Detailed tour through the legendary Douglas DC-3
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- Опубликовано: 10 июн 2024
- Join me in this detailed tour through a Douglas DC3 (DC-3) - the civilian version of the C-47 Dakota / Gooney Bird / Skytrain which flew with the USAF and TAA (Trans Australia Airlines). DC-3 documentary. All captured in 4K UltraHD with my Gopro.
Raw footage of the C-47 without talking: • Douglas DC-3 / C-47 Da...
HARS Aviation Museum RUclips channel: / harsaviationmuseumshel...
There are two aircraft in this video. The DC3's registration was VH-AES but was built initially as a C-47-DL cargo transport (cn 6021) and allocated the USAAF serial 41-18660.
The flying C-47 in this video is A65-94 (VH-EAF).
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#douglas #dc3 #c47
All footage is © Copyright 2021 Paul Stewart
0:00 intro
0:30 exterior
5:46 interior
6:35 flight deck
I was one of the last pilots in the USA to fly the DC-3 in scheduled passenger service 1976-1979 for a commuter airline in Missouri. I was the company's DC-3 training officer, check airman, and line captain. I have about 1,000 hours in both the DC-3A and the C-47B. I flew scheduled passengers, off line passenger charter flights, rock groups on tour, and car parts in the
C-47Bs. Some interesting facts about the DC-3 that few know are as follows. The DC-3 does not have a spar. The outboard wings are attached to the center section just outboard of the engines by a gazillion machine bolts. You can see them in your video. Also, the main landing gear does not retract forward or backward as every other airplane does, but retracts and extends vertically. Straight up and straight down, which means there is no maximum speed for lowering the landing gear unless your airplane has gear doors, which most do not. Also, to retract the gear requires 6 individual steps. Another fact is that the airplane was designed before we knew to bend the outer wing tip leading edges downward to a lower angle of incidence than at the wing root. This is done on modern airplanes so that the wing tips do not stall before the inner wing. Stalling the DC-3 can mean an immediate roll to inverted flight because one of the wing tips stalls before the other wing. Each engine had a maximum oil capacity of 33 gallons! Our minimum for dispatch was 20 gallons, and we normally flew with between 20 and 25 gallons. But with both oil tanks full, that was 66 gallons of oil at 8 lbs per gallon for a total weight of 528 lbs. But few companies flew around with full oil tanks. The R-1830-94 on my airplane normally burned one gallon of oil per hour. Our passenger DC-3, N889P, had 30 passenger seats.
Wing attach angle bolts, 365 in each wing, so close to the actual wing structure, only open ended spanners could be used in wing removal. I did my apprenticeship with TAA in Qld .in the Sixties in DC-3 overhauls. I was avionics. I loved it when a wing had to be removed to get it into our WW2 igloo hangar. I had to undo 3 wires for the landing and nav. light in that wing. Then I would stand back and laugh at the mechanical apprentices spend an hour or two undoing the wing bolts. I actually was part of the team that fitted and wired the radio/avionics in that A/C and also the one in the Qantas museum in Longreach, Qld.
@@rosssmith6205 Thanks Ross!! I never knew the exact number of bolts and now I do thanks to you. To remove (730 bolts) and replace both wings (another 730 bolts) would require wrenching 1,460 bolts!!
I flew in a DC3 from London to Frankfurt as a child in the 1950s. Thanks for the video!
I had the opportunity for a quick ride in a DC-3 at a Myrtle Beach air show. A cool opportunity.
VH-AES “HAWDON” rolled off the production line as a C-47 C/N 6021 on November 6th 1942. Assigned serial 41-18660, to US 5th Airforce, Pacific. Aircraft is a combat veteran, fired on by Japanese, hit 7 times by rifle fire on starboard side, damage repairs still visible. Post war, acquired by Australian government, rebuilt to DC-3 spec and registered as VH-AES. A wonderful aircraft, got me home safe many times. Good luck for the future.
Lovely stuff, these aircraft deserve medals dedicated to the designers and builders, as a lot are still flying now, near on 90 years later
This aircraft still flies & serves till this day.
It’s a very durable, versatile & also beautiful aircraft.
Really respect this aircraft
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The DC-3 also was the first airliner where the galley had ovens that could actually heat food. As such, passengers on transcontinental flights in the USA in the late 1930's were treated to actual hot meals during the flight, a major innovation at the time for an airliner.
