By Skies Magazine | April 27, 2015 Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 12 seconds.
This Lockheed Electra 10A was manufactured in 1937, and has now been completely restored.
Lockheed Electra 10A s/n 1091 was manufactured in 1937 and flew for two years with the Bata Shoe Company in Czechoslovakia. The aircraft was used to evacuate Bata officials from Czechoslovakia when Germany invaded in 1939. During the Second World War, the aircraft saw service with Great Britain as well as the Royal Canadian Air Force as 7656. Sold as surplus in 1942, the airframe has been owned by several owners including child film star Margaret O’Brien. The Bata Shoe Company repurchased the airframe from James Almand in 2010, and hired Wichita Air Service to complete a multi-million dollar restoration. The interior has been completely restored and all metal work is better then new.
The Electra will soon fly for Prague, where it will become the centrepiece of a museum to celebrate the Bata’s 120th anniversary.
The aircraft will be at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ont., for a few days while the crew work on some electronic issues. When completed, pilot Nikola Lukacovic will fly the plane with Milan Vacik to Prague in the Czech Republic, where it will be based. The intended route will take the Electra through Labrador, Greenland, Iceland and Great Britain, before the final leg to Prague. Despite the aircraft’s 78 years, modern electronics and new engines should make for an uneventful flight. Once in Prague, the Electra will be the centrepiece of a museum and will help to celebrate Bata’s 120th anniversary. The aircraft will remain airworthy and will fly at several events across Europe.
