It would entail multiple powerplants, long drive shafts, and pusher propellers mounted on the extreme aft end of an aircraft. Well-stocked from the war effort with a robust team of engineers and faced with a dwindling number of military contracts, the company tasked a team to investigate and develop the concept.

• READ MORE: Cessna 407: Full Steam Ahead, Right Up Until the End

The company’s first attempt at integrating the new design resulted in the XB-42 “Mixmaster”—an experimental military bomber with twin contra-rotating propellers mounted to a common drive shaft. Although the company built and flew two examples, the military quickly lost interest in piston engines, and Douglas pivoted, ultimately reworking the XB-42 into the jet-powered XB-43. Neither aircraft would advance beyond the development stage.

Undeterred, Douglas unveiled a proposal for the same twin-powerplant, pusher-propeller concept in 1945, which was applied to a conceptual airliner. Called the Douglas DC-8 “Skybus,” it would utilize the same Allison V-12 engines as in the XB-42, this time buried in the forward fuselage section and linked to the aft propellers with a series of shafts that extended nearly the entire length of the 77-foot aircraft. The Skybus never left the drawing board.

Douglas would try one last time to make the unconventional design work, this time in the form of a 39-foot-long, 5,085-pound, five-passenger GA aircraft. With a large, bulbous forward fuselage section and low wing, the Cloudster II housed two 6-cylinder Continental piston engines behind the passenger compartment. Douglas designed the aircraft around two 250 hp engines but explained in a 1947 press release that it would be flown initially with 200 hp engines until the more powerful ones became available.

As unique as the pusher design was, it was not without precedent. Just two years earlier, Lockheed had built and flown its Model 34 “Big Dipper,” and WACO’s Aristocraft made its first flight only a few months before the Cloudster II. The companies touted many of the same theoretical advantages, including unrestricted visibility from the cabin, no spiraling slipstream effect from a forward-mounted (tractor) propeller, and a quieter cabin. 

• READ MORE: Interstate TDR Developed as Unusual Kamikaze Machine

Moulton Taylor, the designer of the similarly configured roadable “Aerocar” that would fly a couple of years later, added that at idle a propeller mounted to the extreme aft end of the fuselage has the effect of an anti-spin drag chute, adding stability and aiding recovery from spins. Taylor defended the pusher configuration passionately, observing, “Who ever saw a boat with a tractor propeller?”

Another benefit of the design had to do with controllability in the event of an engine failure. Like the Cessna Skymaster, the Cloudster II utilized centerline thrust, meaning that if an engine failed, the remaining engine could power the aircraft without introducing asymmetric thrust and the associated handling challenges. Of course, because the Cloudster II utilized just one prop and drive shaft, a single point of failure of any of these components would leave the aircraft entirely unpowered, illustrating the lack of redundancy compared to a traditional twin.

When the Cloudster II finally flew, it encountered problems that were both predictable and serious. The lengthy drive shafts produced significant vibration through the airframe, a problem that would require careful engineering and multiple isolation units to address. Additionally, the location of the engines mounted side by side, deep within the airframe, introduced cooling issues. While more airflow could be ducted onto the engines easily enough, this would come at the expense of significant drag. 

• READ MORE: The Ryan YO-51 Wowed with STOL Performance

Ultimately, development of the Cloudster II was abandoned in late 1947. Douglas reportedly donated it to a local Boy Scout troop for ground training before it was scrapped sometime after 1958. The concept was then left for WACO to pursue, also unsuccessfully, with its Aristocraft.

In the early 1960s, Jim Bede attempted to make it work with the Bede XBD-2. Later, in the 1980s, the twin-turboprop Lear Fan 2100 attempted to resurrect the concept yet again, but despite building and flying three examples, it once again fizzled out.

The post The Bold, Bulbous Douglas Cloudster II appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The family-owned facility has withstood the test of time, spanning generations. 

“My grandfather, Dewey Cable, started this airport in 1945. So, we’ve been here for 78 years now, and I serve as its president and CEO,” Bob Cable said. “I am the third generation that is involved with the airport. We have the fourth generation working here, and the fifth generation has been born. I’ve got a cousin that’s running the maintenance facility here, another cousin that’s running the restaurant, and another one who’s in management with me here in the office. Then, his two kids are involved as well, one as a maintenance manager and the other in our financial department.

“It’s kind of an unwritten rule in the family that the minute you are old enough to solo, you will solo. So, hopefully, we will be around here for another 78 years.”

While all of the family members presently involved with the airfield grew up around aviation, Cable Airport’s founder didn’t become interested until later in his life. 

“Dewey was actually a farmer from Iowa and was working for a gentleman that bought some land out in California,” said Bob Cable. “Since my grandpa was doing such a good job, he was asked if he wanted to move out west. So, he packed up his family and moved.”

Dewey’s brother was killed in a test flight accident involving an A-20 Havoc, leading Dewey to meet Donald Douglas. The famed aircraft company founder and engineer would later go on to hire the former farmer when times grew tough and that operation ceased. 

“The rest is kind of history,” said Bob Cable. “After working at the aircraft factory, [my grandfather] got a job at a flight school at the Riverside Airport, which at the time was called Arlington Airport. Dewey soon got into an argument with the flight school owner and said, ‘You know what? I am going to start my own [flight school]!’”