Really enjoyable Paul! Interesting to learn that the DC3 was the first airliner to have a circular fuselage .Even features that I'd have thought would be common sense, like a smooth connection between the wing and fuselage, were interesting to hear about. The fact that such an old aircraft is still flying is a massive credit to the original designers!
I would not say the DC-3 was the first airliner to have a "circular" fuselage. And it's not really"common sense". It all depends on what the aircraft is being built to do and what materials it is made from. In the era when aircraft were made with wooden frames and fabric covering, then a "circular" fuselage did not confer any real advantage.
In World War 1, some "German fighter aircraft such as the Albatros DV and the Pfalz had wooden monocoque fuselages. In the late 1920s, Lockheed built airliners with wooden, circular section monocoque fuselages too. In fact, Jack Northrop, who went on to form his own company, acted as a consultant for both Lockheed and Douglas at various times so he had a massive input into both the Lockheed "circular" fuselage airliners and the later DC-1,2 and 3 family.
The DC-3 ended up with a more circular fuselage mainly because it needed to be wider to accommodate sleeping berths - which the DC-1 and DC-2 lacked.
Later, pressurised airliners, including the Comet, were given circular cross section fuselages as it was a more desirable shape when pressuring a fuselage.
Douglas actually built a pressurised airliner in 1939, the DC-4E which didn't have a true circular fuselage. No airlines wanted it so the actual production model DC-4, which was a smaller and simpler aeroplane, was unpressurised with, ironically, a more circular fuselage. Douglas' first production pressurised airliner was the post war DC-6.
Ever wonder why the wing was swept and Douglas hired Jack Northrup, Ed Hineman, Dutch Kindleberger & ? The weight & balance, after the parts were built had a bad aft CG problem so a slice of pie shaped piece was added inboard of the outer wing to move the CG. Only one DC1 was built and a few mods made a good DC2 and a few more made a better DC3. I always what effect Von Karman's 1926 wind tunnel at Cal Tech had on the Southern Cal airplane industry?
My very first flight was on a Southern Airways DC-3. Ever since I have loved this aircraft. I transferred in Atlanta (the joke is when you die whether you go to Heaven or Hell you'll still have to go through Atlanta!) to another iconic aircraft, an Eastern Airlines 707. Those were the days when flying you still felt like a human and not like you were just cattle shoved into tightly packed noisy tube.
Such a beauty. I think this plane set the standard for the looks of commercial airlines. It looks timeless
My father flew the C-47 in WW11 over the Hump. My mother flew on the DC-3 as a stewardess for Braniff. Always interesting to see a tour of this great airplane.
The cockpit seems far less complicated when you break it down Paul! I enjoyed the tour!
Thank you, a reminder of my time on the Dak’ at Speke early 60s
This is such a cool plane
Thank you, Paul, for sharing your wonderful video about the DC-3 with us.
I once had the pleasure of flying in one of these babies. It was about 20 odd years ago, by a small tourist operator called Dakota Air flying out of Bankstown. It was evening supper flight over Sydney. It was a wonderful experience, especially as were able to take turns walking up to the cockpit and looking out the front, and watch the pilots do their thing.
thank you! now I know what my father had to know to be captain of this plane.
he flew for Caribbean airlines, out of Miami, from 1945 to 1949..
then was in operations till 1965.
my mom worked flight watch, all of this was for Pan Am ..
those were the days!
Glad you enjoyed the video :)
This is one plane that I would love to fly. One of these days I just might. I fly Cessnas now. But The DC 3 is one of the few planes I want to have.
So glad I’ve found your channel!
That you Paul for a well produced tour of this great aircraft. I flew, as a passenger, on a number of DC-3's in western Labrador and Quebec during the 60's and 70's. They were operated by Hollinger Ungava Transport (HUT). Solid aircraft and always got us where we were going, summer or winter, safely. DC-3's still flying commercially up in northern Canada even today. Lots of life still in them!
Its been said that the only aircraft to replace a DC3..............is another DC3....:D
interesting, thank you. My first flight was in a DC3. For my second DC3 flight I sat in the right-hand seat for fifteen minutes or so. There were more DC3 flights in Papua New Guinea, including a couple in the side-saddle version, where passengers sat sideways on the two rows of seats that ran along the sides of the fuselage.
great tech for the day, an interesting and historic old beast and so reliable ,without the wings it looks like the space shuttle. they must have know something. Love your clips thanks Sir. cheers NZ
One of my things on the to do list, is a flight with a DC3. My nickname on the HAM27mc radio is DAKOTA. Magical airplane.
