Airveteran DC-3 OH-LCH visits Caravelle on 12 July, 2025

Suomeksi

This year the iconic DC-3 OH-LCH, owned by Airveteran and maintained and operated by the Finnish DC-3 Society, visited Turku on Saturday 12 July. Fortunately the visit was scheduled for a weekend and our Caravelle was open to visitors. We had invited the Turku Soldiers’ Home Association on site with their van to sell coffee, doughnuts and other refreshments – and there is no summer event in Finland without barbecue sausages! The visitors enjoyed the aviation history event and refreshments in the beautiful and warm but slightly sticky summer weather.

During the day the DC-3 flew three local flights for the public, about 45 minutes each, over the Turku archipelago. Several members of the Caravelle team had booked a flight and enjoyed the piston-engine flight. Unfortunately our Caravelle will never fly again, but a flight on the OH-LCH is always a great experience and the scenery in the Turku archipelago is very beautiful.

In terms of numbers of visitors, the day and the whole weekend were a success. We had almost two hundred visitors on board our Caravelle during the two days. The visitors were interested in the history of the 1960s airliner type and this specific aircraft. The volunteer guides from the Caravelle team were asked many questions during the weekend. Many visitors commented on the great appearance of the aircraft and were amazed to hear the amount of voluntary work done so far (about 7500 hours by May 2025).

In addition to the July weekend, the Caravelle was open to visitors also on Monday, 14 July, to honour Bastille Day. We have created a tradition to open the aircraft for visitors and raise the tricolour on the National Day of France, the country where our beautiful aircraft was manufactured.

DC-3 OH-LCH arriving in Turku. Photo Jouko Tarponen

Photo Jouko Tarponen

DC-3DC-3 pilots visiting Caravelle. Captain Petteri Tarma on the left. Photo Jouko Tarponen

Visitors outside the Caravelle and the Turku Soldiers’ Home Association van. Photo Jouko Tarponen

Flying on the DC-3 over Turku city centre. Photo Erja Reinikainen

The tricolour on Caravelle on Bastille Day. Photo Ismo Matinlauri

Translation to English: Erja Reinikainen