Today, the airport sports a 3,863-foot-by-75-foot asphalt runway and a 65-foot-by-65-foot helipad. There is  an RNAV and VOR-A approach, fuel (100LL and jet-A), and  tiedowns. One of the most notable elements is the spirit of aviation, which the family works hard to keep as vibrant as it was during Dewey Cable’s lifetime. 

“I have more projects left than I have years left,” Bob Cable said with a laugh. “We are currently going through the planning stages with the city to build a 15,000-square-foot hangar, which will be partially utilized as a museum and event facility. When we get this facility built, we are going to try and host quarterly events that feature a basic style of airplane or era. I would love to do ‘year and genre’ type fly-ins, which I think will be a lot of fun.”

Cable explained that he could “fill the museum” with all of the antique planes that call Cable Airport home. He owns several of these unique models. 

“What I fly is a 1944 Porterfield, which is six serial numbers off of the very first plane that my grandfather flew into here in 1945,” he said. “I also have a red 1940 model, as well, and then I have a friend who has a blue 1941 Porterfield. So, we have red, white, and blue Porterfields on the field that we will fly around at different events.”

Cable and his relatives are dedicated to keeping Dewey’s legacy alive. It’s not always easy, he acknowledged, but it is worthwhile to operate the historic aerodrome.

“We still have the attitude that most of us old-timers learned how to fly, or got interested in aviation, by wandering around an airport and talking to people,” Cable said. “We are probably one of the few airports where you can park your car, walk around, socialize, and talk to people in their hangars. There are still kids here that will come out to wash airplanes in exchange for rides.

“We are really trying to keep the dream of general aviation alive through my grandfather’s eyes. It’s a passion for all of us here, because an airport doesn’t do any good with airplanes in a hangar, so we try to keep flying affordable for people. We have some of the lowest fuel prices in Southern California, and we want people to fly. My grandfather’s dream was to keep planes in the air, and that’s what we try to do here.”

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Today’s Top Pick is a 1952 Douglas AD-4N Skyraider.

When I was a kid, building model airplanes was my main avocation and the local hobby shop, my favorite destination. Proprietors Bob and Ed had served in the Korean War, so when I bought a Douglas Skyraider model, they began sharing stories about the airplane’s special qualities, like long range, targeting accuracy, and load-carrying ability. Indeed, despite the rise of jets, hard-working Skyraiders stuck around for decades, through the Vietnam War, where they saw lots of action.

Today, the Skyraider is a fairly rare sight. When one shows up at an airshow, crowds form around it. It seems like you can always overhear people saying things like, “It’s much bigger than I realized.” The airplane is famous for its size and strength, which enabled it to carry huge loads of ordnance and absorb extreme combat damage and continue flying.

This Skyraider has 4,000 hours on the airframe, 800 hours on its Wright R3350-26WD engine since overhaul, and 745 hours on the propeller. The panel includes an Apollo GX65 GPS/Comm, Becker radio, ARC 400 marker beacon receiver, dual Collins Proline 51R7 navs, Collins 51V5 glideslope receiver,  King DME, and RCA AVQ-95 transponder.

The aircraft comes with a spares package that includes an engine with 600 hours since overhaul, another engine disassembled, 18 factory-new engine cylinders, set of wheels and brakes, four main tires and two tailwheel tires, horizontal stabilizer, and miscellaneous avionics and instruments.

Pilots who are ready for upper-level warbird operations—but want to fly something a bit farther outside the ordinary—should take a look at this 1952 Douglas AD-4N Skyraider, which is available on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

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The post This Douglas AD-4N Skyraider Is an ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick for Warbird Fans appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This was certainly the case at Douglas Aircraft Co. When approached by the military to develop a small bomber that prioritized speed, Douglas responded with the XB-42, nicknamed “Mixmaster”—a decidedly unconventional, piston-powered design that it promised would achieve nearly 500 mph. When the military gave the go-ahead to build and fly two prototypes, it was up to the engineers to deliver the extreme performance.

To accomplish this, they focused on eliminating as much extraneous drag from the wing and airframe as possible. Rather than installing the two 1,800 hp Allison V-1710s (as used in the Bell P-39 Airacobra, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, and others) in individual, wing-mounted nacelles, both engines were entirely housed within the aft fuselage. This kept the wing completely clean, without any of the parasite or interference drag inherent in the traditional nacelle configuration.

The engineers then developed a system of six individual drive shafts to link the engines to an aft gearbox, which drove a pair of three-bladed pusher propellers. The propellers were electrically controlled and able to feather, and the aft propeller was capable of adjusting its pitch even farther, providing reverse thrust. The feathering capability would be used later in the test program when one of the two engines would fail in flight.

The configuration didn’t deliver quite as much speed as Douglas had hoped. At 23,440 feet, the XB-42 could only achieve a maximum speed of 410 mph, and its cruise speed settled at 312 mph. Admirable numbers for a piston-powered bomber, but still well short of the company’s targets.

As other aircraft designers would also learn, pusher propellers located at the extreme aft end of the airframe create new and unique problems. Rotating too sharply during takeoff and flaring hard during landing, for example, would result in prop strikes. Douglas solved this by adding a ventral vertical stabilizer with an integrated shock absorber to isolate the airframe from the blows of tail strikes.