In April/May, 1965 I was l fortunate to fly in BWIA DC3s between Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; flights of mere 20 minutes.
I was a flight attendant for Warbirds in New Zealand on a DC3
Loved it for two wonderfull years
Great vlog thanks Paul
Glad you enjoyed it
I can see L-200 MORAVA in the shot. Lovely surprise!
Flying on a DC3 is on my bucket list
I remember when it was displayed in the main car park outside the TAA terminal at Tullamarine
Thanks Paul. Big fan of the DC-3 and a big fan of Buffalo Airways.
Same here!
The 'ARDU' logo on the tail of the RAAF plane is 'Australian Research and Development Unit', and was based at RAAF Base Edinburgh in Sth. Australia.
Will be flying on one in Holland this summer. Can’t wait
Enjoy!
Excellent tour of a classic airplane. The landing gear is one of its strongest design points! Don't think you could break it if you tried. Tnx for a well produced very informative video!
prob the best aircraft of all time. - still rocking today!
Great tour! I really enjoyed it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks Paul. Another great video. Keep them coming. However, don’t forget before she was the DC-3, the aircraft was the DST - Douglas Sleeper Transport, which you did mention. In fact, the first 40 were actually DST’s before converting to the full-on DC-3. But wait - these are not the only designations the airplane had, as you mentioned in military service she was the C-47. But that’s not the only military designations the “Dak” had, as there was also the C-53 - the “troop transport” version, with the “C-47” being cargo. But that’s not all, ‘cause there was also the
C-117 which was the “staff transport” version of the C-53. But wait, there’s more! A number of civilian DC-3’s were conscripted into USAAF service and there were a plethora of designations here based on airplane configuration and source airline, and these consisted of: C-48; C-49; C-50; C-51; C-52; C-53; C-68; and C-84. Oh, and there was an experimental troop transport glider version of the C-47 called the XGC-17. But wait, the USAAF wasn’t the only military service that used the “Dak”, as the United States Navy used them too as transports, and as the USN had their own designation system, these were called the R4D. Japan also built them under license and when in Japanese Navy service they were called the L2D (code name Tabby), and the Soviet Union built a version and in VVS (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily) service the aircraft was the PS-84, but this was later changed to Li-2 (code name Cab). And other Air Forces used the C-47 as well, and as you showed, in RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) service she was the A65, and in RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) service after 1968 she was the CC-129. So, congratulations to the Douglas DC-3, as she has the most number of designations applied to a singe aircraft.
Flew EC47’s in Vietnam, airborne radio direction finding(ARDF) it was funny that our AC (aircraft commander) would always check the data plate and actually found a couple that he flew in WW2. I would have flown with him anywhere.
DC 3 UM AVIÃO GUERREIRO,NA ÉPOCA ERA O QUE SE TINHA NA AVIAÇÃO ERA MENINO AINDA E ME LEMBRO MUITO BEM DESSE TEMPO.
The most beautiful man-made object ever created, bar none.
I might have to disagree with you on that one. I think that honour would have to go to the Supermarine Spitfire. This is easily in the top 5 though.
@@YukonDemon Oooh yes,but I deliberately left off killing machines.The British,German and Japanese war planes were equally as stunning.
Very enjoyable! Another interesting angle one day might be "pure" DC3s, as in the pre-war Wright-powered aircraft, as opposed to the Pratt-powered C-47s, and later DC3 conversions. Plus, of course, the door being on the right hand side! Well, it was on some, and not on others!
Thanks for another great video Paul DC-3 a true classic
Absolutely beautiful airplane
Paul, as usual, this was an informative tour of the DC-3 and its systems that functioned so well before modern electronics and space-age navigation tools. I've watched a number of videos on the DC-3, but yours was the best organized and informative of all I've seen! Keep up the great work! Maybe we bull-headed Yanks will take our medicine and start wearing our masks properly so the rest of the world can begin to enjoy travel again!
