ENTHUSIAST ’ S CORNER
Ralf Kurz CONTRIBUTORS
South America Flight Adventure
What you must do flying in a Convair 440 or a legendary Curtiss 46 ?
ERIC OSBORN KNOWS THE ANSWER . The Englishman is the founder and head of Aeroprints . Since 1977 his travel agency has been taking care of the wishes of aircraft enthusiasts . Their success story began with bus excursions and day trips to air shows . But now also tours lasting several weeks to fare continents are on the agenda .
Within Europe trips to certain events can still be organized by yourself . But when travelling to South America or East Asia preparations are more difficult . After all , who speaks fluent Spanish or even Japanese ? In a spotter group with like-minded people and Eric as tour guide unusual travel wishes can be realized more easily .
However , at least twenty people must register with Aeroprints for a tour to take place . Often the final costs of the trip is not yet fixed . Sometimes a cheap price initially becomes more and more expensive over the time . This depends on how the original program changes and additional services are required . Well , Eric is flexible in this regard and grant individually agreed discounts . If some arrangements are made independently or the entire schedule is not full used . A lot of luxury in rather mediocre hotels and often shared rooms are not the focus of the participants . Regular enthusiasts already know that such tours are not relaxation trips . Instead , the aim is to visit as many airports as possible in a short space of time . Anyone who is not prepared to make every effort to do this is on the wrong trip and surely will never book again .
On the tour to South America in 1991 it is debatable whether it was the right to choose VIASA as airline for the long-haul flights . The state carrier from Venezuela was in serious turmoil at the time . Only a controversial takeover by the Spanish Iberia saved it momentarily from complete bankruptcy . We were lucky to make it from London to Caracas on day of departure with only a four-hour delay .
After arriving in Caracas our group didn ’ t care about that fact because after a short stopover , the Dominican Republic being the first destination on the agenda . At the airport of Santo Domingo two operational Lockheed Constellations of Aerochago were waiting for photographers on the apron . Moreover a pair of active Curtiss 46 from AMSA also aroused the curious interest . The highlight of our stay was a sightseeing flight in the Convair 440 from TRADO for a mere forty dollars per person .
16 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2025 www . airwaysmag . com