Another concern was the well-being of the flight crew in the event it became necessary to bail out of the aircraft. To prevent it from the grisly fate of entering two counter-rotating prop arcs after jumping, Douglas made it possible for the crew to first jettison the propellers and aft gearbox with an explosive charge. Instantly dumping more than 1,000 pounds from the extreme aft end of the airframe would wreak havoc on the center of gravity and produce a violent, nose-down pitching tendency.

One crew would experience this firsthand when it was forced to bail out during a test flight in December 1944. This crash would result in the loss of one of the two XB-42s. The remaining example would go on to fly in its original form and was later modified with two underwing turbojet engines, becoming the XB-42A.

Ultimately, the design would shed its propellers entirely and evolve into a pure jet when the static test airframe was developed into the jet-powered XB-43 Jetmaster. The sole surviving XB-42 awaits restoration at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

The post The Douglas XB-42 ‘Mixmaster’ Flew Almost as Fast as It Looked appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

After all, the five total DWCs had first taken flight there in March of that year, though they officially started their record-setting trip around the world from Lake Washington in Seattle on Douglas’ 32nd birthday, April 6.

• READ MORE: Sewing for Boeing

That monumental flight and the legacy of the Douglas Aircraft Company is what the Santa Monica Airport Association (SMAA) looks to celebrate on Saturday, as it hosts the Santa Monica Airport Open House at KSMO. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT at Atlantic Aviation, the SMAA, along with the city of Santa Monica, will celebrate the 99th anniversary of the DWCs’ return to the historic airfield.

Special Events at Santa Monica

A series of activities and opportunities should draw people of all ages to the Santa Monica Airport on September 23, according to the SMAA, including:

• Showcase of aviation marvels: “Marvel at the cutting-edge aviation technologies, ranging from historic aircraft, electric airplanes, eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles), and state-of-the-art drones,” according to the SMAA release.
• Beyond the skies: Experience the next generation of mobility solutions, such as self-driving cars, the latest micromobility scooters and e-bikes, and more.
• Community engagement: Discover STEM education and aviation careers, register for aviation scholarships, and witness an impressive display of aircraft, with Angel Flight West, CalDART’s Disaster Airlift Response Team, and HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response making the day “exciting and educational.” Douglas would have approved of the animal rescue mission in particular—he was a lifelong dog lover, with his favorite Weimaraner, Bar, immortalized alongside him in a statue of the legendary engineer and industry leader on the south side of the airport next to the Museum of Flying.

• Food, music, and more: “Sway to the rhythm of a DJ, live band performances by The Rawn Side of Town, relish a variety of culinary delights from food trucks, and engage in fun-filled activities for kids.”

• Special appearances: The iconic Goodyear Blimp will make a fly-by, adding a “touch of nostalgia” to this historic and future-forward event.

The event promises an “easy commute,” owing to the SMAA and city of Santa Monica’s deal with Veo: “Thanks to our partnership with micromobility provider Veo, attendees can enjoy discounted rides to and from the event, ensuring a hassle-free experience by using promo code SMAA23 for a $5 credit,” according to the release.

For more on the Douglas World Cruisers’ historic flight, see Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story, published by Aviation Supplies & Academics.

The post Santa Monica to Celebrate the ‘First Around the World’ Douglas World Cruisers appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

But this wasn’t the first time women were part of mass aircraft construction.

In the 1920s when aircraft were constructed of wood and fabric, women were hired for their sewing skills by both The Boeing Company and Douglas Aircraft Company. At the time, they represented two of America’s largest aircraft producers. The women were hired to hand-stitch the fabric covering of the ribs on wings of the airplanes. The tools for this craft were a long needle, wax-covered thread, a thimble, and scissors.

Tedious Work

The women worked with reams of linen, cutting them into the proper shapes and joining the panels together using a sewing machine. The panels were then drawn over the wooden frame of the wing, with special care taken to line up the seams. 

It took 10 women to cover a wing. The women would pair up, one on either side of the wing, and pass the needle back and forth through the fabric, making sure the stitches covered the wing spars.

It was tedious work, notes Boeing historian Michael Lombardi. “(The wing) had to be meticulously covered to exacting specifications for planes to operate efficiently and safely,” he said.

According to Lombardi, advancing to using the sewing machine was considered a bit of a promotion, as the seamstresses who handled the rib stitching often suffered from numbness in their hands from the repetitive work.

Once the stitches were in place the wings were treated with a chemical known as dope, which would shrink, harden, and tighten the fabric.

Meanwhile, at the Douglas Aircraft factory in Santa Monica, California, a similar if not identical process was happening. There, the women were led by none other than Charlotte Douglas, the first wife of factory owner Donald Douglas.

In an early Douglas factory—within a repurposed film studio on Wilshire Boulevard—the teams of women carefully covered the six Douglas World Cruisers that would attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1924. Two airplanes, the Chicago and the New Orleans, completed the journey, carrying the efforts of those women around the world.

The post Sewing for Boeing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The DC-2 Started the Revolution

As recounted in Part 1, the DC-1 and DC-2 were developed after a request by Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA). What was then United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) was TWA’s rival in transcontinental air service, using the Boeing 247. Because Boeing (NYSE: BA) (then named United Aircraft and Transport Corporation) also owned United, TWA sought an aircraft that would allow it to compete. 

Douglas and his talented team designed and built the DC-1 in 1932-33, and TWA requested several changes that led to the DC-2. After its introduction in 1934, the DC-2 was quickly considered the best passenger aircraft in the world. Other airlines soon began lining up after TWA to place orders. Douglas was not bound by the same constraints as Boeing and could take those orders freely, assuring a healthy production run. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was the first non-U.S. carrier to order DC-2s and began operating them in the fall of 1934. 

