This, the last flying Martin Mars, is finally going to its forever home. Many of us were afraid it would be scrapped but a benefactor has stepped in to save it. One last flight is to come. Sproat Lake, British Columbia, Canada. 1/10 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationlovers #milair
This is one of only 5 production Martin JRM Mars built for the US Navy in WW2. They were the largest USN flying boat to enter production. Intended for long range patrol and transport, they came late in the war and their usefulness soon dwindled. The last was retired in 1956. 2/10
Each had its own name: Marianas Mars, Philippine Mars, Marshall Mars, Caroline Mars, and Hawaii Mars. On 5 April 1950, the Marshall Mars was lost near Hawaii when an engine fire consumed the airplane after her crew evacuated. 3/10
In 1959 the last 4 were sold to a Canadian firm, Forest Industries Flying Tankers, built as fire bombers with a 6000 gal. tank filled by scooping water from lakes at speed. 30 tons could be taken on in 22 seconds. They went for USD $25,000 each including tons of spare parts. 4/10
Marianas Mars crashed at Northwest Bay, BC, on 23 June 1961 in firefighting operations; all 4 crew were lost. A year later, 12 October ‘62 while parked onshore at Victoria airport, Caroline Mars was destroyed by Typhoon Freda when she was blown 200 yards, breaking her back. 5/10
The last two, Hawaii Mars and Philippine Mars, are now both at Coulsen Aviation’s facility at Sproat Lake, BC. Coulsen acquired them in 2007. Hawaii Mars has flown regularly on contract until 2016 and Philippine Mars last flew in 2012 and has been used as a spares donor. 6/10
It was announced in March 2024 Hawaii Mars C-FLYL was acquired by the British Columbia Aviation Museum in North Saanich, B.C. It will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit. If all goes well, its last flight will take place next fall from Coulson's base on Sproat Lake. 7/10
Coulson Aviation will enlist five certified maintenance engineers and four flight crew to complete about 10,000 hours of aircraft preparation and flight retraining over the next six months to prepare the red-and-white Hawaii Martin Mars for its last flight. 8/10
The other bird, "Philippine Mars" C-FLYK, was retired in 2012 and remains at the Coulson facility on Sprout Lake. At one time it was slated to go to a museum in Pensacola, Florida but for whatever reason, this never happened. Its future is still uncertain. 9/10
There are lots of videos of Hawaii Mars. Here’s one I particularly like. 10/10
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On the edge of a frozen lake in northwest Greenland lies the remains of Kee Bird. A USAF B-29 that sat here in pristine condition for almost 50 years until a recovery effort in 1994 went horribly wrong. 1/11 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationdaily #aviationlovers #aviation #milair
Kee Bird is 1945 Boeing B-29B 45-21768 that was delivered so late in the war it went straight to storage at Davis Monthan. It came out of storage in 1946 and went to the 46th reconnaissance sqd., Ladd Field, Alaska for Cold War monitoring of the Soviet Union. 2/11
Redesignated F-13 (F for photograph; i.e. reconnaissance), it flew missions over the arctic, mapping northern Greenland and also searching for any Soviet military activity in this uninhabited area. 3/11
These six MiG-29s have been stored here at Marculesti Air Base, Moldova since 1997. Ukrane wanted them when Russia invaded, catching Moldova on the horns of a dilemma. 1/7 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationdaily #aircraft #aviationlovers #milair
Moldova received approximately 34 MiG-29’s with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Proving too expensive to maintain, they were sold off to Eritrea, Yemen, and in a 1997 deal to keep them out of Iranian hands, 21 were bought by the United States. 2/7
This left the Moldovan Air Force with eight airframes. Trying to sell them didn’t work out and in 2011 the 8 were sent to Belarus for upgrading. These six returned, as Belarus kept two to pay for the work. They were parked in flyable condition and left here, not maintained. 3/7
“Flying Tigers Airport” is a tiny grass strip in Northeastern Texas. The airport owner has passed away. He collected and flew aircraft for Universal Studios. A couple sad relics are still visible here. 1/10 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationdaily #aircraft #aviationlovers #milair
Let’s begin with the Provost. Percival 84 Jet Provost T.3A began life with the RAF as XN471 in 1960. Upon retirement it came to the U.S. civilian market and was registered in 1993 as N471XN. In ’97 it landed gear-up at Colorado Springs and never flew again. 2/10
Unknown when it arrived in pieces here at Flying Tigers. 3/10
Here’s a rarity. 1951 Lockheed L749A Constellation CN-CCN stored at what was once Casablanca-Anfa Airport, Morrocco. One hangar and 4 relics remain, the defunct airport now surrounded by redevelopment. 1/6 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationdaily #aircraft #aviationlovers #aviation
This Connie was delivered to Air France in 1951 as F-BBDT. One of nineteen L749s Air France flew. 2/6
In January 1960 it went to Royal Air Maroc as CN-CCN and was retired in 1970 to become an instructional airframe for the airline, based at Casablanca-Anfa. 3/6
This Ilyushin Il-76 was an icon stuck in the sand for 20 years at the now closed Umm Al Quwain Airport, United Arab Emirates. It’s a strange plane with a sinister back story- sadly now all that is left of it are “plane tags”. 1/11 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationlovers #aviation
This Soviet-era airlifter became something of a landmark familiar to anyone driving past Barracuda Beach Resort along E11. Umm Al Quwain airfield, where it sat, was a popular skydiving location at the time but is now closed and undergoing repurposing. 2/11
The 1970s-era IL-76 was built for remote areas with unpaved runways. It carried an incredible payload of 114,000 pounds. With a range of 2700 miles it is still a popular transport flown in service by all sorts, from the UN to Ukraine. And it comes with a tail gunner! 3/11
5 locations with interesting aircraft are scattered across the campus of Inha University, Inchon, South Korea. 1/6 #planespotting #avgeek #aviationdaily #aircraft #aviationlovers #aviation #milair
Here is DC-3 HL2002. Began with the USAAF as C-47-A-90 43-15737. In 1953 to Alaska Air Lines as N91005. At some point made its way to Korean AL as HL2002. Now beautifully preserved at the university. 2/6
Here is Boeing 727-281 HL7350. Also ex Korean Air, was written off after a wheels-up landing at Daegu Airport in June 1991. Crew not following checklist neglected to lower landing gear(!) All 127 occupants were evacuated, among them 7 passengers were slightly injured. 3/6