sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

yesterday went with a group of men from promisekeepers, to the Fort Pierce airport to help package food to go to Haiti with Missionary Flights international. They fly missionaries, food, and relief supplies all over Haiti and the Caribbean, using 3 ex c-47's. For those who don't know the c-47 was the military version of the famous dc-3 airliner. I asked why such old aircraft and was told that the c-47 was designed for landing on very short runways of dirt or grass. Their 3rd aircraft was in Ohio get its engines refurbished for 900,000 bucks, Aircraft, fuel and maintenance all provided by donations. Since there are some aircraft buffs on the hog , here ya go. Incidentally we assembled enough food packets in 2 hours to keep 103 kids fed for a whole year. FYI yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of the quake.

last flight out from Casablanca!












not your typical toyota








food packet

DOOK Loc: Maclean, Australia

Great shots. There's still a few Daks still flying.

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

thanks. what is amazing is that there are over 1,000 of them flying. I consider the dc-3 to be the model t of aircraft. Really opened up commercial airflight even better than the old ford tri motor.

DOOK Loc: Maclean, Australia

Wouldn't have thought there were that many left. That's great. When I was in the Air Force in the '60s, heavy freight was carried in Hercs (C-130s) & everything else was transported in Daks. I'm only familiar with the military Dakota. I'm not very familiar with its civilian cousin, the DC-3.

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Good for you!! :thumbup: :thumbup: Very nice job!

Gramps Loc: Republic of Tejas--Tomball, TX

Here's a little history. NWA and Capt Geo.C Boice flew Eisenhower's Campaign plane.

Anyone remember Northeast ?


This One's For You Dook

DOOK Loc: Maclean, Australia

There is a DC-3 parked out the front of the 'Amaroo Tavern' on the outskirts of my home town, Moree. Marty, the owner of the tavern is also a pilot. He flew it there from Papua New Guinea (PNG) 15 years ago. It is a local tourist attraction.

It is anchored down on a concrete base, but it wouldn't be impossible to get her flying again.

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

nothing sadder then a grounded bird or a hanger queen.

Gramps Loc: Republic of Tejas--Tomball, TX

During WWII a crippled C47 limped into a Pacific Island base after being severely attacked enroute. The port wing was almost destroyed. Crew's task was to transport the island observer and equipment out and away from advancing Japanese elements. But in its present condition it "wasn't about to go any where". On the strip was an abandoned, shot up plane with salvageable wings. Only problem, they were a good deal shorter than the C47's. The crew diassembled the damaged wing, rigged the replacement wing to the fuselage, loaded up their party and flew the "Gooney Bird out with a shortened starboard wing on one motor. Yes, Douglas new how to make an airplane!

viscountdriver Loc: East Kent UK

Many years ago I used to fly them and there is no better plane for getting in and out of tight spots. It's also easy to fly.They will go on for ever.

Bruce M. Loc: Longueuil, Quebec, CANADA

The DC 3 in the first set of photos is a conversion with Pratt & Whitney Canada's venerable PT6A, makes a great flying machine just a little better.

simplesimon Loc: UK

Found this old girl in Lincolnshire ,UK. (She now shares a hangar with a WW2 Lancaster bomber, whose tailplane can be seen in 2 of the photos)
Now in "private hands" but still flies. Last year the owners tracked down her war time USAF pilot, still resident here in the UK, though now very senior in years. They surprised him by taking him for a flight, once airborne stuck him in the "left-hand seat" and told him to 'get on with it'. Apparently his tears of emotion were so profuse that he could hardly see where he was going!

Dakota 1


Dakota 2


Dakota 3

lateron Loc: Yorkshire, England

I imagine that this 'Dak' is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight aircraft?
Many, many years ago, whilst in the RAF at Abingdon, I had to go to Aldershot and saw the fuselage of an old 'Dak' being used to train Paras to exit an aircraft. (Abingdon was, at that time, the 'base' of No1 Parachute Training School,), (now located, I believe, at RAF Brize Norton.)

Catoosa Jim

Softest airplane I ever rode in....it floats in the sky.

david48lindsay Loc: New Zealand

Here in NZ the DC3 was the backbone of the National Airways Corporation (NAC) for a long time - Now Air NZ. They also had ones with much larger rectangular windows called Viewmasters. The DC3 was also used for many years by our Civil Aviation Department for flying around this end of the Pacific doing all the checking and calibration of light houses, aviation beacons etc. DC3's were converted to do aerial topdressing as well.

Here in Auckland there is one I see every weekend, it flies out of Ardmore and takes people for scenic trips over Auckland. The old familiar throb of its engines are very distinctive.

See http://www.nzwarbirds.org.nz/dakota/sightsee.html

There is also another one in the South Island http://www.southerndc3.co.nz/home which does charter trips around the place as well.

There are two others here in the North Island that are used as features in Diners both mounted up a flight of stairs off the ground. One is a MacDonalds in Taupo.