KLM entered a DC-2 in the 1934 MacRobertson International Air Derby from London, England, to Melbourne, Australia. While it came in second place overall in speed (beaten by a specially- built de Havilland DH.88 Comet), it finished first in the handicap division, ahead of a 247D flown by American pilots Col. Roscoe Turner and Clyde “Upside-Down” Pangborn. Turner and Pangborn were no run-of-the-mill pilots—Turner was a record-breaking aviator and three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race, while  Pangborn and a copilot flew their airplane on the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, the KLM DC-2 flew the airline’s regular route, which was 12,300 statute miles, in 71 hours and 28 minutes at an average speed of 160 mph. In addition, it had a crew of four, three paying passengers and 420 pounds of cargo—the mail. 

The DC-2 also demonstrated that a new era in commercial aviation had begun. While European aircraft manufacturers had been focused on building better military aircraft, U.S. OEMs had improved their aircraft for commercial aviation. By the mid-1930s, hundreds of commercial airliners plied the skies, and they were faster than any aircraft in regular service with the Royal Air Force. 

• READ MORE: How the Douglas Douglas Aircraft Company Created the DC-3, Part 1

In 1935, the DC-2 became the first airplane built by Douglas Aircraft to be awarded the well-regarded Collier Trophy for outstanding achievements in flight. Douglas Aircraft built 156 DC-2s at its Santa Monica, California, facility; a total of 193 DC-2s were built. There was no question that the DC-2 was a success—and Douglas wanted to get the most from the company’s investment in R&D and tooling—but there was room for improvement.

The DC-3 Surpasses the DC-2

The immediate success of the DC-2 led C.R. Smith—the 35-year-old president of the newly formed American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL)—to Douglas Aircraft Company in 1934. The DC-3 was the result of a lengthy telephone call between Smith and Donald Douglas. Smith wanted a new aircraft; and according to the Museum of Flight, what he sought was an airplane that combined the “speed, reliability and profitability of the DC-2 with the comfort of the sleeping berth-equipped Curtiss T-32 Condor biplane.” In fact, Smith wanted two new airplanes—a longer version of the DC-2 that was capable of carrying more passengers on daytime flights, and another for overnight passengers that was outfitted with railroad-type sleeping berths.

Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a new sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2—the DC-2’s cabin was 66 inches wide, too narrow for side-by-side berths. Douglas took on the project, but only after Smith agreed that American Airlines would purchase at least 20 aircraft. 

The engineering team for the new Douglas aircraft was led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond; the project took less than two years – an incredibly short timeline by modern standards. Originally envisioned as a relatively simple enlargement of the DC-2, the Douglas engineers soon realized that was not really possible and that the new airplane would need to be significantly redesigned from the DC-2.

• PHOTO GALLERY: The Legendary Douglas DC-3

Among the many differences between the two aircraft, the DC-3’s fuselage was lengthened and widened with rounded sides; “its wings and tail surfaces were enlarged and strengthened, the nose section and landing gear were modified, and new, more powerful Wright [1820] engines were installed,” according to the Museum of Flight.

Therefore, although the DC-3 was superficially similar to the DC-2, it eventually shared fewer than 10 percent of its parts with the DC-2, according to the Museum of Flight. 

The prototype Douglas Sleeper Transport, or DST, first flew on December 17, 1935, (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk) on a sunny afternoon in Santa Monica. Its cabin was 92 inches wide. To meet the American Airlines order, Douglas Aircraft manufactured the 14-passenger DST version of the DC-3 first. The first DST was accepted by American on April 29, 1936, and a total of seven DSTs were delivered to American Airlines by mid summer. 

The DST (also known as the “Sky Sleeper”) was the height of luxury for that time. Each had 14 plush seats in four main compartments that could be folded in pairs to form seven berths; seven more berths folded down from the cabin ceiling. 

The version of the new airplane (with 21 seats instead of the DST’s 14-16 sleeping berths) was given the designation DC-3. No prototype was built, and the first “day plane” DC-3 built for American Airlines followed in August 1936. 

DC-3 Commercial Transport

Capt. Walter Braznell captained the inaugural flight of the DST Flagship Illinois for American Airlines on June 26, 1936, from Chicago to Newark. The initial flights were very successful, and American built its early reputation around them.

Just a few months after American Airlines’ initial order for DC-3s, United Airlines became the second airline to commission DC-3s (in November 1936). The DC-2 had been proven more economical than the Boeing Model 247 (which United had been flying, as a subsidiary of Boeing); the airline’s executives assumed the DC-3 would continue that lead. Following the initial orders from American and United, more than 30 other airlines placed orders for DC-3s during the next two years.

KLM received its first DC-3 in 1936; it replaced a DC-2 on what was then the world’s longest scheduled route, Amsterdam via Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) to Sydney, Australia. KLM purchased more than 20 DC-3s before World War II began in Europe.

The DC-3 quickly established its reputation with the various airlines, and by 1939, more than 90 percent of U.S. airline passengers were flying in either DC-2s or DC-3s. The DC-3 dominated the  pre-World War II airline industry; by the mid-1940s all but 25 of the 300 airliners operating in the U.S. were DC-3s, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Why Was the DC-3 So Successful?

