| Brian Abraham |
8th May 2007 09:46 |
This aircraft was originally built in 1944 as a Sunderland Mk III and later converted to a Mk V with the American engines. It flew with 3 different countries during the war starting with the British, then the Canadians, and finishing with the Norwegians. After the war, it was later used to haul supplies into Germany during the Berlin Airlift. It then saw service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force operating out of Fiji. In 1964, this aircraft was purchased by Australia’s Ansett flying boats to replace one that was lost moored in a storm. Converted to passenger use, it operated out of Sydney Harbor to Lord Howe Island, an island halfway to New Zealand. When a runway was constructed on the island, it was put up for sale with its companion, a 4-engine Sangringham flying boat. Famous Pan Am Flying Boat Captain Charlie Blair purchased both aircraft in the late 1960’s and flew them half way around the world for use in the Caribbean. After Blair was killed in a seaplane accident in the mid-seventies, the boats sat in Puerto Rico until they were eventually both flown back to England.
In February of 1993, Kermit Weekes purchased the Sunderland from Edward Hulton. Work on the Sunderland continued in England (Calshot) for the next 5 months. In July, Kermit and a crew of five flew the Sunderland across the Atlantic making stops in Ireland, Iceland and Canada. The Sunderland was flown directly to the 1993 Oshkosh Fly-In in Wisconsin and was left there for another year while the seaplane ramp was being constructed at Fantasy of Flight. The Sunderland arrived in Florida in August of 1994. In 1996, the Sunderland was flown to Sarasota, where it participated in the Olympic Torch relay to Atlanta by flying the Torch from Sarasota to Miami on the 4th of July.
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