Republic RC3 Seabee (S/N 147 CF-DLN)

On November 15, 1946, a Republic RC3 Seabee, registered NC87579 (s/n 147), rolled out of the Republic Aviation factory in Farmingdale, New York. The aircraft was then sold and ferried to Associated Aviation Incorporated,  3 days later, on November 18th. The aircraft was then sold once again, a whopping 2 days later, to Air City Flying Service, in Daytona, Ohio. The aircraft continued to fly until May 1948, when a small amount of water entered the aircraft and destroyed the aircraft's documents. By June 1949, the aircraft had been completely overhauled and sold to Charles W. Tucker, also in Daytona, Ohio. The aircraft continued flying for different owners, until 1960 when the aircraft was purchased by a Canadian company and was given the registration of a former Seabee (CF-DLN S/N 69) that had crashed in 1958. Additionally, certain parts from the hull of the crashed aircraft were salvaged and used to replace old panels on the hull of the new CF-DLN (S/N 147).  The aircraft flew for another 3 years until it capsized in Lake Simcoe in 1963 and was written off and sold to the former Memorial Military Museum, in Campbellford, Ontario. The fuselage sat outside on the site for nearly 60 years until we purchased the fuselage on July 9, 2022, and brought it to its new home, where we are actively working to restore it.

The registration of the aircraft will stay as CF-DLN, as the certification stamp is still intact, but the aircraft is being rebuilt with parts from at least 5 different Seabees': (CF-DLN S/N 69), (NC87579 / CF-DLN S/N 147), (NC6664K / CF-HTW S/N 941), (N87550 / CF-BFR S/N 111), (N6588K SN/861)