My Aircraft History

[Gerry]

Hi all, can anyone tell me how I can find out more about my T/Craft. It is registered as G-BPPZ here in UK. It is a 1946 BC12D and the serial number is 7988. The UK CAA website has its previous identity as N28286, but when I check that on the FAA site it comes up as a Grumman AA-5. I then tried the serial number and the FAA site found a BC12D with that serial number but had its identity as N95688 before it was de-registered in 1988. That seems to tie up a bit as I believe PZ came to UK in 1989. The other fields on the FAA site mostly were blank, including the exported to field which read none.

I would just like a bit of history of its time before coming to UK and if possible some pictures, particularly what it looked like when it came out of the factory. Is there anyone who can help? Thanks Gerry

[Robert Lees]

Re: My Aircraft History

Hi Gerry:

You can get the FAA recorded history of your aeroplane on a CD...usual cost about $5 or so.

Yours is one of the few UK ones that I don't have...if you can wait 'til the summer, I can get them to deliver it free.

[Forrest Barber]

Re: My Aircraft History

The data plate will give you Date of Manufacture, the CD is the best shot. NC95689 was flown by my father Al Barber at the factory on May 1, 1946 , No other log I have shows the flight, best guess is that Sanford Slifkin tested her on 4-30 or 5-1 . For a while they tried to line up the N number & ser# notice the 88.

[Gerry]

Re: My Aircraft History

Thanks Rob and Forrest, I think for $5 I can probably go for it now, interesting that the CAA have a different number on the G-INFO site. I suspect that the FAA have it more right unless it had 2 FAA registration numbers? What is the process and what am I asking for exactly, I have followed the link and just got confused?

Any suggestions as to where I could get any early pictures? Thanks again Gerry

[Robert Lees]

Re: My Aircraft History

To get the CD, you need your serial number (7988) AND N number (The UK CAA data may be incorrect; N28286 is to early an N number for your serial number. N95688 is more in keeping, so try that). The last piece of data will be the export certificate.

When you get the CD, it'll hopefully have the names of previous owners.

What I did was to google them; look them up on the airmen's certificatation database on the FAA site, etc, and I found most of the seventeen previous owners of my BC12D.

Two of them had photos which they sent me:

G-BREY in Florida in 1970 when she was N43640:



And in 1987 in Texas, just before being wrecked, rebuilt & exported to the UK:

[Gerry]

Re: My Aircraft History

Thanks Rob I will give that a try. Are there any factory archives so I could see what it was like when it came out of the factory?

[Robert Lees]

Re: My Aircraft History

No.


Would you like the long answer?

[Gerry]

Re: My Aircraft History

Hi Rob, Why not what is the long answer?

[Robert Lees]

Re: My Aircraft History

No Sir!