I have just returned from a holiday in Gran Canaria and saw and photographed both aircraft while I was there-and if anyone wants me to email them a photo of each aircraft, please email me direct.
EC-BSQ is preserved at the main airport by AENA, the Spanish national airports authority and has been there since 1979 apparently, when Spantax retired it as their last DC7C in service.
The aircraft is kept outside, in a secure area, so I was not able to get access to it, but very fortuitously, my reserved window seat was on the "right" side of the 767 to enable me to get several good shots of it as we taxied past on departure.
The aircraft is in fair condition, considering it has been out in the open for nearly twenty-four years and perhaps its location in a secure area is no bad thing, as it means it's safe from the attentions of nasty vandals.
I actually saw this very aircraft thirty-one years ago, in December 1971, at Tenerife, during its active days-I saw it start up and take off, an unforgettable sight, but unfortunately I didn't get a photo of it-I was only 14 at the time and armed with only a very poor Kodak "Instamatic" camera. Also, in those days, I was far more concerned to get the registrations of aircraft than I was with photographing them.
The other aircraft is EC-ATR (though Survivors 2002 notes that it is often reported as EC-BBT). This is preserved on some waste land next to the aeroclub airfield on the island and is fully accessible.
Like EC-BSQ, it has been stored outside for well over twenty years and unfortunately it is showing the effects of this markedly, with very badly peeling paint, parts missing, smashed, crazed or open windows, corrosion etc.
It has however been much used for advertising in the past, so perhaps it will get another coat of paint again shortly.
It is also, unfortunately, in a dangerously accessible position, with even the gate on the fence around it off its hinges-let's hope no nasty vandals get any ideas.
Two magnificent survivors!
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