Willkommen Beech!

In the afternoon of 7 October 2020, a new historic plane touched down at Mainz-Finthen airport (Germany). The aircraft is Beech 18 N45SK (construction number AF-645) which seems to be destined for a new German owner.

The journey started on 30 September from Janesville (WI) to Old Town (ME) and later on that day to Bangor (ME). On 1 October the crew flew from Bangor to St. John's in NewFoundland and then to Goose Bay, Labrador the following day. On 3 October it had planned to depart to Narsarsuag (Greenland) on the first leg of its Atlantic crossing but put it off until Monday 5 October. From Narsarsuaq it carried on to Iceland and then to Europe. The final leg of the trip was made on 7 October, flying from Prestwick to Mainz-Finthen.

N45SK was constructed as a Beech AT-11 Kansan in 1942, and taken on strength by the United States Army Air Force with serial 42-37666 (construction number 4963). In 1954 the twin was remanufactured as a C-45H and a new construction number (AF-645) was assigned to the airframe. It was then taken on strength as USAF 52-10715.

After its military career had ended, the Beech carried several civilian registrations: N9931Z, N792MU, N792MA, N114DS, until finally becoming N45SK in September 1991. In February 2019 the aircraft was registered to Plane Fun Inc. TR Trustee of Snellville (GA).

Photos: Alex Christie (kindly provided via AirHistory.net) and Chad Dee Morgan