• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

DC-3 restoration views

Share this page

NutmegCT

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
Bronze
Offline
We're restoring a 1942 DC-3 passenger airliner.

After 7 Dec 41 it was claimed for military service (C-49) even before it came off the Douglas assembly line. We're doing the internals and externals as it would have been (except for that little thing called WW2).

American Airlines 21 passenger flagship, similar to Flagship Knoxville down in Fort Worth, or Flagship Detroit.

Here are some panoramic views of the work as of this fall:

https://www.360cities.net/image/restoring-the-douglas-dc-3-1#48.34,-0.96,40.0

Pan left/right up/down. That'll include a view of the Burnelli CBY-3 we're also restoring. Sorry but I can't figure out how to embed the actual panoramic image code.

For anyone interested in various other panoramic restoration hangar views:

https://neam.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=852
 
Wow! Those panoramics are cool!
 
I still remember my first ever Airplane ride was in a DC-3. Allegheny Airlines from Bridgeport WV to Baltimore, MD when I was probably 9 or 10.
 
Hey, same here first ever flight from Corvallis to Portland Oregon. Rode on one again out of Dallas on my way to Fort Polk. Nice looking air museum.
 
I think if we came back in another 200 years, there will still be airworthy DC-3s. Are you guys restoring her to flight or static?

There's always something epic about restoring an airplane, as it is a huge undertaking that simply can't be done in a week. As Jack Kosko once told me about his shop: "We watch the calendar, not the clock".
 
Watch the calendar, not the clock. Those are *wise* words in the restoration hangar!

Restoring to airworthy, but won't be certificated. Most of our collection could be made airworthy very quickly, but we dont' have the budget to fly them or maintain certification. If I win PowerBall, I'd like to find a DC-6/7 or Constellation, as a "flying museum", traveling to various airfields around the continent, sharing some of our smaller holdings and history. Eisenhower's Columbine II would be a good start.

CT is/was the home of Pratt & Whitney, United Aircraft, Sikorsky, and many other aviation leaders. Lots to share.

Here's a good view of part of our restoration hangar, showing current state of the CBY work:

images%5Crestoration%5Cburnelli%5C2014-sept-nov%5C201411-burnelli-resto-01.gif


Very cool "lifting body" design of Vincent Burnelli.
 
The panoramas are fantastic. I'd love to do something like this when I retire! Heck, I'd probably pay 'em to let me help.
 
Flew right seat in a DC-3 a few times which belonged to Philco Radio Corp. Very gentle, but strong aircraft, easy to fly and land. PJ
 
I've interviewed a number of former Capital Airlines pilots. When describing the DC-3, the consensus was "it's an easy airplane to fly, but it will turn and bite you in the butt if mishandled". I've been told the DC-3's main flaw was poor stall characteristics, usually with a nasty wingtip stall.

The other story was that because it was a taildragger, a lot of pilots who had come from tricycle gear airplanes had a hard time landing it properly the first few times. Capital hired a number of pilots direct from the Air Force. These guys thought they were pretty "hot" pilots, having flown the most advanced jet fighter types at the time...but the DC-3 quickly humbled them.
 
Like any aircraft, they all demand respect and a knowledge of each aircrafts personality, all aircraft has it's own personality. A pilot that chooses to ignore this would be better off getting back in his car and go home. They were not designed to fly by themselves back then. PJ
 
Back
Top