springbok Classic Air.
The first series of engine runs began that
same month and the first test flight post-
restoration was on September 8 and lasted
about 15 minutes. The restored aircraft’s
first commercial flight took place on October
22, 2010 and went via Lanseria to Maun,
Botswana, coming back on the 25th. It was
used for sightseeing flights and safari tours.OUT OF AFRICA
A return to European skies then beckoned
when ZS-NTE was sold to Peter Adrian,
a German businessman based in Trier.
In addition to Mr Adrian’s professional
activities, he is a keen aviation enthusiast
specialising in vintage aircraft preservation
and also owns a T-28 Trojan and Beech 18.
After a lengthy search for a suitableDouglas DC-3, he expressed his delight in
finding what he called, “this beautiful example
of a well-kept classic”. As his company owns
Zweibrücken Airport, considerable planning
was already in place for ZS-NTE to be kept
inside one of his hangars.
After its last public display at the
Swartkop Airshow, ZS-NTE departed Rand
Airport on the May 25, 2015. The ferry
cockpit crew consisted of Captain Flippie
Vermeulen, Captain Noel Flynn, Captain
Ulrich Spielmann and Ben Vermeulen.
With 1,323lb (600kg) of spare parts, they
took off for their first port of call, Polokwane,
in South Africa, for additional fuel. The
ferry route took ZS-NTE over the western
part of Africa via Ondangwa (Namibia),
Kinshasa (Congo), Libreville (Gabon) and
Accra (Ghana). In Accra, the team had its
first technical issue and changed one of the
DC-3’s power generators.
The next leg proved the most daunting
and would be the longest sector for the
team, a little over seven hours to Dakar
(Senegal). The average cruise speed was
around 161kts. Next, they flew over Lashttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 55Dakota ZS-NTE atteneded the two-day Airliner Classics Fly-In at Speyer in Germany. Stefan SchmollAbove left: Behind the cockpit of every DC-3, on the aft bulkhead, is the Aircraft Data Plate. In this case there are three: the Douglas Aircraft
Company – Santa Monica model and serial number plate, the initial US Army serial number and the RAF/SAAF modification plate. Michael Prophet
Above right: During the roll-out at Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus flight attendants, Sarah Jane Bennett and Christina Foley, posed in front of the DC-3
wearing 1950s period uniforms. They were joined by one of the original Aer Lingus ‘air hostesses’, Margaret McLoone, aged 88. Michael Prophet
via The Irish Aviation Society52-56_prop_aer_lingusDC.mf.indd 55 02/02/2018 13:37