Anthony Fokker was Dutch, born in the colonial East Indies. In 1910, at age 20, he moved to Germany to pursue his interest in aviation. He soon founded his own airplane company there, and during World War I it designed a number of successful and famous fighter planes for the Germans. Fokker himself was an accomplished pilot. I wrote a previous article on the Fokker Dr.I triplane, which you can check out here.

• READ MORE: Recreating the Final Flight of the Red Baron

After losing WWI, Germany had to surrender all its warplanes and aircraft factories, including Fokker’s factory, under the Treaty of Versailles. Fokker, however, was able to bribe railway and border officials to smuggle some of his equipment back to his native Netherlands. That equipment allowed him to reestablish his company in Holland and design the Fokker F.VII, a single-engine transport for the fledgling postwar civilian market. I’m in one of those models here, in KLM colors, at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (EHAM).

The F.VII’s fuselage was fabric stretched over a steel-tube frame. Its wings were plywood-skinned. The original, single-engine version of the F.VII was powered by a variety of different models of radial engines, which ranged from 360 to 480 hp. Inside there was room for eight passengers, as well as a bathroom (the door to my right here).

The cabin was connected to the two-man cockpit by a little door under the fuel tank and starter switches. On the instrument panel, from left to right: oil pressure and temperature, altitude, another oil temperature gauge, air speed indicator (with a turn indicator below it), clock, and rpm tachometer. Around the cockpit you can see all the wires and pulleys connecting the controls to the flight surfaces outside. Turn or push the yoke and they quite clearly move. Fly by wire, indeed. The compass is basically a bowl with a magnet floating in it.

The designer of the initial F.VII was Walter Rethel, who was later hired by Willy Messerschmitt and went on to design the famous Bf 109, the main German fighter at the start of World War II.

With a single engine, even a fairly powerful one for its time, the Fokker F.VII didn’t exactly spring off the ground. It lumbers into the air and climbs gradually. Nevertheless, in the early 1920s, the F.VII became a successful early passenger transport for early airlines such as Dutch KLM and Belgian Sabena. Here I am flying over the historic center of Amsterdam.

In 1924, the F.VII even introduced flights from Amsterdam to the East Indies. Needless to say, it wasn’t nonstop and could take many days.

In 1925, automakers Henry Ford and his son Edsel began the Ford Reliability Tour, a challenge for aircraft to successfully complete a 1,900-mile course across the American Midwest with stops in 10 cities. To compete in Ford’s challenge, and make the airplane more reliable in general, Fokker had the F.VII redesigned to have three engines, adding two mounted on the side struts. The new F.VIIb/3m, decked out here in Sabena colors and flying over Brussels, became immediately popular, with 154 built. Each of the three engines was a 200 hp Wright J-4 Whirlwind.

• READ MORE: Exploring the Checkered History of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

Belgian tycoon Alfred Loewenstein, calculated to be the third-richest man in the world at his peak in the 1920s, even owned his own private Fokker F.VII. Flying over the English Channel in 1928, he had one of the most unfortunate bathroom breaks in history. You see, the door to the bathroom (left) is directly across from the door to the outside (right). It seems Loewenstein opened and walked through the wrong one and fell to his death in the water below. Though to this day, some still suspect it was murder. There’s even a book about this incident, The Man Who Fell from the Sky by William Norris.

If that were the sum of the F.VII’s history, it might be pretty uninspiring. But to tell the rest of it, I’m here at Spitsbergen in Norway’s Arctic archipelago of Svalbard for Byrd’s flight to the North Pole. Richard Byrd was a U.S. naval officer who commanded air patrols out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, during WWI. He played an active but supporting role in the first attempts to cross the Atlantic by air, and in 1926 had his big shot at fame. His Fokker F.VIIa/3m, mounted on snow skis, was named the Josephine Ford, after the daughter of Edsel Ford, who helped finance the expedition.

This was a two-man expedition, with Byrd accompanied by Navy Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett. The passenger seats were torn out and replaced with extra fuel tanks and emergency supplies.

The inside of the cockpit is quite similar to the one-engine version but with three separate throttles and tachometers (showing rpm). There was no airport in Svalbard at the time, so they had to take off from a snow-covered field—hence the skis. Byrd’s flight, from Svalbard and back, took 15 hours and 57 minutes, including 13 minutes spent circling at their farthest north point, which Byrd claimed, based on his sextant readings, to be the North Pole.