Of course, as I usually find in all your videos, it adds so much class to have the narration done with an authentic Austrian, or is it an Australian accent? It's like the Grey Poupon guy doing the voiceover. Wait though, I don't speak Austrian, so it must be Australian since I am a self-taught speaker of Australian because I have begun watching a lot of Australian movies lately with "CC" turned on, working quite well for a polyglot like me (don't think admitting I'm a polyglot will get me kicked out of the local Elks Lodge). Cheers to all down under!
The small door at the front aka the Hamburger door is for mail. Luggage goes in the back. The very first Gooney flew in late 1933. Withe the 9 cyl engines.
I have seen the dashboards of a lot of DC3s on You Tube clips and no two seem to be the same. Throttles, flaps, landing gear though is all the same. Then there is the Basler!
Thank you, Paul, a great video as always and incredibly interesting.
Excellent tour Paul, lots to see at HARS
Nearly 90 years inn…The interior is remarkably similar to the most modern planes of today.
Crikey seems more complex than a modern aircraft. It's all "do it yourself". :-)
That was really awesome The best plane in the world Thanks Paul
I am making a scale rc model of the dc-3 and this video was very useful thankyou.
I actually flew on one few weeks ago from EFHK to EFTP to EFVA to EFJM to EFHK
Excellent 👌
Paul visiting a classic !
Excellent video that's the first time I've seen the inside a DC3 👍 thanks Paul
Glad you enjoyed it
I Flew on one in the late 50's out of Syracuse....American Airlines gave me a Ring as well I remember.
Very informative Paul.... Thank you
Interesting video!
excellent brief and enlightenment
Great job, thanks‼️👊🔥
🪖
Thanks for watching :)
Very informative. Well done!
Brings back memories at ARDU at RAAF Laverton in the 60s when they had 4 of them on the tarmac.
Thanks for the tour !
My pleasure
Thank you for the detailed view. It is great to see the details and what the levers and antennas are for. Keep it up!
Glad you enjoyed it! I have a few other similar tours on my channel :)
Cool I was on 4 of them today
Nice!
Most interesting and I am sure a lot of work, many hours went into this ! Thank you.
I think I must have flown in one of these in the mid fifty, although it may have been a DC4. I remember not flying very high and the ride was somewhat bumpy over the Atlas mountain in Algeria.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved it! Lots of history here...
Cheers mate
The swept-wing design were not there for aerodynamics reason, but for Center of Gravity reason, because of a design choice in the fuselage (I don't remember which part is was), thus the CoG had go back. But to reduce the cost of shifting the wing backward (and redesign some part), the outer wing were swept-wing to put the CoG backward, without changing the position of the wingroot
Another great video Paul! Interesting to hear that it only exists because Boeing refused to sell the 247 to TAA. And the 247 tanked anyway!
It's not quite true that Boeing did not want to sell 247s to TWA.
In 1933, Boeing, Pratt and Whitney and United Airlines were all part of a large conglomerate called the United Aircraft Corporation. As a result, United Airlines got "first dibs" on 247 production. Boeing was happy to sell to TWA or anybody else for that matter - but everybody else had to wait in line until United had received its allocation of 247s first.
That's what annoyed TWA, who then approached Douglas to see if they could come up with an alternative as TWA was not prepared to wait.
My dad was a radio operator in ww2 on C 47,s a military version on DC3
I like old cockpit
Good job.
Cheers Mark
@@PaulStewartAviation Your delivery of information is excellent,and the subjects you choose are interesting..
No Head-Up Display?! Joking aside, amazing for 1941. Thanks for sharing, Paul! You spoil us 🤗
Cheers David. A new B-52 tour is coming out tomorrow
@@PaulStewartAviation great, thanks! Hope you’re well
Bonito pájaro
top man..
If your a DC-3 fan read "Fate is the Hunter" by Ernest K. Gann, the greatest aviation book ever written.
First trip on a D.C 3 was on East West Airlines on a school excursion Sydney to Canberra, roughest flight I have ever had.
haha yep travel has got a lot more comfortable
I have been lucky flying with my dad in are cherkee 180 taking of from my local Small airport called gnoss field or in the north Bay Area. To see a dc3 flying to the bay tour for some special reason . Was just so cool to see the old bird flying and it’s hard to see them flying.
Thanks Paul. That's quite an informative video.
