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Restoration of iconic wartime aircraft nearing completion
A PAINSTAKING restoration of an iconic Dakota aircraft is due to be completed in the spring in one of the most ambitious projects to be undertaken in recent years at the Yorkshire Air Museum.
The 18-month project has seen the Douglas C-47/DC3 Dakota undergo a repaint, its two Pratt & Whitney engines have been revamped and new propellers have been fitted.
The electrics have also been rewired while the fuel tanks and lines have been cleaned and repaired. It is hoped the aircraft will be ready for display in April when it will be back to ground operational condition, although it will not be taking to the actual skies.
The aircraft arrived at the museum in Elvington, near York, in 2001, and about £80,000 has since been spent on it – the majority during the restoration.
The museum’s communications manager, Ian Richardson, said: “The Dakota is one of our most popular exhibits and such an iconic aircraft. The restoration is nearly finished, and we are looking forward to putting the Dakota on display once again.”
The aircraft was manufactured in Oklahoma City in the US and entered wartime service at in Canada in February 1945. It survived a double engine failure due to a bird strike on a final approach to an Italian airfield during its transit to the UK.
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