PP-BUD  Curtiss C-46                                        (c/n 30225)

                            

                              Paraense was founded by Antonio Alves Ramos Jr. in 1952 as Paraense Comercial Ltda as a
                              small freight carrier flying from Belem, its headquarters, to various outposts in northern Goias
                              state.   Three PBY-5A Catalinas were used.    C-46s were soon added*.  When it expanded
                              to Manaus and eventually to Brasilia (the first airline to operate there) and Sao Paulo and Rio,
                              it changed its name to Paraense Transportes Aereos, S.A.   It eventually would operate some
                              twenty two C-46s, although its maintenance record was horrible.   It lost aircraft at an alarming
                              rate and when several of its new FH-225s crashed, the Brazilian government said 'enough' and
                              pulled the airline's operating authority in May 1970. 

                            *  Almost one thousand C-46s were to appear on Latin American registers over the years, and the
                                airports of southern Florida were the mecca for sighting them.  The above was taken at Miami
                                International in 1969 when the aircraft was being traded in to Fairchild-Hiller for a new
                                FH-227B.