Did he really reach the North Pole and become the first to fly over it? This remains hotly disputed to this day, with some researchers claiming that he faked his sextant readings and fell short of his goal. In that case, the true prize would belong to Norwegian Roald Amundsen, already the first to reach the South Pole by land, in his airship Norge.

• READ MORE: The Story of the Schneider Trophy and the Supermarine S.5

A few observations about flying the Fokker F.VII, at least in the sim. First, it’s not very stable, in the sense of wanting to correct back to straight and level flight. It’s sensitive to being loaded either nose-heavy or tail-heavy and requires a lot of control input. Second, that big wing really likes to glide. To descend without overspeeding, I basically have to put all three throttles back to idle and glide down.

Last, there are no differential brakes and no tailwheel. That makes the F.VII extremely hard to control on the ground, even just to taxi. That’s especially true on snow skis.

Whether Byrd truly did reach the North Pole or not, he became a huge national hero when he returned to the U.S. Byrd and Bennett were both presented with the Medal of Honor by then-President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.

The following year in 1927, Byrd outfitted a new Fokker F.VII/3m, named America, to bid for the Orteig Prize, promising $25,000 for the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris (or vice versa). Anthony Fokker himself had recently moved to the United States and was part of the team preparing Byrd and his crew—the odds-on favorite—for the Atlantic crossing. During practices, however, America—piloted by Fokker himself—crashed, injuring both Byrd and Bennett and postponing their attempt. As a result, while America was being repaired, Charles Lindbergh—an unheard-of underdog—made the flight solo in the Spirit of St. Louis, becoming an aviation legend.

• READ MORE: Simulating a Bombing Raid in an F-16

The Fokker F.VII would still achieve fame, though, crossing a different ocean at the hands of Australian pilot Charles Kingsford Smith in 1928. If you’ve ever passed through Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (YSSY) and wondered who it’s named after, you’re about to find out. (If you’re an Australian, you already know).

Movie star handsome Smith, known as “Smithy,” fought as a combat engineer at Gallipoli in WWI but soon joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot. He was shot down, injured, and returned to become a flying instructor in Australia. From that day, Smith had a dream to cross the Pacific Ocean by air from the U.S. to Australia. By 1928 he was ready to try to achieve that goal. That’s why I’m here at Oakland Municipal Airport (KOAK) in California, where he took off in his Fokker F.VIIb/3m Southern Cross. Not unlike Byrd’s airplane, the inside has been altered to make space for extra fuel tanks.

At 8:54 a.m. on May 31, 1928, Smith and his four-man crew lifted off from Oakland on the first leg of their journey to Hawaii. At the time, flying to Hawaii, much less Australia, was an extremely daunting prospect. While they had a radio with limited range, there were no radio beacons to guide them. They could only estimate a course based on the latest, often inaccurate, weather reports over the Pacific and hope that unexpected winds wouldn’t blow them off course and make them miss Hawaii entirely. As they flew over the Golden Gate— the bridge hadn’t been built yet—they knew that several aviators before them had estimated wrong and simply vanished into the vastness of the Pacific.

The first stage from Oakland to Hawaii covered 2,400 miles and took 27 hours and 25 minutes (87.54 mph). It was uneventful. But one can only imagine their joy as they arrived here over the northeast shore of Oahu.

They landed at Wheeler Army Airfield in the center of Oahu. The Southern Cross was the first foreign-registered airplane to arrive in Hawaii and was greeted at Wheeler by thousands, including Governor Wallace Rider Farrington. Smith and his crew were put up at Honolulu’s pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel to rest for the next stage.

• READ MORE: A Virtual History of the Piper Cub

The runway at Wheeler was too short for the Southern Cross to take off fully loaded, so they flew to Barking Sands on the west coast of Kauai, where a special runway had been constructed. They took off from Barking Sands at 5:20 a.m. on June 3, bound for Suva in Fiji.

The journey from Hawaii to Fiji was 3,155 miles—the longest flight yet over continuous seas. It lasted 34 hours and 30 minutes at an average speed of 91.45 mph.

Halfway across near the equator, the Southern Cross encountered a tropical thunderstorm. Keep in mind, the crew did not have the benefit of an artificial horizon. The only way it could keep level, flying blind, was keeping a close eye on airspeed, altitude, and the inclinometer (or turn indicator). Somehow, the crew weathered the storm and kept going.

