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May 4, 2008 11:14 pm US/Central
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Finding Minnesota: The Plane That Started NWA
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) ―
While the merger of Northwest Airlines with Delta still faces hurdles, many of people are already feeling the loss of its name and logo.
The company's roots were planted here 82 years ago when the carrier first took to the skies. So inside an old wood hangar at South St. Paul's Flemming Field, sits an old prop airplane.
It's one of the first used by an upstart carrier, that back in 1926, went by the name "Northwest Airways."
"You get the crank going inertial and then you pull the handle," said Gary Lysdale, a soft spoken, retired Northwest pilot who owns the plane.
The plane is a 1929 Hamilton H 47, which were built in the 1920s in Milwaukee.
"Northwest had eight of 'em. They made a total of 28," said Lysdale.
The six-passenger, single-prop plane was one of the first in Northwest's fleet used for shuttling passengers, cargo and mail.
It's undergone a full restoration and according to Lysdale, "it took the better part of four years and more than one person working on it."
To get a feel for the plane, Lysdale allows for a tour inside.
The plane has roll down windows, silk handles and hardwood trim, but the cabin is a very tight fit.
If you think the coach section of modern planes were crowded and tight, you haven't seen anything yet. Its wicker seats don't give passengers much leg room. Perhaps passengers were a little smaller back in the 1930s.
Lysdale's father, famed aviator Jack Lysdale, salvaged the plane in Alaska and spent years renovating it.
"I think it's restored the best we could do with the pictures we had," said the younger Lysdale.
Northwest flew the old Hamiltons to cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Sioux City and Fargo. The company later retired the old bird when the larger, faster DC 3 came on the scene.
"I would like to see it kept in the state of Minnesota as part of our history," said Lysdale. "Part of Northwest's history."
But until that time, the plane will continue gathering dust in an old hangar. It's a relic of the company's rich past and a reminder of just how far air travel has come.
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