The Douglas DC-3 surpassed its competitors for many reasons. It was capable of taking off and landing on relatively short runways, was fast (a maximum cruising speed of up to 180 knots or 207 mph), had a good range (1,100 nm at 65 percent power and 142 knots), was more reliable, and carried between 14 to 32 passengers in greater comfort or a minimum of 6,000 pounds of cargo. A low-wing metal monoplane that had conventional landing gear, the DC-3 was originally powered by two Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial piston engines of between 1,000-1,200 hp. (Most DC-3s still in operation now use supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines of up to 1,200 hp.) The airplane crossed the continental U.S. from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours with only three stops. Before the outbreak of World War II, the DC-3 pioneered many air travel routes. 

DC-3 Specifications

Along with its other qualities, the DC-3 was an efficient airplane; as noted by the Museum of Flight, most DC-3s were operated by two-pilot crews, and joined by a flight attendant, if operated in passenger service. Different versions and engine choices were introduced by Douglas Aircraft. The airplane’s efficiency led to airline profitability, as well as to the significant growth of civil air transport in the U.S. and worldwide prior to World War II. 

The DC-3 in World War II

Production of DSTs ended in mid-1941, while civilian DC-3 production ended in early 1943. By  that time, more than 600 DC-3s had been built. However, dozens of the DSTs and DC-3s ordered by airlines that were built between 1941 and 1943 were designated for U.S. military service while they were still on the production line. In addition, many existing civilian DC-3s were converted to military use. 

But this was only the beginning. Like other manufacturers of aircraft, automobiles, and a myriad of civilian staples, Douglas Aircraft shifted to production for the U.S. and Allies’ war effort. 

The DC-3 was designated as the C-47 by the U.S. Army Air Forces, the R4D by the U.S. Navy, and the Dakota by the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. Whatever it was called, the world’s first successful commercial airliner readily adapted to military use—it was the most widely used transport aircraft of the war. 

Roughly 10,147 C-47s, C-53s, and other variants were manufactured by Douglas for use by the Allies at its facilities in Santa Monica and Long Beach, California, and in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and encompassing models built under license to Russia (as the Li-2) and Japan (as the L2D). The C-53 version of the DC-3 was a troop carrier. Peak production of the C-47 occurred in 1944, when roughly 4,853 were delivered to the armed forces. 

For both airline and military use, the DC-3 was easy to operate and maintain, and flexible enough to use in various flight conditions and for a variety of missions. The DC-3’s wartime adaptations were both simple and effective. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the airplanes were used to “transport passengers (28), fully armed paratroopers (28), wounded troops (18 stretchers and a medical crew of three), military cargo (e.g., two light trucks), and anything else that could fit through its cargo doors and weighed not much more than three tons.” 

C-47s were modified from the original DC-3 model; among other mods, they had strengthened floors to carry cargo and they were fitted with stronger landing gear. Another key difference was the C-47’s two-part doors, designed to facilitate cargo loading. You could push a ramp up to the door and drive a jeep inside.

C-47s were also used to tow gliders and some were also converted to an efficient, high-speed glider. Those aircrafts’ engines were removed, the empty cowls were faired over, and other nonessential weight was jettisoned. As a glider, a converted C-47 could carry 40 fully armed troops at a top towing speed of 290 mph, which was 90 mph faster than any other transport glider—and 26 percent faster than its top speed as a transport airplane. Though the converted C-47 gliders saw limited use in wartime, the stock C-47s themselves were used to great effect to tow WACO CG-4A gliders to drop behind enemy lines in Europe.

Military versions of the DC-3 were known colloquially as “Skytrains” and “Skytroopers.” DC-3s were used in all of the theaters of war, including notably during Operation Overlord and other missions collectively known as “D-Day” in Normandy, France, and subsequent assaults by Allied airborne forces. In addition, DC-3s/C-47s were used to ferry provisions during the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49.

In addition to converting the DC-3 to military use, Douglas Aircraft manufactured another 20,000 warplanes (primarily the SBD Dauntless and the A-26 Invader). Military versions of the DC-3 were manufactured until the end of the war. Moreover, approximately one-sixth of the U.S. airborne fleet was built by Douglas.

After the War

The global civilian market swarmed with surplus aircraft of all types following the close of World War II. Many C-47s were converted to passenger and cargo versions. Although the DC-3/C-47 models were no longer competitive with new larger and faster turboprop transports, the type still made for a dependable workhorse worldwide. All the positive traits of the DC-3 proved adaptable and useful on less glamorous routes for both passengers and cargo.

As just one of many examples, Cubana de Aviación was the first Latin American airline to offer scheduled service from Havana to Miami with a DC-3, shortly after the war ended. In addition, the airline used DC-3s on several of its domestic routes well into the 1960s.

In 1949, a larger, more powerful Super DC-3 was launched by Douglas Aircraft and garnered positive reviews. The airplane also had greater cargo capacity, and an improved wing, but with thousands of surplus aircraft available at cheap prices, the Super DC-3 failed to sell well in the civilian aviation market. Only five Super DC-3s were delivered, three of them to Capital Airlines. 

