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The history of Douglas DC-3 N28AAPage 4Back to : Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Next : Page 5 Starflite
Corporation offered N139PB, which had been parked at Tamiami, for sale
in Trade-A-Plane. Ron Alexander, owner of Alexander Aeroplane
Company, purchased it from Starflite on July 18, 1991. The
airplane was ferried to its new home at the Griffin, Georgia airport
where it was completely gutted and refurbished by Ron and Alexander
Aeroplane employees. The process took almost a year to
complete. Ron then registered the DC-3 as N28AA, the last two
letters indicating Alexander Aeroplane. The airplane was then
used
as a promotional tool for the company, flying to airshows throughout
the country and being placed on display. Hundreds of people
enjoyed touring the airplane and riding aboard it. A program
was
developed allowing pilots to rent the airplane for a day to receive
ground and flight instruction. This provided the individuals
with
a taste of what it was like to fly this beautiful airliner.
 N28AA with Alexander Airplane titles at its home in Griffin, Georgia in August 1992. Academy Airlines' ill-fated Carvair N83FA is seen in the background. Photo by yours truly. January
1996 Alexander Aeroplane Company was sold to Aircraft Spruce and
Specialty. Ron kept N28AA and began using it for dual
instruction.
Since he also owned Poly-Fiber Fabric Coatings, Ron painted the company
name on the fuselage. N28AA has over 82,000 hours on its
airframe. If it could talk, it could tell many interesting
stories
of flights in icing, thunderstorms, low ceilings, etc. It has
provided a taste of history for many people to enjoy and has even been
used to host an inflight wedding. Ron
was also the Chief Pilot for the Delta Air Lines DC-3 program for
several years, and N28AA was used to instruct the pilots
involved
in the Delta program.
 N28AA, with revised Poly-Fiber titles, lifts off from Atlanta Harstfield-Jackson International Airport. Photo courtesy of Ron Alexander. Ron Alexander is busy developing the Candler
Field Museum
located in Williamson, Georgia which will replicate the original
Atlanta Airport as it existed in the early 1930s, when it was called
Candler Field. N28AA will be an integral part of this museum,
and
will allow visitors to enjoy the increasingly rare sight of an
airworthy DC-3. N28AA continues to regularly fly to airshows and is
still being used as a training airplane. It's truly remarkable
that an aircraft manufactured almost 70 years ago is still actively
flying in its original configuration. The airplane still has
the
passenger door with a 14 seat passenger configuration. It has
never been a cargo airplane.
The DC-3 played a vital role in airline history and was the first airliner to make a profit carrying passengers. The technology used on the DC-3 in 1935 remains in use on many modern day airplanes.  N28AA seconds from touchdown at Lee Bottom Flying Field near Hanover, Indiana. Photo taken September 26, 2008 by Rich Davidson and sent in by Ron Alexander.  Rich Davidson also took this evocative photo of N28AA on a foggy September morning at Lee Bottom Flying Field in 2008. Thanks again Ron!  Several people forwarded this great photo taken by J. Michael Travis of N28AA making a LOW pass at Williamson on November 11, 2008. Click photo for the hi-res version.  N28AA at Williamson during a rare Georgia snowfall in March 2009. Photo by Dave Moffett via the Peach State newsletter. Where in the world is Williamson? Google Map to this spot NEXT PAGE Sunshine Skies Historic Commuter Airlines of Florida and Georgia by David P. Henderson Zeus Henderson Zeus Press dc-3 braniff trans texas air new england pba provincetown boston airline naples n28aa alexander aeroplane poly fiber |
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