Aviodrome 1 September 2012
September 1st was a very remarkable day at Lelystad Airport! Last month a very interesting visitor arrived at the Aviodrome Theme Park Museum: a De Havilland DH.84 Dragon with registration EI-ABI with the name ‘Iolar’ (Eagle) on its nose. In fact it was painted as the first aircraft entering service at Aer Lingus in 1936. During the Second World War it was shot down by a German He-111 who mistook it for an enemy plane. Since another DH.84 still was present in Ireland it was given in 1985 its present registration.
On September 1st it was flown out of Lelystad airport, but only to be replaced by an even more remarkable visitor: the Sikorsky S.38 Amphibian N28V ‘Osa’s Ark’ carrying a ‘Zebra’ paint scheme. It arrived in the afternoon at 16.35 h shortly after the DH.84 ‘Iolar’ took off for its flight home.’
‘Osa’s Ark will stay at the Aviodrome in the big T2 hangar until March next year. Most likely it will be dismantled and crated for transport to the U.S.A. by that time to be present at the Sikorsky jubilee activities.
At least this remarkable September 1st 2012 was a day that saw both planes outside the hangar in perfect photographing conditions!
Nico Braas
Latest news isa that the Sikorsky S.38 ‘Osa’s Ark has been sold to Kermit Weeks; owner of the U.S. based Fantasy of Flight museum.