The Super DC-3 prototype was purchased by the U.S. Navy (designated as YC-129); the Navy also had 100 R4Ds upgraded to the Super DC-3 specifications during the early 1950s. Their designation was altered to R4D-8/C-117D. Like the DC-3/C-47, the R4D-8/C-117D was incredibly durable and dependable; the last U.S. Navy C-117 was retired on July 12, 1976. The last U.S. Marine Corps C-117 lasted even longer; it was retired from active service in June 1982. Perhaps even more of a testament to the DC-3, the U.S. Forest Service utilized the aircraft for smoke jumping and general transportation; the agency’s last DC-3 was retired in December 2015.

The DC-3’s Legacy

First flown in 1935, the Douglas DC-3 became the most successful airliner in the formative years of air transportation. The DC-3 and DST made air travel in the U.S. popular because of their speed, comfort, and reliability. Eastbound transcontinental flights crossed the nation in about 15 hours with three refueling stops; westbound trips (against the prevailing winds) took about 17.5 hours. Before the DC-3, such a trip entailed numerous short hops in slower and shorter-range aircraft during the day, with train travel overnight.

Early U.S. airlines—American, United, TWA, Eastern and Delta (NYSE: DAL)—purchased more than 400 DC-3s from Douglas Aircraft. These airlines’ fleets began the modern U.S. air travel industry, and by the 1950s and 1960s had replaced trains as the preferred way to travel across the U.S. (and then the world). 

The DC-3 was very comfortable by the standards of its time. It was also very safe because of its strong, multiple-spar wing and all-metal construction. Bottom line: airlines that purchased DC-3s favored it because it was  profitable. 

The DC-3 took off easily, cruised comfortably at 145 knots at 10,000 feet, had a cruising range of 1,100 nm or more, depending on the power settings used, had a service ceiling of 26,500 feet and a clean stall speed of 68 kias. 

A common saying among pilots and aviation enthusiasts is “the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3.” Several aircraft companies attempted to design and build a replacement for the DC-3 for over 30 years after its introduction. However, no single airplane could match the versatility, rugged reliability, and economy of the DC-3. It remained a significant part of air transport systems well into the 1970s.

Airlines liked the DC-3 for its easy maintenance, its ability to take off and land on short runways, and its remarkable reliability. These factors combined to keep DC-3s flying in many regions of the world into the 21st century. There are still small operators using DC-3s in revenue service or as cargo aircraft. Current uses of the DC-3 include passenger service, aerial spraying, freight transport, military transport, missionary flying, skydiver shuttling, and sightseeing. 

The oldest surviving DST is the sixth Douglas Sleeper Transport built, which was manufactured in 1936. The aircraft was delivered to American Airlines on July 12, 1936. Its most recent flight was on April 25, 2021. The oldest DC-3 still flying is the original American Airlines Flagship Detroit (the 43rd aircraft off the Santa Monica production line, which was delivered on March 2, 1937). It appears at air shows around the country and is owned and operated by the Flagship Detroit Foundation.

It’s very likely that neither Donald Douglas nor any of the employees at Douglas Aircraft Company could have imagined that the DC-3 would be as successful as it was, much less that a number of DC-3s would still be in service more than 85 years after the airplane was first introduced. 

Author’s note: Among the sources of information for this article were Boeing, the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Flight, Encyclopedia Britannica, aviation.history.com, museumofflying.com, pearlharboraviationmuseum.org, and Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story, by Julie Boatman Filucci.

The post How the Douglas Aircraft Company Created the DC-3, Part 2 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The DC-3 was not only comfortable and reliable, it also made air transportation profitable. C.R. Smith—who is considered one of the giants of  U.S. airline history—became the president of American Airlines following the reorganization of American Airways into the new company. Smith was significantly involved in the airplane’s evolution from the beginnings of the Douglas Commercial series. According to simpleflying.com, Smith said the DC-3 was the first airplane that could make money just by hauling passengers, without relying on government mail subsidies. 

To understand the true impact of the DC-3, one must first understand the state of the U.S. aircraft and airline industries in the early 1930s.

Background

Donald W. Douglas (1892-1981) became interested in aviation as a youth; he saw the Wright brothers demonstrate their 1908 Flyer for the U.S. Signal Corps at Ft. Myer, Virginia. 

In 1912, Douglas left the U.S. Naval Academy and took a position in the civil engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as the university’s aeronautical engineering program was still under development. Under Jerome Hunsaker’s tutelage, he took on a graduate assistant role within the nascent department following his initial graduation in 1914, and helped with the construction of a new wind tunnel based at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, England. After a series of short-term positions at other aircraft manufacturers—and with the Signal Corps, he formed the Davis-Douglas Company in California and designed the Cloudster in 1920—the first aerodynamically streamlined airplane. With the financial backing of several California businessmen, Douglas founded The Douglas Company in Santa Monica, California in 1921. 

A pair of Douglas World Cruisers—out of an original flight of four aircraft, with one spare—completed the first circumnavigation of the globe by air in 1924, just a little more than 20 years after the Wright brothers first flight. This achievement confirmed the Douglas Company’s early success and presaged it well for the future.

Contracts from the U.S. Army Air Service and the U.S. Navy generated ongoing revenue, and the company grew significantly during the 1920s. However, Douglas realized that his company needed to adapt in order to continue to grow, which led to the company’s reorganization. On November 30, 1928, a new company, Douglas Aircraft Company Inc. (DAC), bought all the shares of The Douglas Company. It also moved to new facilities at Clover Field in Santa Monica (the current site of KSMO).

