History Douglas DC-3's in Rock Falls ILL.

There are over 200 DC3/C-47s still in revenue service (i.e. making money) around the world. There are two at Long Beach Airport near where I work that haul mail and freight to Catalina and up and down the coast. It's a hell of an airplane.

Kurt O.

 

I love the sounds of those big radial engines. I live in Mesa Arizona by Falcon Field.The B17 -Sentimental Journey is based there and it flys over the house quite a bit. I always get out to watch it hang in the air. There is also a DC3 being refurbished near the other war birds stationed here.

 

Coverage and photos please. Thanks. Slim

 

There's also a bunch of C-47's/DC-3's flyin' parts and supplys to the oil rigs / pipe line out posts / Eskimo Villages / Various Islands in and around Alaska to this day ,,not to mention the C-46's,,C-82's ( the proto type to the C-119 ) ,C-119's,,and those awesum 4 engined , tripple tailed "Super G's",,Alaska is a Pilots / Aircraft Enthusiasts Dream ,,,Aircraft can fly up there that are illeagle in the lower 48 ,,such as a Piper Cub with a 400 HP Contental Engine ( a Super,Super Cub ) ,and complete STOL equipment ,,they can land & take off on a postage stamp ,,been there , done it ,,great stuff up there ,,

 

There is a company in central Texas that does DC-3/C-47 mods to install turboprop engines on them. They look strange to me, but they, along with the wing mods and other things done to the airframe to accommodate the new powerplants, are supposed to extend the working life of the plane to at least 2040 or so. Imagine, a 100-year-old, revenue-generating airplane!

 

Man, I'd love to see that show. Yes, please post pics if you go.
This thread made me think of this attached photo and caption. Stolen from the book, American Warplanes of World War II, edited by David Donald.

 

My first ride in a commercial Airliner was in a DC-3, Denver to Oakland. 1955. Had several rides in Goonie Birds whilst on active duty. Now, you've re-kindled my thoughts of going to Oshkosh fly-in. Checking on reservations as we speak.

http://www.airventure.org/

 

Basslers has been retro fitting them to control oil spills in the Gulf with large storage tanks of dispersal... one's finished and there's plans for more.

 

Lots of DC3 (we call them Dakotas over here) bits in my Modified including chopped up seats and aluminium clevis joints used to support the fuel tank.

Just had a look at the updated/uprated DC3 - man, I gotta get me one of those....

 

I recall many goonies lined up awaiting the axe at the Sebring Airport/Race
Track in the 70's. Of course at the time enterprising individuals were
patching these scrappers back together off the books for clandestine flights.

 

For those that like to Rock... we salute you!!!!

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LyUJIC6I7ic&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LyUJIC6I7ic&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vEV47V_f-Yw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vEV47V_f-Yw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

What a grand old airplane. Moving all over the country with my father who was an Air Force bomber pilot I got to see many DC-3's/C-47's. When I was in the first grade (1950) they were quite common at the Air force Bases where he was stationed. By the time I graduated (1962) they were few and far between. I'm glad to see they are still flying and performing useful service............kinda like the old cars we mess with.

Frank

 

Sweet!!!

 

Cool story about rebuilding them.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/96701784.html

 

C-47 on Floats ,,in Alaska,,

 

Found another Pic of that C-47 on Floats in Alaska ,,I saw alot of interesting Aircraft when I lived up there ,,

 

wingnutz, that was awesome. i wish i had the dc-3 clip in stereo. that thing sounds great.

 

This one came over my house and I swore it was on fire. Smoking really
bad out 1 engine. Raced up to my work and it was already on the ground
and an oily mess. It hung out at Fantasy of Flight for a year or so.

 

There was several big Aircraft on floats up in Alaska when i lived there ,,didn't get any pics of em ,,but there was a C-119 and either the Air Force or the Coast Guard had a C-130 on floats ,,Lake Hood there by the Anchorage Airport is the biggest Sea Plane Base in the World ,,Hundreds of neet Aircraft on Floats ,,,I met Lowell Thomas Sr and Jr there with their Otter on Floats ,,once a single engine and later a twin ,,My Union 76 Gas Station was there at the Airport and I had AV Fuel and a Fuel Truck to gas up those Sea Planes on the Lake ,,i had all the grades of Aviation Fuel ,,including Military 145 ,there was a bunch of Military Surplus planes flying there ,,

 

Ramblur; was that in Florida when you saw it ???

 

Thanks for the videos. A buddy of mine has a Beech 18gs ( about 2/3 the size of a DC3. It is one cool plane to fly in also.

 

My Dad built Goonies during the first two years of WWII (Too old to enlist - was later drafted) I work on Gun Ships in the USAF 68/69 in Viet Nam at Bien Hoa - Great Aircraft.

 

4tl8ford; back in '80 ,,i hired a boat mechanic for my boat shop from Mercury Marine when they were on strike ,,turned out ,,he was in Nam and was one of the guys that rigged the Gatlin' Guns on the "Puff the Magic Dragon" C-47's and later the C-54's ,,his name was Sgt Gene Smalley ,,we spent a lota hours over a few beers talkin' about those days ,,,i was in the Air Force too ,a Jet Mechanic ,from '63 to '67 ,,but spent my time in Alaska,,thankfully ,,

 

Yep, in central FL at http://www.fantasyofflight.com/.
It was down here quite a while. Now there's a PBY Catalina thats been
sitting on the ramp for a few years. It flew in too.

 

His "Short Sunderland was up in Oshkosh for a couple years... but eventually they get flown!

What's really amazing is that when the first DC's came out... they outperformed the Navy's fighters in speed and ceiling.

Needless to say... it sent all the engineer's back to the drawing board to drastically redesign their fighters!

 

Does anybody know ---- will there be DC-3 or C-47 rides offered, either at this event or at Oshkosh, or is this just a place to form up for the fly-in to Oshkosh? Also, thank you to Ryan and the H.A.M.B moderators for letting this OT thread run.

 

That building at Tinker is still there and it is HUGE. To this day every location in it identified by it's support post #'s . I did business there and invaribly I would be by post L25 and the guy I needed to see was by post H350 The next step would be going back ouside to the car and driving through 2 or 3 more huge parking lots to get closer to the part of the building where that area was located at. There are pictures in the lobby of the DC 3 assembly days and they are moving down 3 assembly lines that look endless. It is amazing to me what we could accomplish as a country in those days.

 

Interesting ,,the C-46 ,,the prototype to the C-47 ,never gets any mention ,,in '62 &'63 when i was stationed at Walker AFB ,,Roswell,N Mex ,,a SAC B-52 Base ,,we had parts flown in daily ,in the middle of the nite ,,by C-46's ,,

 

DC-3s/C-47s are the snit! Glad to see this stuff!

 

A short video of Puff the Magic Dragon ,,sumtimes calle Spooky ,,,KQQL Stuff,,,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73SciCMf9Rw