Will Be Seen In AeroShell Square 

The FAA's oldest aircraft, its Douglas DC-3 "N34," will be on display at AeroShell Square during AirVenture Oshkosh 2003. Painted in the orange, white and silver color scheme of FAA's predecessor the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA), N34 will be retired to the Kirkpatrick Center Museum Complex in Oklahoma City after its last flight during the 2003 air show season.

The airplane was built for the U.S. Army Air Forces in Oklahoma City in 1945, then was diverted to the U.S. Navy and served as a VIP transport in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

In 1963, the aircraft, along with 16 other Navy R4Ds (DC-3s), was transferred to the FAA where it was used to check navigational aids along the National Airspace System until its retirement in 1981.

Once Nearly Scrapped; Now It's a 'Historic Place'

Declared surplus and scheduled to be sold off in 1983, N34 was instead placed in storage in Oklahoma City until 1985 when then-FAA Administrator Donald Engen ordered it restored. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.eaa.org