The Airline Industry in 1930

The Curtiss T-32 Condor biplane, the Fokker F VII, and Ford Tri-motor dominated the early airline industry. However, the airlines using these and similar models could not make money, given limited space for passengers—their primary sources of revenue were contracts to carry U.S. mail. 

New designs of all-metal airliners entered the market, but the crash of a Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) Fokker F-10A on March 31, 1931, effectively ended the era of wooden spar-and-rib aircraft. Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others were killed in the accident, which led to public calls for greater federal oversight of aviation safety. The Bureau of Air Commerce (a predecessor of the FAA) subsequently compelled all airline operators to perform periodic internal safety inspections of their aircraft—which had not been required previously. 

Because of the cost and the length of time for those inspections, TWA needed to update its fleet. The airline sought to buy several new Boeing 247s; however, Boeing had already guaranteed delivery to United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) (of which Boeing was a part owner) of the first 60 airplanes. The 247 was a transformational airplane that catalyzed the commercial air transport revolution.

The 247 gave United a major market advantage; TWA had to look elsewhere for replacement aircraft. TWA contacted Consolidated, Curtiss, General Aviation, Martin, and DAC and asked for an aircraft with a design similar to the 247. TWA’s requirements for a new airplane—outlined in a famous letter from then-TWA vice president of operations Jack Frye—were very specific and also would be difficult to meet:

•     All-metal, tri-motor monoplane powered by 500 to 550 hp supercharged engines
•     Ability to carry a crew of two pilots and at least 12 passengers
•     Range of 1,080 sm
•     Cruising speed of 150 mph
•     Top speed of 185 mph
•     Landing speed not to exceed 65 mph
•     Rate of climb of at least 1,200 feet per minute
•     Service ceiling of at least 21,000 feet
• Maximum gross weight of at least 14,200 pounds

In addition, TWA had a last (and perhaps the most difficult) requirement to meet. The new airplane had to be able to maintain control during takeoff on a single engine, and at any airport in TWA’s network. The single-engine takeoff requirement, considered so critical to multiengine aircraft design today, didn’t exist until this time. At the time, one of TWA’s stations was located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which has an elevation of 4,954 feet, while temperatures there often exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit—and this added an extra layer of difficulty to the new requirement.

Despite the first years of the Great Depression, Douglas Aircraft Company was doing well enough that Donald Douglas had planned to expand beyond military aircraft into the passenger transport market. The opportunity presented by the TWA letter was too good to pass up.

The DC Series of Aircraft

Accepting TWA’s challenge, Douglas and his senior designers—including chief engineer Arthur Raymond—developed preliminary plans for the Douglas Commercial Model No. 1. They convinced TWA that instead of a tri-motor airplane, two 710 hp Wright Cyclone engines were capable of meeting TWA’s requirements (though, famously, DAC held a side-by-side competition within its walls between teams from Wright and Pratt & Whitney to develop potential engines in parallel, and the resulting models would use powerplants from both entities). 

In addition, the Douglas design included NACA cowlings—aerodynamic fairings from the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics that streamlined the airplane’s radial engines, reducing aerodynamic drag reduction and improving fuel efficiency—plus retractable landing gear and, according to aviation-history.com, a “multi-spar wing, inspired by Jack Northrop that would give the airplane exceptional strength with a long fatigue-free life.”  

The Douglas Commercial Model No. 1 (better known as the DC-1) was a more refined aircraft than the Boeing 247. It was also larger, faster, and could carry 12 passengers (while the 247 could only hold 10 passengers). In addition, the DC-1’s mid-wing section was integral to the fuselage; this eliminated the spar running through the cabin as it did on the 247, creating an easier experience for passengers and crew alike. 

TWA agreed to pay $125,000 to help defray the developmental costs of the DC-1, and Douglas paid the balance for design and engineering. The total cost for development was at least $200,000 more than TWA’s initial investment, bringing it close to $300,000, or about $6 million today.

The DC-1’s inaugural flight was on July 1, 1933. However, it was nearly the DC-1’s last flight, as the airplane’s left engine stumbled during the initial climbout. The test pilot and copilot were able to maintain control of the airplane by pitching forward and leveling off, but each time they resumed climbing, the engines sputtered. A design flaw had placed the fuel lines at the rear of the carburetor; the carburetor floats were also hinged at the rear. Because the fuel was gravity-fed and the fuel system was not pressurized, the fuel lines emptied and starved the engines during climb. The problem was corrected by reversing the carburetor floats and fuel lines.

After the fuel system was modified, Douglas put the DC-1 through extensive testing. On one test flight, it was loaded to 18,000 pounds by using sandbags and lead weights to simulate the conditions of full fuel, passengers, crew, and mail. The airplane climbed above 22,000 feet, comfortably above the TWA requirement. Moreover, with a full load, the DC-1 was able to take off in less than 1,000 feet. With full flaps, it was also capable of landing at less than 65 mph. In addition, it achieved a maximum speed of 227 mph during one test run.

Only one test remained—the airplane had to prove it could take off and land on one engine with a full load. A test flight from Winslow, Arizona, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, took place on September 1, 1933. During the first takeoff with TWA’s Tommy Tomlinson and DAC’s Frank Collbohm on board, Tomlinson shut down one of the engines with no warning to Collbohm that they would do so at that point in the test program. Fortunately for all involved, the DC-1 climbed successfully (if slowly) from 4,941 feet msl to its cruising altitude of 8,000 feet. It then flew 280 sm to Albuquerque, meeting all of TWA’s requirements. A few tweaks were made at TWA’s request to the first DC-1, and it was accepted on September 15, 1933.

