Air Colombia

Air Colombia is a cargo airline based at Vanguardia Airport in Villavicencio, Colombia.

Douglas DC-3 HK-3359
HK-3359 is a C-47B-45-DK and build for the USAAF in 1945. After the war she flew in Canada with WaglislaAir as CF-TFV. In 1988 she was imported into Colombia. Transamazonica is the forerunner of Air Colombia. Transamazonica was forced to cease operation and its owner re-started as Air Colombia.

Douglas DC-3 HK-3293
Air Colombia C-47A-1-DL HK-3293 during C-check at the company base at Villavicencio, April 2015. This ship had serviced the RAF in the after the war BOAC in the UK. She was sold to Northwest Orient as N9994F and in 1951 she went to the RCAF. In 1970 she was acquired by Basler and in 1982 she left for Colombia.

Douglas DC-3 HK-1175
This aircraft left the factory in 1944 for delivery to the USAAF. Originally this DC-3 has been manufactured in 1944 as a C-47A-DL. This military DC-3 variant had two 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92’s engines with a MTOW of 13.320 kg. Basically it was a DC-3A-456 with a 24 volt electrical system and hot-air heating. After the war she was first registered civilian as NC65743 of Miami Airline Inc. Fate hit a blow on April 1953, when it crashed near Selleek, WA. Fortunately it was not fatal and she was rebuild. For a short period she flew in Canada for Montreal Air Service as CF-DME. Via Miami Airline she was exported to Colombia in 1964 and her next operator was Lineas Aereas La Urraca from Villavicencio. The aircraft changing hands once more as she was acquired by Transamazonica Ltda. In 1972 she was seen derelict at Bogota Airport. Finally this frame has been rebuild and is presently part of the Air Colombia fleet.

On April 14, 1953 this DC-3 has crashed. The following is information about this incident:
The flight departed Washington National Airport, at 00:07 for a flight to Seattle. The flight stopped at Cleveland for fuel and oil and arrived at Chicago at 07:35. Shortly after takeoff at Chicago, the flight returned owing to rough operation of the left engine. The left magneto of this engine was replaced by a spare carried on the aircraft and the flight again departed at 12:15 for Minneapolis, made a fuel stop there, and arrived at Fargo at 16:40. One of the engines was spitting and coughing, but it would take a mechanic 15 minutes to get to the plane, and the crew decided to continue. The left engine started with some difficulty and the flight departed Fargo at 17:48 and made fuel stops at Billings and Felts Field, Spokane. The flight departed Spokane at 00:35 the next day on an IFR flight plan. At 02:07 the pilot of the DC-3 reported an engine failure to Seattle Center. Seven minutes later, Seattle Approach Control heard the pilot report that he was icing up and losing altitude. The flight was cleared for an approach to Boeing Field. The last transmission from the aircraft was received at 02:22, reporting that the flight was at 4,800 feet. The airplane struck 150-200 foot trees at the 3,500-foot level of Cedar Mountain while descending with wings level. The right wing tip was the first portion of structure to contact the trees, and both wing panels were progressively torn away to the center section in a series of decelerations. The fuselage broke into three sections, and the nose section was demolished.

Douglas DC-3 HK-3292
This airframe left the factory at Oklahoma in 1944. Originally this DC-3 has been manufactured in 1942 at the Long Beach plant as a C-47A-DL. This military DC-3 variant had two 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92’s engines with a MTOW of 13.320 kg. Basically it was a DC-3A-456 with a 24 volt electrical system and hot-air heating. During her military days she was converted to a SC-47A for search and rescue mission. After the war it was bought by Aero American Corp. During the 70’s her fuselage was stored at Ryan Field, AZ. In 1976 she was rebuild and exported to Canada as C-GABG. In 1980 she returned back to the US. During the 80’s she was exported to Colombia.

Villavicencio is situated between the Andes and the jungle

Under the sunset this nice polished DC-3 starts to sleep on the amazing Villavicencio airport. Behind you can see another DC-3

Mecanico Jose Caballero and co-worker are greasing the wheel bearings of HK-1175. Her brake pads will be installed soon. Villavicencio, April 2015.

Men at work. These mechanics are Colombian artists !

