On display in the terminal of Carrasco, Montevideo's airport, is this restored Castaibert 80 hp. Uruguay's military aviation school used five Castaibert aircraft, all with different hp-engines built by French engineer Paul Castaibert, between 1917 and 1919. This particular example was built in 1916 and won the Buenos Aires - Mendoza rallye in July 1916. It was retired in December 1919.

France produced an armada of large flying boat types. The prototype 01 of the four-engine Br 730 maritime patrol aircraft flew in April 1938 but crashed in July. This seems to be the first production machine, No 1, but confirmation is sought. No 1 was completed in Vichy French colours but not flown until December 1944 after the liberation of southern France. On one photo it seems to wear invasion stripes. This would be a later shot. The aircraft entered service as a transport, named Véga. It crashed in Arzew, Algeria in January 1949. Three more aircraft were completed, Sirius, Altair and Bellatrix, the latter two to Br 731 standard with a redesigned nose.

Ex 41-7888 and N14RL

17F participated in a major naval exercise during September 1999.

This full-size mock-up features a working canopy and fully equipped cockpit with some original instruments. The paint scheme is standard Luftwaffe 1942-43 Mediterranean theatre. The nose art and logo represent Jagdgeschwader II/27 Squadron that operated in North Africa, in Europe against Bomber Command (Feb.-June, 1944), and in Normandy following D-Day. The mock-up was built by Lech Lebiedowski after salvaging some parts from a crash site.

Delivered to the USAAF as 44-25786, it was damaged by anti-aircraft fire over Austria on 02-Apr-1945 and made an emergency landing at Sombor in Yugoslavia. It carried a 37th FS squadron code 1 and a small number 181 on the rudder. It was taken over by the Yugoslav Air Force keeping the 1 as identity, making its first flight 19-May-1945. It continued test flying into 1946. That same year it went to the Technical University in Belgrade, and in 1989 the incomplete airframe arrived at the Muzej Vazduhoplovstva Beograd. For bookkeeping serial 9751 was later assigned but never carried.

William Stout's airline started commercial flights from Detroit to Grand Rapids on 31 July 1926, operating as Detroit-Grand Rapids Airline. We are assuming that Miss Grand Rapids, wearing fleet number 1, is Maiden Dearborn I opportunistically renamed, but this requires confirmation. Grand Rapids was Furniture City and here we see the 'first shipment of furniture by air' - presumably also the last. The source dates the photo in 1928, but that is unlikely since the USA finally started registering aircraft in 1927. Photo from: Grand Rapids Public Library

The Aeromarine 75 could seat about ten passengers and was a civil conversion of the American-built Felixstowe F.5L, itself based on a Curtiss design. Civil aviation in America lagged behind Europe through lack of government support, but Aeromarine's own airline was quite innovative, with branches in Florida and New York plus a Detroit - Cleveland service across Lake Erie. The Great Lakes Division only lasted from July 1922 until September 1923 though. In other photos its aircraft carry names and a light paint job. Here the rear fuselage reads 'Aerial Express' and a British contemporary source mentions the Aerial Express Company of Detroit. Photo from: Wayne State University

A magnificent aircraft

First of 4 built for the French Air Force. First flown 19 April 1967, and withdrawn from use in 1974.