Friday, February 15, 2019

Not only did someone take some great upclose photos of the New Zealand McDonalds DC3, but it's recently got a new paint job too (Thanks Steve!)


Since 1990 the disused DC-3 plane was parked beside the McDonald's restaurant in Taupo, New Zealand.  It has 56,282 hours of flight

Eileen Byrne, the restaurant's 59-year-old owner, says: 'The site was previously part of a car dealership, the Aeroplane Car Company, and the owner bought a disused DC-3 plane, which sat alongside the building.

'And when McDonald's purchased the site in 1990, the aeroplane came with it.

Built in 1943, the plane was one of three used by New Zealand's South Pacific Airlines from 1961 to 1966


ZK-CAW Delivered to the USAAF in October 1943, the aircraft was later sent to Australia and between 1947 and 1961 was owned by a succession of Australian airlines. Purchased by SPANZ (South Pacific Airlines of New Zealand, competition for the government-run NAC), it was imported to New Zealand and named George Bolt. When SPANZ went out of business the aircraft passed to rivals NAC, who leased to Fiji Airways and then to Mt Cook Airlines, until it finally became part of Feildair’s topdressing fleet in 1972.

The aircraft was withdrawn from service in 1984 having completed 56,282 hours. In 1989 the aircraft was towed to Taupo where it was refurbished, painted, and displayed as a feature of the Aeroplane Car Company’s car yard. By late 1990 George Bolt had become an extension of the McDonalds restaurant next door,










https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255113-d3137042-r432524561-McDonald_s-Taupo_Taupo_District_Waikato_Region_North_Island.html#photos;geo=255113&detail=3137042&ff=41404739&albumViewMode=hero&aggregationId=101&albumid=101&baseMediaId=41404739&thumbnailMinWidth=50&cnt=30&offset=-1&filter=7&autoplay=
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2722653/Join-mile-fry-club-McDonald-s-opens-20-seat-restaurant-vintage-luxury-PLANE-cabin-crew-not-included.html
https://www.lovetaupo.com/en/operators/mcdonalds/
https://www.nzrentacar.co.nz/blog/travel-tourism/final-approach-the-last-of-the-dakotas.html

1 comment:

  1. Got to be the coolest McDonald's I ever saw. We need to do cool iconic stuff like this again, like we did in the 50's.

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