The fuselage is held together by thousands of rivets and screws

The first DC3 was built more than 70 years ago, yet in Colombia's jungle the old propeller plane is still a daily mode of transportation

C-47 is the military version of the DC-3

HK-3293, manufactured in 1943. This ship once flew for Northwest Airlines in the US. Presently she is in overhaul with Air Colombia

Mecanico Jose Caballero is enjoying a Pepsi! He and his co-worker are working on the brakes and the ball bearing of Air Colombia DC-3 HK-1175

First built more than 80 years ago, there are still about 100 DC3s that fly regularly. They have survived war and old age, but of the approx. 20 that remain operational in Colombia half are grounded at any one time for repairs

Still with Transamazonica titles but these days owned by Air Colombia.

Most of the aluminium raw material, bauxite, of most WOII war-planes, including this DC-3, came from the Suralco bauxite plant in Suriname, South-America

Introduced in 1935 by the Douglas Aircraft Co., the DC-3 revolutionized air travel, offering 14-berth sleeper transports that allowed passengers to fly from New York to Los Angeles

Villavicencio is DC-3 capital of the world, with many of the 10+ examples present at any one time used to fly to dirt strips in the Amazon basin. This particularly sharp example has just returned from such a trip

In World War II, DC-3's like this ship transported Allied troops to Normandy and operated in the heat and sandstorms of North Africa and the frigid Arctic Circle

Another day over, one of Villavicencio's many DC-3s chills out in front of the passenger terminal, before taxiing back to the airline's dirt lot later on in the day

The heavy rain appeared from nowhere giving a nice atmosphere for this arriving bird.

That day a bought a ticket with Air Colombia for a flight to Mitu and back. After departure Air Colombia Operations Control re-routed the flight for commercial reasons several times that day. Finally our routing was from Villavicencio to Caruru, to Mitu, to San Jose del Guaiare, to Miraflores, back to San Jose del Guaiare and finally at sun-set back at Villavicencio. Only one passanger was very pleased with this decision. What a terrific day!

After the passengers were strapped in, the Twin Wasps fired up

Ready for departure

Due to the low cruising altitude of this classic prop you are on cloud level for most of the time, which is very scenic!

A small gift from a dutch aviation enthusiast was much appreciated

HK-1175 as she began her milk run — like most of the other flights in the region, on an ad-hoc schedule — over the plains and into the jungle loaded with boxes of newly hatched chicks, big jugs of gasoline, a 32-inch LG television, boxes of flowers and a refrigerator

A very relaxed atmosphere in the aft of our DC-3

Literally everything has to be flown into the jungle villages

Far out in the vast Colombian jungle lies the small village of Caruru

Quite suddenly, the endless green of Amazonian forest opened up, a river appeared portside and HK-1175 softly banked along the water. In the distance, a narrow strip became visible just past the treeline — a dirt runway, all huts and holes. But that’s all there is to this Amazonian jungle outpost of 800 souls

Caruru is a town and municipality located in the Vaupés Department, Colombia. Without the DC-3, the 800 or so people who live in Caruru would be completely isolated

For the people of places like Caruru, a small Indian village, the arrival of a plane is a major event. Air Colombia stop there only once awhile, with a cargo featuring vegetables, beds, dogs, chickens and television sets

The DC-3's serve a number of Indian villages in the Amazon, and they are often the only means of transportation connecting the jungle towns to the outside world.

Captain Saclamente transports villagers, furniture, mattresses and animals in his DC-3

These are all-terrain airplanes. It doesn't matter if the runway is full of mud or water. This plane is very trustworthy and maneuverable

The main undercarriage retracts forward into the engine nacelles, leaving about a third of each wheel exposed as a precaution in case of a wheels-up landing

There is no control tower in Caruru so everything must be done the old-fashioned way - on intuition, judgement and experience. And what passes for a runway - a slippery landing zone pitted with holes - is short

As we exit the DC-3, its virtues become clear. The dirt airstrip at Caruru is too short and bumpy for commercial aircraft, but the DC-3 has sturdy landing gear and balloon tires. Its slow speed allows it to put down on runways as short as 600 yards.

