Former US Army Friendship touches down at Lelystad!
Foundation for Flying Dutch Cultural Heritage's (Stichting Vliegend Nederlands Cultureel Erfgoed, VNCE) former US Army Fokker C-31A Troopship (still in Golden Knights colours, the US Army's parachute team), registered as N27FF (msn 10668) arrived on 3 November 2020 at Dutch soil.
Using callsign N27FF and Mode S indicated GKA608, the C-31A arrrived at 15:58 hours local time at Lelystad airport and received a welcome shower from the fire brigade. It then taxied to the Zeusch hangar, next to the Satys hangar, and was pushed inside.
VNCE not only wants to preserve this important piece of Dutch aviation heritage for future generations, but will also provide the interested public an opportunity to fly as a passenger on a Fokker F27, which is otherwise practically impossible nowadays.
The US Army had two C-31A Troopships in their inventory. Both aircraft were operated by the USAPT Aviation Section (US Army Parachute Team). The aircraft were delivered to the US Army in November 1985 and withdrawn from use in 2019. They were replaced by two DHC-8 aircraft, known in the military as C-147A.
The first C-31A, serial 85-01607 (msn 10652) is preserved at the Pima Air Museum, Tucson (AZ). The second one, 85-01608, has been sold to the Stichting Vliegend Nederlands Cultureel Erfgoed (VNCE).
Photos: Frank Crebas Aviation Photography, Airops24, Suresh Atapattu via Airliners.net and Erwin Stam Photography