Propliner Magazine Annual 2024

The ninth edition of the "Propliner" Annual will be published in late April 2024, and will once again extend to 172 glorious pages filled with all your favourite 'propliners'. Two news sections – covering North America and the Rest of the World – can be found among more than twenty major feature articles, and with over three hundred colour and black & white photographs this is another pictorial bonanza. There is a tribute to Stephen Piercey, the founder of "Propliner", forty years after his tragic loss at the 1984 Hannover Air Show illustrated with a selection of his favourite pictures. Maurice Wickstead concludes his series devoted to the Post-War French Independent Airlines, spotlighting Rousseau Aviation, Air Alpes, Trans-Union, Touraine Air Transport and many lesser known carriers. Fred Barnes takes a trip aboard a British Airways Viscount from London to the Outer Hebrides. Ugo Vicenzi chronicles the history of two Italian airlines – Linee Aeree Italiane and its eventual merger with Alitalia, and the short-lived Societa Avio Trasporti Torino which briefly flew one Douglas DC-7B and a Bristol Freighter. Greg Smith describes the operations performed by the small fleet of Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellations flown by Northwest Orient at a time when the airline was under great pressure, and as a real treat Greg has also scanned some magnificent Curtiss Commando images from the collection of renowned aviation photographer Harold G Martin. Phil lo Bao recalls happy times spent in the control tower at Southampton Airport in between his university studies, and we continue to uncover the remarkable flying career of Captain Gerry Parkinson, with the Avro York now dominating his log book. Graham Robson has contributed two remarkable accounts set in the United States, one recognising his friendship with Dave Kunz and his flying exploits, and the second tracking the fascinating and somewhat unorthodox life of an On Mark Marksman. Roger McDonald chronicles the long association between East-West Airlines and the Douglas DC-3, and Brian Souter provides an entertaining account of his early flying days in the cockpit of the NZNAC DC-3. Another feature article connected with this part of the world sees Peter Marson detailing the operations of the Super Constellations flown by QANTAS through London Airport. Some more stories surrounding Great Northern Airways and its competitors have flowed from the eloquent pen of Keith Simpson, and Michael Magnusson looks back to his early days as an enthusiast watching the activities at Aeroparque Airport, Buenos Aires. In its day the Short Calcutta allowed Imperial Airways passengers to relish a flight across the Mediterranean in comfort, and Karl Hayes returns us to this golden era of aviation with a description of the type's long service. We report on the impressive ongoing recovery and restoration of Vickers Viking G-AGRW by the Blackbushe Heritage Trust, while both Vikings and Dakotas are featured in a short story about Kuwait National Airways and the Kuwait Oil Company. Chris Buckley chased a gaggle of An-2s during a recent trip to Romania, while Roger Syratt and Howard Lee provide a pictorial record of AirVenture 2023 at Oshkosh, and there is an update on Ukraine's enduring Antonov An-12 operation, which flies on despite the challenges facing this brave country.