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First Air Force, then NASA, now Aviationtag!
The Beechcraft N6NA is back!
Almost 80 years old, numerous conversions and exciting missions under its belt - we are delighted that the historic Beechcraft N6NA is now part of the Aviationtag family.
The plane was built in 1942 for the United States Army Air Force by manufacturer Beech in Wichita, Kansas as the T-11 model, a variation of the Beechcraft model 18 with the s/n 42-37002, leaving the factory doors for its new owner the same year. All in all, Beech produced around 32 different versions of model 18, a twin-engine low-wing plane built from 1937 to 1970, which was also used militarily as a transport and training plane during and after World War II.
After just twelve years, the USAF upgraded the plane, converting it into a Beechcraft C-45H and giving it the s/n 52-10887. The Beech received its airworthiness certificate and the registration N9525Z on 29 December 1960.
Following a brief stint at an unknown owner, NASA then used it from May 1961 under registration N9525Z at the "Jet Propulsion Laboratory", which builds and controls satellites and space probes for NASA. To continue its NASA career, our Beech was fitted with a three-speed transmission by Volpar and moved to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida under its new and final registration N6NA. At this point, the aircraft also had an extended nose and enlarged cabin windows to measure atmospheric electricity prior to the launch of spacecraft.
From 1981 to 1999, "Manatee County Mosquito Control" used the Beechcraft as a crop duster for mosquito control in Florida.
After belonging to "Milford Aircraft Parts Inc" for one year, then changing hands to "A Cargo and Leasing Company LLC" on 1 June, 2000, the trail of this breathtaking aircraft went cold. Its last signs of life were when it was removed from the US register in 2011 and then later spotted at Macon Downtown Airport, Georgia, reappearing in Königswinter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in 2021.
So we are all the more thrilled that the Beech has found its way to us and can now start its new life as an Aviationtag!
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