Introduction

For first-time visitors a big welcome to Oldprops. I hope you will find this site of interest if you have any affection for old airliners or for aircraft in general. And for those of you who were here for the first five years from 2000 to 2005, welcome back!
I had to take a break for a while owing to a lack of free time - you know how it is! But I've now slimmed down the site to make it more manageable, so you may notice some of the newer Oldprops - such as the Fokker F27 and Hawker Siddeley (BAe) 748 - have gone. That will give me more time to keep track of the real classics from the 1950s and earlier.
The site has two main aims: Firstly, it is simply a place where people can enjoy the photographs I have taken of the many classic old propeller airliners that still exist around the world. Secondly, it is intended as a place where people can get in touch with each other, via the information exchange, and hopefully further the preservation of some of these wonderful aircraft.
Their continued survival is by no means guaranteed. As I write, the world's biggest concentration of Douglas DC7s has just been scrapped at Chandler Memorial airfield in Arizona, USA, while a collection of more recent, but no less important, British Airways airliners has scandalously been broken up at the RAF Museum at Cosford, UK.
On the plus side, in recent years the Super Constellation Flyers Association in Switzerland has ensured that a Super Connie flies again in Europe, Red Bull in Austria has done the same with the DC6 and organisations such as Air Atlantique in the UK continue to keep pistons where they belong - in the sky. There are dozens of such groups around the world, many of which rely on public support. So, when you have finished surfing through my pages, why not look them up on my links page and help them by buying one of their T-shirts, mugs or even a pleasure flight.
You will find information on more than 100 types, including photographs, service histories and census pages. New photos and updates on individual aircraft are added regularly, but please note that Oldprops is a one-man operation (namely me), run on a personal computer in a tiny bedroom 'somewhere in England' as and when my spare time allows. So miracles can take time!
The types covered range from old propeller airliners to workhorse aircraft - such as fire bombers - and other relevant types. If you have any updates or information, however small, please feel free to add to the information exchange - you will find a link to it at the top of the contents page.
Well I hope you enjoy the site - and do keep coming back as I try to keep it up to date and often add new photographs and information.
The propmaster
June 2006
COPYRIGHT: All the photographs on the site were taken by me and I own the copyright. My policy on copyright is simple: If you want to copy my photos for your personal use then that is fine - well, how could I stop you? However, they are not for re-publication anywhere else - including on other websites - without my specific permission and without crediting Oldprops. Aircraft magazines and other commercial concerns should e-mail me first if they want to use them and "make a donation" at usual publication rates.
I don't claim copyright on any facts in the censuses. If you want to reproduce a complete census list for publication in the manner I have presented it then I would appreciate a credit. After all, it has taken a lot of one-handed typing to get these lists on the Web!
Contents Update