I would hate to be the bloke having to hand pump those hydraulics 😂
My friend jumps out of these as part of a WWII paratrooper demonstration team. A couple of years ago he took part in a "D" day demonstration in France to celebrate the invasions anniversary
Уважаю американцев за техническую эстетику той поры. (С запахом шеллака и лигроина). Тогда была эта вершина...
I would love to fly on one as well as a B-17 or B-29.
I was noting the rectangular windows just as you mentioned the Comet and pressurized cabins
Some things just don't go together.
Got some great pics of that dc3 the other week ,didnt get to go in ,so great to see this video in your travels have you got to see the ju 52?
Video stopped at 5:22. I found the video on Facebook so maybe that had something to do with it.
I flew freight in DC-3's for three years and enjoyed what I saw here!
The video worked for me? Maybe it was an ad break at 5:22?
@@PaulStewartAviation No, it wasn't an ad. Something to do with Facebook I believe. I viewed the rest of the video a few minutes ago here on RUclips.
The aircraft you show appears to be a former C-53, not a C-47. There were a lot of variants of the DC-3.
There’s a lot of really cool aviation museums in America like the Smithsonian Air and Space (both of them are in Washington, DC) there’s the Charolette Douglass Museum which doesn’t have much but it’s main attraction makes it my personal most favorite museum so far...Cactus 1549 there’s also the Delta museum at Atlanta Hartfield I haven’t gone there but I want to because it has N661US which is the first 747-400 but why I really wanna go there is cuz N661US was Northwest 85 which had a hard over lower rudder then NWA merged with Delta and N661US became a Delta 74. If you ever fly down to the East coast USA you should go to those museums here’s the states they are in
Charolette, NC - Charolette Douglass Museum
Washington DC, Virginia - The 2 Smithsonian Air and Space one has aircrafts like Bell X-1, one of Amelia Earhart planes and the Wright Flyer and the other one (which is at Dulles Int’l also a good place to plane spot as its right by the runway) has an Air France Concorde, SR-71, Enola Gay, a Space Shuttle, the first 707, Lockheed Constellation and more
Delta Museum - Atlanta Georgia
They also use them during the Vietnam war out fit as spooky or puff dragon with guns and much more to support the ground troops
First like view and comment
And I’m the first to comment on a comment & 2nd view 💪
Beautiful aircraft! BTW is that L-200 Morava in the hangar in background? Greetings from actual Morava, a part of Czechia where L-200 was designed and built!
"Militree." Brings to mind an old joke: Definition of "symmetry." That's where they bury a Brit after he dies; in the symmetry.
You must visit Writt-Patt Airforce base museum. By the way, I like your work and I subscribed.
Thanks! Yes I have and if you look through my channel you’ll find many videos from that incredible museum :)
This little guy was flying over sydney 3 weeks ago
This plane looks like the they use during WW2 for the airborne troops and tow the gliders as well During D-Day
Do the pedals control the rear rudder? You didn’t mention those. 😊
My Dad had one at his caryard in Brisbane as a sign. If you want a photo of it can email you one.
At 9:12 is that not the elevator trim on the left? As in the 737 for example?
Of the thousands produced…
I’m curious to know how many remain airworthy?
You can actually buy a DC3 for a few hundred thousand dollars.
It's a very old airplane and there aren't many of them left that are still in working condition.
Paul, im in DFW-TX, and just up the road in Fort Worth there is a Merican Airlines museum where there is a DC-3 inside the bldg. I took my College bound nephew to check out the bird. I dont think its airworthy, but its all there. the alloy has been polished to a mirror finish, and the engines look clean as a wistle. My nephew jumped inside and I later followed. My issue happened when I stepped in the back door. I suffercated on some odd fumes inside that bird. Like my face and lungs were on fire from allergies. I was handed a mask by an older gent and went inside. The interior was original but I wonder why is got me sick. I have never been sick in any airplane before. Is the one your are showing fresh inside or is the smell nasty also? One would think Merican airlines would sanitize the interior. Im thinking the bird is decaying on the inside? Anyways, keep up the good work..🙂
Somehow I would feel safer in this plane than a jet.
Does anyone know if there is a DC-3 within 200 miles of Springfield, Missouri USA that I can get a short ride on? On my bucket list.
What is the temperature inside during flight?
Dear God I’m old enough (read stupid enough) 🙄. to admit I’ve actually flown on the DC-3 aboard Ozark Airlines when I lived in Chicago. 😉