The crew undoubtedly felt great relief when it spotted the green landscape of Fiji ahead. There was no airport at that time, so the Southern Cross landed on a cricket field. Once again, it was far too small to use to take off again, so after a few days’ rest, the crew relocated to a beach from which to depart for the next and final leg of the journey. Leaving Fiji on June 9, the aviators embarked on their final 1,683-mile stretch home to Australia.

Once more they encountered storms, which blew them nearly 150 miles off course. Even when the weather was clear, the unrelenting and trackless ocean must have been overwhelming.

The Southern Cross reached the Australian coastline near Ballina, well south of its intended target, and turned north toward Brisbane. As the crew reached Brisbane, it was greeted by an aerial escort. The goal was Eagle Farm Airport northeast of the city—now the location of Brisbane’s main international airport.

The Southern Cross had flown 7,187 miles (11,566 kilometers) in 83 hours and 72 minutes. The Pacific Ocean had been conquered by the air for the very first time. A crowd of 26,000 greeted Smith and his crew when they touched down at Eagle Farm.

Smith died in 1935 at 35 when his airplane disappeared over the Indian Ocean while attempting to break the England-Australia speed record. His career was filled with both triumph and scandal, but he is still considered Australia’s great aviation hero. If you visit Brisbane’s airport, you can still see the real Southern Cross on display in a dedicated hangar.

The Fokker F.VII continued as a popular airliner into the 1930s. However, the vulnerability of its fabric-and-wood construction became apparent following a 1931 TWA crash that resulted in the death of famed University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. As a result, the Fokker F.VII gave way to all-metal airliners such as the Boeing 247, Lockheed L-10 Electra, and eventually the DC-3.

One of the most popular early successors to the Fokker F.VII was the Ford Trimotor, basically an all-metal version of the F.VII. For all their sponsorship, the Fords seem to have gotten something out of it in the end. Anthony Fokker, nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman,” lived most of the rest of his life in the U.S. and died at  49 in New York in 1939 from pneumococcal meningitis.  

If you’d like to see a version of this story with more historical photos and screenshots, you can check out my original post here. This story was told utilizing the “Local Legend” Fokker F.VII add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, along with liveries and scenery downloaded for free from the flightsim.to community.

The post Reaching Uncharted Corners of the Globe in a Fokker F.VII appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to a statement sent to FLYING, “the proposed AD will continue to allow aviation and the 5G C-Band to safely coexist.”

• READ MORE: Aviation Industry Seeks 5G Deadline Extension

The activation of 5G took place this month and is designed to improve internet speeds. Wireless carriers AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) have stated that 5G is necessary as cellular data needs increase.

How the AD Works

The February 2024 directive mandates that all transport category airplanes used in scheduled passenger or cargo flight operations in the U.S. be equipped to safely operate in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless signals.

“This proposed AD is similar to one that took effect in December 2021, prohibiting passenger and cargo flight operations in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless transmitters unless the FAA specifically approved them,” the FAA statement said. The 2021 AD relied on Verizon and AT&T to voluntarily reduce the power of 5G C-Band signals near airports.

According to airline industry officials, interference caused by 5G signals can compromise the radio altimeters aboard airliners, which can constitute a safety hazard in low visibility situations. The data supplied by radio altimeters gives the pilot information about the aircraft’s height above terrain, and supplies information for several other systems aboard sophisticated aircraft used by airlines. When this data is suspect, the aircraft cannot land.

In January 2022 the wireless companies voluntarily reduced the power of the 5G towers near airports to help protect air traffic while the industry focused on developing protections against interference.

The FAA notes that both AT&T and Verizon agreed to keep their voluntary mitigations in place until July 2023 to give the aviation industry an additional year to retrofit their airplanes with radio frequency filters.

“Although that work continues at an expedient clip, this proposed AD would make the retrofits mandatory for operators that have not completed the work,” FAA said. “In keeping with the deadline agreed to by wireless carriers, the proposed AD also requires aviation operators to revise their airplane flight manuals to prohibit low-visibility landings after June 30, 2023, unless the retrofits have been completed on that airplane.”

Mitigations May Not Be Enough

In a November 15 letter, members of the aviation industry 5G Coalition noted that despite the mitigations in place, there were still instances of 5G interference.

