Story of the Legend
The Fabulous Flamingo began her life as a C-47B built by Douglas Aircraft Company at their Oklahoma City in 1943. Originally given to the Air Force, she was instantly transferred to the Navy, redesignated an R4D-6 and started her military service on September 12, 1944. Stationed with VR-3 at N.A.S. Olathe during the war, she went to N.A.S. Jacksonville in 1946. In 1947 she was transferred to the Naval Air Force Atlantic Command (AIRLANT) first being based at Brazil Naval Station, then N.A.S. Cherry Point in 1948. She was then converted to an R4D-5.
In 1959 she was declared surplus by the government and sold to Wein Alaska Airlines who afterwards, resold the aircraft back to the government, namely the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for use as an Approach Procedures Calibration aircraft. Originally flying as N67, she was reregistered as N25. In 1980 she was purchased to be converted to a freighter at a cargo operation, however the fleet was upgraded from C-47's before she was converted and she was put into storage.
In 2008 a tornado struck the airfield where she was stored and caused significant damge to the airframe. The landing gear was knocked out from under it, the copilot side wing was bent, various damage to the center section, and pilot's side wing, the fuselage twisted and kinked. Over the next 10 years, the usable parts were slowly removed from the airframe and multiple parties sought the airframe, with most interest being further dismantlement. In 2019, after approximately 2 years since first reaching out, Round Engine Aero acquired the airframe with the goal of finally creating a childhood dream.