I have many, many hours under my belt in a Super DC 3. The wings were different, allowing shorter take off/landing, the tail was more square, and the engines were changed out from R1830's to R1820's. The 1820 had considerably more grunt and was a single row vs. double row. The Navy called them C 117's. We had several in my squadron in Corpus Christi configured as air navigation trainers. They would go forever as long as you flew them every day. OTOH, let one sit for a week, and it might never fly again! Just before I transferred to a jet squadron, the Navy decided it was no longer necessary to change the oil in the R1820. Just keep adding and change the filter every so often. They leaked that bad. During preflight inspection, if there wasn't a puddle of oil under both engines, the aircraft was down until the oil had been checked.
Lost an engine on one over the Gulf one day. It was looking for a few minutes like we might have to ditch it. Then the other engine smoothed out and we made it on in to Pensacola without further incident. After landing, we had to wait on the runway for a tow truck. Hard to taxi a tail dragged on one engine.

I took these pics at Woomera back in '96 when a RAAF parachuting team was doing a demo. I don't think they are using any of them any more, though.

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Been up since before breakfast

I also found this amongst some old pics from my wife's dad. He took this picture in New Guinea while they were up there doing some missionary work back in '65. I thought it was just a neat pic. (yes, I'm a fan of the DC-3!)

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Been up since before breakfast

I remember my dad flying these during his time in the Air Force, along with the C-124 and C-118. My first ride was 1971 while in the Navy. The R-1820 was a helluva engine, I flew the T-28 with that R-1820.

As I recall my brief experience--a few minutes when I was eighteen--at the controls of a C-47, it felt like flying a three-car garage. Very stable and steady.

Damn good thing, too. I was tempted to try to put the bird in a flat spin, just so see what would happen.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Ever heard of Spooky?

Nothing like triple 7.62 mike mike minis to rain hellfire down upon the enemy!!

Gotta love a plane with huge French doors in the side.

Rusty posted a picture of it in post #10. He called it Puff.

I remember watching DC-3's going and coming from Byrd Airport (Richmond, Va) as a kid in the 50's and 60's. We lived maybe 10 miles or so, maybe less as the crow flies from the airport. They were probably Piedmont Airlines mostly. I remember them being light blue and white.

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John 3:16 .

I flew on Piedmont DC-3's a number of times. Pretty good small airline.

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Oh well, what the hell.

My first flight, (I am a white knuckle flier) in the late 70 was to Atlanta to catch a flight to Ohio. Our local Seat of the Pants airline used DC-3's. I remember clearly the flight, on a Sunday afternoon. I also remember the wind was really bad and the ride was rough. I also learned not to eat things that sit heavy in your stomach (chili) before flying. I didn't lose my lunch, but it was touch and go the whole trip.

I suspect that it would have ended badly, not to mention abruptly.

My favorite aircraft of all time.

I wonder how many DC3/C47/Gooney Birds are still in service? I know
there are quite a lot for such an old girl.

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In Omnia Paratus

I saw an estimate that a couple hundred are still flying, but I only found one in North America, Buffalo Airways, that still fly's passengers.

Buffalo Airways: Your passage to the North. - Douglas DC-3

Who can ever forget the sound of a DC-3 or a P-51 Mustang?

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Eccentric old coot

My first airplane flight was on a Piedmont Airlines DC-3, from what was then Friendship International Airport in Baltimore (now Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport) to Pittsburgh, then on to Cleveland. Been in love with those old birds ever since...

I last flew in a DC-3 on my final leg to basic training in 1970. Ozark Airlines if I recall correctly. Good flight, too. These suckers are still in service at places around the world. I remember seeing one doing commercial flights in Canada as recently as seven years ago. They were in service prior to my birth and will likely remain so after I pass. Few if any other models can make a claim like that. I still picture Bogart and Bergman with the DC-3 on the runway in Casablanca. That scene was a sleight of hand I think because all out birds were serving the war effort, not Hollywood, but none the less, a lasting memory.

That was a twin-tail Lockheed Model 12 Electra, but we'll always have Paris.

I flew in c-47s as crew member around to the radar sites in Iceland in the 50s. Tough old birds and very low maintenance.

My cousin, a few years older than I, flew C46s and C47s over the "hump"
in WWII. I never realized how dangerous it was until reading up on it
recently. We lost a lot of planes and crews. My cousin's older brother
(also my cousin) flew B24s in North Africa and then B29s over Japan.
His ship was shot down by a zero and he was killed when the prison
camp he was in was bombed.
They are the reason I joined the Air Force as soon as I turned 17, but
I never distinguished myself anywhere near what they did.
We need to remember all those brave folks past and present.

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In Omnia Paratus

Or a P-38 or F4U or P-47. Loved them all, and remember when they were operational, but especially enjoyed the music of the radial engines. Something about the start-up of a DC-3/C-47...

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Oh well, what the hell.

Fortunately there a USAF bird colonel in the other seat.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Got to watch "Puff the magic dragon" when our ship was off the coast of Vietnam. Looked like a laser beam with 1 in 4 tracers. Got to fly in whatever the navy called them when getting shipped back home before my end of emlistment. Still had the seats alongside the fuselage. Loud and vibrated like heck. This 20 year old at that time thought it was cool. We got to go in the back of the cockpit to see how it all worked. Thanks for the memories. Frank

My first duty station after boot camp was N.A.R.F. California. Naval Aerospace Recovery Facility. We had one of the two remaining C-47's that the Navy still had at that time. Most of the guys on the facility (it was small) were drawing flight pay and I was back seat qualified on a couple of jets.
My biggest thrill while there was being assigned as a plane captain (enlisted crew chief) on the C-47, Bu. No. 0811. I pre-flighted, baby sat and washed the old gal for 18 months even though I was an ADJ. (Jet Engine Mechanic)
I logged about 120 hrs. riding third seat and even got to drive once in a while.
I've often wondered when she was pulled from service and what became of her after that.
Boy, that's been a long time ago now.
I have some pics of the old gal, they're photos from 1969. Not sure how I'd get them added to this page.

Great story about a great plane, that you were appreciative to crew. Thanks for sharing.

Would love to see the pics. Many of us use the photo hosting sight Photobucket. If you use it, once you upload pics, select one, and select the IMG link from the list of links. This automatically copies the link to the clipboard, then paste the copied link into the body of the post.

I was there when this happened:
Tucson Citizen
Vets say planes get stolen
by Paul L. Allen on Apr 18, 1997, under News
• A C-117 (Marine Corps equivalent of the C47 ”Gooneybird,” based at Iwakuni, Japan, in 1977.

Bob Dwyer, a former Marine fighter pilot who flew F-4Js and is now a Learjet instructor with Flight Safety International, said two Marines, a crew chief and flight engineer, stole a C-117 while he was stationed at Iwakuni in summer 1977.

He said the men, after a night of drinking, took off about 2 a.m.

They apparently managed to sober up toward morning and tried to land at Futema Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa. Their request was denied, and they were sent to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. There, the commander – doubting the ability of two enlisted men to land a multi-engine aircraft – instructed them to make a wheels-up crash landing in a grassy area.

The duo declined and proceeded to Ie Shima off the north coast of Okinawa, where they executed a perfect landing.

”The last I heard, their feet didn’t touch the runway all the way to brig,” said Dwyer.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.