• READ MORE: 5G-Mitigating FreeFlight Radar Altimeters Gain Approval

“Since January 2022, the FAA has documented over 100 FAA incidents of potential 5G interference, the majority of which were found to have a direct radar altimeter impact resulting in safety alerts by systems such as the terrain avoidance warning system [TAWS],” the coalition letter said. “Unfortunately, the U.S. government agencies do not appear to be on the same page with respect to these safety issues. As a result, aviation stakeholders are caught in the middle, and ultimately passengers and shippers will be the ones who will bear the brunt of any operational disruption caused if this issue is not resolved.”

The letter was sent to Brian Deese, National Economic Council Director Executive Office of the President; Gina M. Raimondo Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce; Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation; Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; and Billy Nolen, Acting Administrator, FAA.

The FAA describes the AD as a longer-term solution and a collaboration between the wireless companies, aviation stakeholders, the Federal Communications Commission, and the FAA and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, designed to enable the wireless companies to achieve full use of their networks while maintaining aviation safety.

This proposed AD will be open for public comment for 30 days after it posts in the Federal Register.

The post Airlines Have Until 2024 To Make 5G Upgrades Under FAA AD appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The 747 has been in production since September 1968.

There she goes!

The last 747 has left our Everett factory ahead of delivery to Atlas Air in early 2023. #QueenOfTheSkies

Photos: Boeing/Paul Weatherman pic.twitter.com/duzgr6MzQl

— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) December 7, 2022

History of the Jumbo Jet

The 747 was Boeing’s first twin-aisle airliner, dubbed “the Jumbo Jet”  because of its spacious cabin. The design was developed in the late 1960s, spearheaded by engineer Joe Sutter. 

The first flight of the 747 took place on February 9, 1969, with the first delivery following in 1970 to the now defunct Pan Am Airlines. At the time, Pan Am was the powerhouse airline, and the image of the iconic jet became synonymous with air travel to exotic places.

• READ MORE: Boeing Closing in on Final Assembly of Last New 747

The news that the last 747 was being produced made headline news around the world, as the versatile jet is or was the backbone of many an airline’s fleet as it is available in both a passenger and cargo configurations.

During its 52 years of service the aircraft evolved, the last iteration of the 747 was the 747-8. The last 747 will be delivered to Atlas Air in early 2023.

• READ MORE: UPS Receives Delivery of Its Last New Boeing 747

The post Last ‘Queen of the Skies’ Rolls Off Line at 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 Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract was awarded by the Air Force’s innovation arm, AFWERX, and will accelerate critical design and development work on Overture, Boom’s supersonic commercial airliner concept set to enter production in 2023, the company said Tuesday.

The Denver, Colorado-based startup, which launched in 2014, aims to build the fastest supersonic airliner. 

Boom is currently developing its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator, which was formally revealed in October 2020, and Overture, a 65-88 passenger, Mach 1.7 supersonic airliner. Both the XB-1 and Overture share key technologies, such as advanced carbon fiber composites and a refined delta wing.

Overture is slated to roll out in 2025. It’s expected to carry passengers by 2029, according to the company. The aircraft is designed to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuels and will cost about $200 million per copy.

“[A] derivative of Overture could offer the Air Force a future strategic capability in rapid global transport and logistics,” the company said. “Potential users and applications include executive transport; intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance; special operations forces; and the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).”

• READ MORE: Five Things To Know About Boom Supersonic

The partnership between the Air Force and the supersonic aircraft manufacturer is “mutually beneficial,” Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl said in a statement. 

“With STRATFI, we’re able to collaborate with the Air Force on the unique requirements and needs for global military missions, ultimately allowing Boom to better satisfy the needs of the Air Force where it uses commercially-derived aircraft,” Scholl said. “As a potential future platform for the Air Force, Overture would offer the valuable advantage of time, an unmatched option domestically and internationally.”

The contract is the second awarded by the service to Boom in little more than a year. In September 2020, the Air Force awarded a contract to Boom to explore use of the Overture aircraft for DOD executive transport of top military and government leadership.

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“The United States Air Force is constantly looking for technological opportunities to disrupt the balance of our adversaries,” Brig. Gen. Ryan Britton, program executive officer for Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate, said at the time. “Boom is an example of the American ingenuity that drives the economy forward through technological advances. We are extremely excited to team with them as we work to shrink the world and transform the future of executive airlift.”

The post Air Force Awards Boom Supersonic $60 Million Contract For Aircraft Development appeared first on FLYING Magazine.