Sparfell brings The Spirit of Douglas to Geneva

Sparfell is supporting The Spirit of Douglas project, an iconic DC-3 engaged in a round-the-world tour.

The Spirit of Douglas team was looking for a strong, reputable and highly experienced partner in flight operations, able to support a tour of this scale and complexity. This partnership comes at a meaningful moment for Sparfell, as this year marks 75 years of Queffelec family aviation heritage, a legacy that began in the early 1950s and continues today within the group.

The connection with Douglas history made the collaboration an obvious fit. Within the Queffelec family, Douglas aircraft are part of that story: the Chairman’s father was a pioneer with 5,700 hours on the DC-3, and the Chairman, Philip G. Queffelec, has long been connected to the Douglas legacy through his career as a McDonnell Douglas representative. In that context, supporting The Spirit of Douglas was a natural decision and an opportunity to stand behind a project that is both technically demanding and deeply human.

Operationally, Sparfell is supporting the aircraft’s air operations throughout the World Cruiser Tour, ensuring the consistency and reliability required to move a historic aircraft safely from one destination to the next. The aircraft first flew in 1942 as a Douglas C-53 and was later converted into a VIP DC-3, including the addition of an AiResearch Maximizer speed kit in 1955.  The World Cruiser Tour is presented by the project as a global odyssey designed to retrace the great air routes of aviation history across countries, continents and oceans.

During this stop, the aircraft’s presence in Geneva was made possible through Sparfell’s operational organisation. Ahead of the continuation of the world tour, The Spirit of Douglas visited Geneva and completed a local flight over Lake Geneva with Sparfell colleagues on board, including the Chairman. It was a particularly emotional moment for him, echoing the spirit of the project itself: keeping aviation heritage alive, and passing it on.