Vyacheslav Filippov and Aleksandr Matveev, representatives of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Branch of the RGS, highly appreciated the volume and quality of the restoration work carried out by the company “Helicopter” to restore the legendary “Douglas” C-47 (“Tyurikov’s Plane”) aircraft. They visited Mochishche Airfield in Novosibirsk, where the aircraft was shown to guests and participants of the regional aviation sports festival "For Our Victory – Take Off!".
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“To say that we are satisfied with the result is to say nothing! We are delighted with the result! The incredible skills of the aircraft mechanics of the company ‘Helicopter’, their meticulous approach to the maximum possible preservation of original parts, and the manufacture of missing design elements as identical as possible to the original ones, did what seemed impossible: the condition of the aircraft is as if it had just left the factory,” noted aviation historian Vyacheslav Filippov.
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The painting of the aircraft for the festival was specially made in a military version with red stars.
“By the time of transfer to Krasnoyarsk, the aircraft will not be in a military version, but with the ‘Aeroflot’ identification marks and the ‘СССР – Л1204’ number. As the pilots would say, the "last" designation of the aircraft at the time of the 1947 history. It's a small matter: it remains to restore the instrumentation and elements of the crew cabin and make floors identical to the original ones in the cargo and passenger cabin. We continue to look for opportunities to purchase original equipment, and there are advances in this matter," Vyacheslav Filippov said.
The restoration of the aircraft is carried out in difficult conditions, taking into account the increase in the cost of parts and the difficulties encountered in delivering original items from abroad. However, it is planned that the restoration will be completed at the end of 2024, and then “Tyurikov’s Plane” will return to Krasnoyarsk as a future interactive museum exhibit.
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The project "Tyurikov’s Plane: The Return” is a large-scale international expedition of the Russian Geographical Society to evacuate in 2016-2017 from the Taimyr tundra a unique “Douglas” C-47 aircraft, which was delivered to the USSR from the USA via the Krasnoyarsk Air Route (ALSIB) during the Great Patriotic War. In 1947, the “Douglas” made an emergency landing in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, 180 km north of the village of Volochanka. Crew commander Maxim Tyurikov managed to save all the people on board. Maxim Tyurikov and the radio operator Aleksey Smirnov went in search of help and tragically died, and the remaining people survived for three weeks in the harsh conditions of the Far North and waited for help.