Saturday, January 6, 2018

THE DC3s . I’ve been meaning to write about this for few days. You think I’m talking about a music group named the DC3s. But no, I’m talking about REAL DC3s still flying in and out of Florida. DC3s! You know the last DC3 was built in 1945.
So it goes something like this. There is lots of noise around this marina. In the sky helicopters, the guys flying the banners advertising things and I saw a marriage proposal being pulled behind a plane yesterday. Commercial jets, and private aircraft are flying around here a lot. But, I’m under the flybridge wiring panel working on my installation of the new high water bilge alarm and I hear the unmistakable sound of a large rotary gas engine. You know like an old world war two bomber or something. Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines sound really cool. I figured it was another promotional vintage plane. I slide out sit up and a DC3 is flying in from the ocean headed to Opa Locka Airport. I kind of stare in disbelief. Is it really a DC3? The kind like Ricky Nelson had? The DC-3 1935, unpressurized flying below 10,000’ , 207MPH ?? Yes. Yes it really is a DC3. And, this was not the only time I’ve seen DC3s flying overhead. There are obviously more than one flying in and out of Florida from the Bahamas or somewhere out over the Atlantic.
Wikipedia says “””Perhaps unique among prewar aircraft, the DC-3 continues to fly daily in active commercial and military service as of April 2017, more than eighty years after the type's first flight in 1935. There are still small operators with DC-3s in revenue service and as cargo aircraft. The common saying among aviation enthusiasts and pilots is that "the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3".[26][27] The aircraft's legendary ruggedness is enshrined in the lighthearted description of the DC-3 as "a collection of parts flying in loose formation".[28] Its ability to use grass or dirt runways makes it popular in developing countries, where runways are not always paved.
Current uses of the DC-3 include aerial spraying, freight transport, passenger service, military transport, missionary flying, skydiver shuttling and sightseeing. “””Read about the DC3 here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3 Another interesting article about the planes I am seeing is http://www.michaelprophet.com/News_articles/OPS.html
Anyhow, I’ve grabbed my camera too late every time I hear that sound. But today’s picture is one of the DC3s that I finally got a picture of.
PS. Monday, we will be headed north 60 miles or so to Lake Worth to wait for a gulf stream weather window to cross to West End Grand Bahama Island.