04/30/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "This aircraft was produced by Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. at Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a Sunderland Mk.III in 1944. Serialed ML814 it was assigned to RAF No. 201 Squadron at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, England, in December 1944 it was transferred to RCAF Squadron No. 201, also at Pembroke Dock, while in April 1945 it was transferred to Norwegian AF Squadron No. 330, at Wig Bay, Stranraer, Scotland. It was converted to a Sunderland Mk.V before it was withdrawn from service at Wig Bay on November 21, 1945.

In 1953 it was refurbished by Short and sold to the Royal New Zealand AF on May 26, 1953 and was serialed NZ4108. After ten years of service with the RNZAF it was sold to Ansett Flying Boat Services Pty. Ltd. of Australia and registered VH-BRF on December 13, 1963. Ansett converted the aircraft into a twin-deck 42-seat airliner, and named 'Islander' the aircraft was reflown on September 28, 1964. September 10, 1974 the aircraft was sold to Antilles Air Boats at the Virgin Islands, registered N158J and named 'Excalibur VIII'.

Antilles Air Boats operated only one service with this aircraft (due to certification problems), on January 15, 1975, subsequently it was stored at Isla Grande, San Juan, Puerto Rico. In May 1979 the aircraft was sold to Edward J. Hulton (who formed Juliet Flying Boats Inc. at Miami, Florida, USA on February 27, 1990) and flown to Calshot, UK by Captain R. Gillies on May 17. The aircraft was renamed 'Juliet' on November 12, 1980 and appeared on the British registry as G-BJHS on September 11, 1981, registered to the Sunderland Ltd. at St. Peter Port, Guernsey.

Subsequently it was converted at Marseilles, France and in August 1982 it was moored for several months at the river Thames in Central London, where it is pictured just across the Tower of London, along the Tower Bridge. August 5, 1983 the company moved to Calshot and was renamed Sunderland Flying Boat, while in November 1984 the aircraft renamed 'Sir Arthur Gouge'. On October 16, 1987 the aircraft suffered storm damage and had its wing replaced by one taken from ML796, owned by the Imperial War Museum. It was reflown July 6, 1989, and received a new CofA on August 2, 1989.

The following day it was leased to Ryanair and renamed 'Spirit of Foynes', while in 1990 it was renamed 'Islander' again. On September 24, 1991 it was sold to Kermit Weeks of Miami, Florida, but it stayed in the UK and on the British register, from May 5 till August 12, 1993 it was registered to Personal Planes Services Ltd., who transferred the aircraft to the USA on July 20, 1993. The following September 16, the aircraft was registered in the USA as N814ML, and is since on display at the Fantasy of Flight Museum, Miami, Florida."