Very nice sunday afternoon visitor at my local airport.

The cars in the background indicate an British airfield. But any help on the location and year is appreciated. Photo via G.Bouma

Spyplane! This was apparently the first of several L-12s registered to Australian pilot Sidney Cotton and fitted with concealed cameras at Heston to photograph German military preparations on behalf of MI6. Cotton led the RAF's No 1 PDU (Photographic Development Unit) after the outbreak of the war. G-AFKR was sold to France in April 1939, becoming F-ARQA, and similarly used by aerial photographer Roger Henrard on behalf of the Deuxième Bureau. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution

In front of the Babb hangar at Glendale. Jimmie Mattern again used the registration NR869E for this modified L-12. Planned long-range flights did not go ahead. Instead, Mattern used the aircraft to join the search for missing Soviet aviator Sigizmund Levanevsky, who had helped him following the crash of his Vega 5C NR869E (c/n 188) in Siberia. The L-12 was then converted to executive aircraft for owner/sponsor Republic Oil, but destroyed in a hangar fire in Miami in 1938. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

At the time was owned by PT Bryce and based at Sky Bryce Airport in Basye, VA.

Built in June 1937 as NC18130. To several owners until November 1941 when it joined the Free French air Force with the markings 128-R and callsign F-ZCAW. To G-AHLH in May 1947. to EI-ALC around MArch 1961. To F-BUIE in April 1973. Withdrawn from use and stored at Nice between 1974 and 1982. Ferried to St. Tropez in 1982. Ferried to California in September 2002 as N18130. CoA issues in August 2007. To the aviation museum in Stockholm as SE-BXU after September 2012. Later registered to different US owners (LLC's) as N18130. Operated by Artdeco Aviation. Likely already our visitor of the year.

Departing back to Hannover. What a beautiful machine!

Registered on 10 May 1937. Purchased to survey the so-called Trans-Canada Airway, this aircraft made the first Montreal to Vancouver flight in one day, with five stops along the way. Donated to the Canada Aviation Museum in 1963. Photo by: James Crookall / City of Vancouver Archives

An Electra Junior wearing it's original registration used by Conoco Oil Company when delivered in 1938. Pictured when based at Paine Field, WA, the aircraft was previously based in New Zealand. In 2018, the vintage twin moved to Genk-Zwartberg, Belgium.

Crashed at Oshkosh - Wittman on Jul 31, 1990 during the 1990 EAA convention. Suffered an engine failure during a fly-by and was unable to maintain altitude. The five people on board survived with injuries.

Reregistered N18097 in 2010

This Lockheed 12 was originally delivered in Aug 1941. In 2008 it was painted to resemble Amelia Earhart's famous Lockheed 10 NR16020 (c/n 1055), in which she attempted to fly around the world but disappeared without a trace on 2 Jul 1937. This aircraft was used in the 2008 movie "Amelia", together with another Lockheed 12 (N2072).