Based on the results of the tests, TWA placed an order for 25 Douglas airliners; however, the airline sought several refinements, so only one DC-1 was ever produced. The list of refinements led to the DC-2.

The DC-2

Douglas Aircraft developed the DC-2 through several substantial changes. The airplane’s overall volume was increased—its fuselage was widened and lengthened by 2 feet to allow for an extra row of seats (increasing total passenger seating to 14). Other improvements were also incorporated into the new airplane: its payload, service ceiling, and speed were all increased. By the time it made its first commercial flight, the DC-2 was the most luxurious airliner in the world.

Incredibly, only four months after the Boeing 247 entered service, Douglas delivered its first DC-2 to TWA, and the airplane flew in record time between Los Angeles and New York. TWA began advertising coast-to-coast service in a 200-mph luxury airliner it dubbed “the Sky Chief.” TWA’s transcontinental flights made four hops—from New York (Newark) to Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Los Angeles. Sky Chief flights left Newark at 4 p.m. and arrived in Los Angeles at 7 a.m. the next day, setting a new precedent in transcontinental air travel.

United Airlines’ Boeing 247 was eclipsed by the DC-2 before it ever fully established itself in the airline industry. Part 2 of this two-part series will continue the story on the DC-3. 

Author’s note: Among the sources of information for this article were Boeing, the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Flight, Encyclopedia Britannica, aviation.history.com, and Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story, by Julie Boatman Filucci.

The post How the Douglas Aircraft Company Created the DC-3, Part 1 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

How the Flyer came to hang in what is now the Science Museum for 20 years is a fascinating story all its own—it was placed there by Orville Wright in 1928 during his ongoing feud with the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S. The Flyer was only given to the Smithsonian in 1948 following Orville’s death.

Douglas had been invited to speak to the Royal Aeronautical Society in this honored way because of the growing fleet of Douglas DC-2s—the “bi-motored” air transport that would fulfill the promise of viable commercial passenger air service. 

He had more concepts for the future in mind, too, predicting the advances in autopilots and “radio beams” for navigation. Douglas even foresaw an unmanned aerial vehicle piloted remotely into London using those very beams during the city’s famous bouts with fog.

But he would solidify his company’s future with the incremental advances that came next.

First, the DC-1, then the DC-2

Douglas Aircraft Company (DAC) had already flown the first of the Douglas Commercial line, the DC-1, on June 22, 1933, at Clover Field, in Santa Monica, California—now the site of the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Only one was built, though, because the company immediately went into production on an improved version, the DC-2.

The DC-2 featured a cabin stretched by three feet so that it could hold 14 passengers—and a co-pilot’s instrument panel, an updated landing gear system, and hydraulic brakes. DAC had manufactured 66 DC-2s by the time Douglas spoke to the August gathering in London in the summer of 1935.

• Read more from Julie Boatman

The DC-2 had set a transcontinental speed record in March 1935, in a west-to-east run that clocked only 12 hours and 44 minutes—a giant leap at the time, and a great competitive advantage for Transcontinental & Western Air, the predecessor to Trans World Airlines, or TWA.

United Airlines had partnered with Boeing on its 247, which first flew in February 1933. Even the DC-2 was a vast improvement to the Boeing air transport. For one, the wing spar didn’t require stepping over in the main cabin.

Douglas saw the challenge clearly.

Enter the DST

It took a phone call from American Airlines’ C.R. Smith to affirm he wasn’t mad to keep growing the popular DC-2. Douglas already had in mind the next step up in size for what he imagined was an evolutionary series of air transports to circle the globe.

That phone call in which Smith placed an order for Douglas Sleeper Transports (DSTs) was followed by a telegram on July 8, 1935, confirming the deal. He’d buy 10 of the 20 airplanes for $795,000.

That infusion helped leverage DAC’s further investment in the DC series, along with significant engineering development produced by the Northrop division of the company. The collaboration with American’s engineering team also supported the effort. 

By the time December rolled around, the DST was ready to fly.

A Routine Afternoon Flight

A cool, clear day dawned in Santa Monica on December 17, and the final configuration of the DST had been settled. This was the sleeper version—the day version would be known as the straight DC-3.

Though there had been a lot of fanfare for the first flight of the DC-1, there was little surrounding the initial aerial test of its progeny. Test pilot (and sales lead) Carl Cover settled into the left seat around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, joined by co-pilot Frank Collbohm. His logbook entry made it appear as though he’d just tested another DC-2 off the production line—in fact, the pair had performed a test flight that morning on a DC-2 that DAC had prepared for delivery.

There were few large leaps in the aircraft’s design between the models—a larger cabin to hold the 28 seats or 14 berths, and upgraded engines to the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasps or the Wright R-1820 Cyclones that were slung on NX14988, the registration on that first DST they flew that day.

After an hour and a half, the DST that would become American’s Flagship Texas touched down on the runway (since realigned to 21/03), completing a routine flight that would later mark the airplane’s place in history.

It just happened to be 32 years to the day after the Wrights first took flight.

Editor’s note: Information for the story drawn from “DC-3: An Aircraft for the Ages,” Together We Fly: Voices From the DC-3, and Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story, published by ASA.

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