Colombian pilots must fly through storms in vintage planes over dense forests to deliver food and goods to villagers isolated from the rest of the world

Capt. Joaquin Hernan Sanclemente and his co-pilot Ovidio Alarcon Gonzalez run through the after-takeoff checklist in the cockpit of their DC-3. This particular one was built in 1944 — and it shows. The compass is held in place with bungee cords; there's no autopilot; and if we go down, the survival kit includes a flare gun and a machete

I didn't dare to put the camara and fingers more closer to the props, meanwhile Saclamenta and Gonzalez keep track of where they are by noting the curve of a river or the Indian villages they have flown over countless times. Such landmarks are easy to spot from a plane that travels at less than 130 mph and rarely higher than 8,000 feet.

Mind the Propliner magazine left of Captain Sanclamente

Mitu approach. Mitú was erected as a modest hamlet in October 1936 by Miguel Cuervo Araoz. The town served as a meeting point between different indigenous communities, in addition of being a center of rubber tree exploitation, fur trade and missionary center. Its main activity was the rubber trade for food, clothing and fuel. After being for a time a township, in 1963 Mitú became the capital of the Vaupés Commissary (Comisaria). In 1974, it was made municipality and in 1991 it became the capital of the new created department

In an era of Big Boeings and high-tech Airbuses, the DC-3 gets praise from Capt. Salamanca and his co-pilot, Olvidio Gonzalez, for its simplicity and reliability. Though the DC-3 has radar and GPS, Saclamenta said, there is no automatic pilot.

Mitú is the capital city of the department of Vaupés in Colombia.[2][3] It is a small town located in South eastern Colombia in the Amazon Basin. Founded in 1936, Mitú lies next to the Vaupés River at 180 meters above sea level. It is where the core of the services (transport and trade) are provided to the Vaupés Department.
The Vaupés River serves as connecting link between Mitú and nearby hamlets on the riverbanks, but there are no roads connecting the town to rest of the country. Accessible only by airplane, Mitú is the most isolated Capital of Department in Colombia.
The founding of Mitú can be traced to the rivalry between Brazilians and Colombians exploiting rubber in the basins and ranges of the upper Guainía and Apaporis rivers. By 1903 there was an intense activity exploiting rubber in the area around the Vaupés river using the local Indians, of the ethnic groups tucano and carijonas, as slaves.

In November, 1998 an estimated 1,900 FARC guerrilla members of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP tried to take over the town by force, against 120 National Police membersand one Colombian National Army Battalion. The Colombian Air Force and Army Aviation supported ground forces with air raids. Mitu was left partially destroyed and some 60 policemen and 10 civilians died along with over 800 guerrilla members.[4] In their escape FARC took hostages as human shields including some 40 to 45 members of the Colombian Military.
Mitu, April 18, 2015

Always check if there’s enough oil in your engine and fuel in the tanks

Alberto Leon Bentley was a famous pilot from Mitu

Mitu, being once overrun by rebels

HK-1175 awaiting her pax for San Jose del Guaiare.

Passengers and troops from a jungle platoon prepare to board our DC-3 at Mitu, Colombia

HK-1175 was delivered to USAAF in 1944 and is still soldiering on in Colombian skies 71 years later. Amazing

Other aircraft at Mitu that day were: Aliansa DC-3C HK-2006, Aer Caribe An-26B HK-4730 and several Cessna's ranging from 172 to 208. Our routing that day was Villavicencio to Caruru to Mitu to San Jose del Guaiare to Miraflores back to San Jose del Guaiare and finally back to Villavicencio.

April 20, 2015, Aer Caribe An-26B being unloaded at Mitu, near the Colombian-Brasilian border

Pepsi Cola is favourite in Mitu

Just moments after getting off from Mitu - Fabio Alberto Leon Bentley Airport on April 18, 2015, with Capitan Joaquin Hernan Sanclemente in the left hand seat and Ovido Alarcon Gonzalez in right hand seat of Air Colombia C-47A-90-DL HK-1755

There is no space for emergency landings in the impenetrable rainforest, which is the size of France. Several planes have vanished into the dense jungle, swallowed up by the vegetation

Everything has to be worked out, approach speed, the precise place where the wheels must touch down

San José del Guaviare is a town and municipality in Colombia, capital of the department of Guaviare by the Guaviare River. It is home to some of the deisolated Nunak people.
San José del Guaviare, city, southeastern Colombia. It lies along the right bank of the Guaviare River, in a transition area between the Llanos (grassland plains) to the north and tropical, semideciduous rainforests to the south. Despite its isolation from neighbouring economic centres, San José del Guaviare has surpassed in population and economic importance the town of Mitú, which lies 200 miles (320 km) southeast.

