Classic Cockpits : Flying the Douglas DC-3

You’re about to fly in the first “real” airliner…the Douglas DC-3. It was fast (for its time), reliable, safe, and most importantly, the first passenger carrying aircraft that could make a profit.
It’s a bit of an effort to get there: you walk up a sloping floor (the DC-3 is a tail dragger, remember) pass through a short, narrow passage, with freight storage on one side, galley on the other, and settle into the left-hand seat.
To your left, the reassuring presence of a Pratt and Whitney 1830 radial engine, and a big black propeller. Ultra reliable, powerful, easy to handle once you know how, even if it does throw a bit of oil. There’s another one on the starboard side. As long as they both keep going, the DC-3 is quite easy to fly. If one fails, particularly on take-off, you know she can be a bit of a handful (or rather, a boot full!) until you get her sorted out. She’ll test you in a crosswind landing, too
The instrument panel, with its round dials, looks antiquated today. But back in 1932, the artificial horizon was state-of-the-art technology. It made scheduled airline flight possible, even in bad weather, and the DC-3’s automatic pilot helped reduce pilot fatigue.
You’ll be in good company on this flight. Captain Jack Curtis is a 22,000 hour airline veteran, 7,000 of those hours in the left-hand seat of a DC-3. Chris Lin is at the beginning of his career: this is his first day as First Officer on a DC-3.
You’ll join them as they operate a charter flight for Dakota National Air, out of Bankstown Airport, Sydney, Australia, to Mudgee, about an hour away, and return.
This is an important documentary, because it faithfully records the way this venerable old airliner is flown….has been flown, by thousands of airline pilots, between thousands of destinations, over thousands of miles and thousands of hours, over the years.
The DC-3 stands out like a beacon in aviation history.
The full length version of this documentary movie is now available online for the first time, on Historical Machines TV (www.historicalm...), our premier advert-free video-on-demand streaming service. For less than the price of a cup of coffee per month you can access our ever-growing catalog of historical machinery videos. From US$2.99 per month. A FREE 7-Day Trial is available.
Copyright © 2004
Rick Searle Productions PTY Ltd
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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HMTV: Aviation, Motorsport, Military Vehicles, Vintage Machinery & Steam
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#aviationfilm #ww2warbirds #historicalmachinestv #douglasdc3 #vintageaircraft #dakota

[@johnadams2313]

My first time was a scheduled flight from Nantucket to Boston on a DC-3 as an infant.

[@rahmansetiawan6052]

my country airforce still use a pair of c-47 til early 90s. retire it not bcoz the plane can no longer fly but bcoz we no longer have pilot certified for it 😁

[@Mr_Fancypants]

Was this recorded in 2003?

[@HistAvFilmUnit]

Around then, yes.