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Today we will talk about the history of an airplane that many may not know, the DC-6 which is located in the heart of La Carolina Park in Quito.
Do you remember the roars of the engines that shook the Quito sky?? Hoy, in the middle of the bustle of the city, lies a silent witness to a golden age of aviation. We talk about Douglas DC-6B, a colossus of the air that crossed the skies of Ecuador for several years.
Two of them continue to defy the passage of time, and one has a particularly moving story. We are referring to the DC-6B that is located in the heart of the north center of Quito, in La Carolina Park.
El Douglas DC-6, It is a four-engine piston designed in the mid-20th century., left an indelible mark on commercial aviation. On Ecuador, four of these aircraft arrived after serving in LAN Chile (previously operated at Western Air Lines and Braniff) and which were later purchased by the Ecuadorian Air Force, but we will focus on a specific one in this post..
The DC-6 plane from La Carolina
We start with a video that I made together with the great aeronautical historian Guido Chavez and in this AeroReportaje on the YouTube channel we tell you even more details about this emblematic plane:
The plane in question had the registration HC-AVI / FAE-45063 civil registry since it also operated with TAME and the FAE, un DC-6B, was removed from service in old Quito airport at the end of the 70. Instead of being scrapped, The decision was made to preserve it as a monument to aviation in the city's most important park..
Transferred through Amazonas Avenue, The plane was located in what is now a park (Before, it was the city's first airfield, where the Telégrafo I and Ecuador I landed here.), where it remains as a tangible testimony of the history of Ecuadorian aviation.
A user on YouTube, Carlos Espinosa, who surprisingly worked on this plane to recover it, He told us that this DC-6 suffered an accident landing in Quito, where the tail hit the runway and caused structural damage. Due to damage, Parts from other decommissioned DC-6 aircraft were used. Ecuadorian Aviation such as the rear cone and parts of the cabin to restore it and put it in better condition.
At that moment, faced with the total loss of the team, the FAE donated it to Public Works along with the management of the Mayor of Quito from the Álvaro Pérez era, with the aim of converting it into a museum of Air Force and general aviation scale aircraft, but unfortunately due to the vandalism that the plane suffered, the entire project was destroyed.
This type of preservation is crucial to keeping the memory of aviation alive and to educating new generations about the technological advances and challenges faced by aviation pioneers.. Let's hope the plane can be recovered and maintained in a better way., along with infographics or a summary of its history so that all generations can know it.
Did you know this plane? Tell me your experience or memories in the comments.
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