The principal economic activities are cattle raising and farming. An unimproved road extends between San José del Guaviare and northern points such as Bogotá. Pop. (2003 prelim.) 20,778.

San Jose del Guaviare airport terminal

The airport is a military base and this IAI-201 Arava was present during my visit

Antonov An-26B HK-4730 of Aer Caribe has spent a good part of its lifetime working as a sky-truck in Europe. She flew for CityLine Hungary as HA-TCX, JetLine as ER-AZF, Farnair Europe as ER-AZF and Air Highness as EK-26510. In August 2014 she sustained substantial damage due to a nose gear incident at San Jose. Fortunately, the damage could be repaired

Built in 1944 and perfectly airworthy as of April 2015

Our DC-3 will be loaded with boxes of newly hatched chicks, big jugs of gasoline, a 32-inch LG television, boxes of flowers and a refrigerator

When the plane stops at some forlorn village, Jose peers into the engine cowlings and looks for oil leaks, wrench in hand

Our DC-3. A lifetime working as a sky-truck, presently for Air Colombia

HK-2600 DC-3C rolled of the Oklahoma production line in 1946 and is presently owned and operated by Aliansa

Out here in the Colombian outback — a roadless land dotted with nearly forgotten hamlets, straggling bands of Marxist guerrillas and grizzled soldiers of fortune searching for El Dorado — the only link to civilization is the DC-3 and Capt. Saclament

Fortunately, our flight, departing from the southern Colombian town of San Jose del Guaviare, is smooth. Soon, we touch down in the jungle hamlet of Miraflores, a former cocaine boomtown that was once controlled by Marxist guerrillas.

Miraflores landing strip - one of the most dangerous in Colombia - is its main thoroughfare

Miraflores is a town and municipality in the Guaviare Department, Colombia. The municipality was created on February 8, 1990. The settlement was founded by a group of colonizers during the 20th Century.

On August 1998 a Colombian National Police Base was overran by the FARC guerrillas and later rebuilt and reoccupied on February 2004.

The legal economy in the region is mostly based on logging and agriculture and to a minor scale artisan fishing. Due to the presence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla and other groups involved in the illegal drug trade business, the economy in Miraflores was ruled by coca for a long time. The coca paste was sometimes used as currency, substituting the local Colombian peso or the US dollar. The situation had improved the last years which make flying into Miraflores a bit less dangerous.

Late afternoon traffic jam at Miraflores. Aliansa HK-2600 needed our parking spot so we had to make it a quick turn around!

On exiting we were greeted by a soldier with a machine gun, a reminder that rebels are still an ongoing issue in these less populated areas

Miraflores, a muddy road in a small village is also used as a runway

“We’re here!” said Captain Sanclamenta, as our twin-engine prop hopped along the runway and came to a stop

As villagers unload their groceries, passengers for the onward flight rest in the shade under the wings

Our DC-3 is seen here unloading its cargo at the dirt runway in the very remote village of Miraflores

Miraflores is a small town in the middle of the Colombian jungle. Until recently, it was notorious for being a drugs capital, under the control of cocaine traffickers and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels. Things have improved since.

This area used to be an ex-FARC stronghold

Captain Sanclemente never spends more than 30 minutes on the ground there - just long enough to unload. He is particularly keen to steer clear of the crowds of children who gather round and get in the way during takeoff

That day we came across Aliansa DC-3D HK-2006 at three different airstrips namely; at San Jose del Guaviare, Miraflores and ofcourse at Mitu.

Aliansa HK-2600 reflecting in the late afternoon sun at Miraflores "terminal No. 1". We were on are way back to San Jose del Guaire o/b Air Colombia HK-1175