Any former DC-3 freightdogs out there?

[Apache06]

Pinehurst Airlines DC-3

I flew co-pilot on the Gooney bird from June 78 to sometime in 79 for Pinehurst Airlines. We operated the "3" in the Northeast in the winter and froze our butts off in the cockpit. I still have my flourescent orange one piece thermal jumpsuit I bought at K-mart to wear in the cockpit. The janitrol heater produced a distict smell in the cockpit but almost no heat. We helped load the cargo pallets using a J-bar and a pallet jack. A D-container going up hill in the "3" took four or five guys pushing with all you had. I can remember being very sweatty even in the cold of Chicago O'hare TWA cargo ramp and then cimbing into the cockpit which was freezing. I only had about 200 hours multi when I was hired on the "3" and most of my time was Army helo and single engine part 135 cargo. Had a hard time learning to wheel land the "3" but Capt Jim Garner showed me the technique of pinning the mains on the runway with a fairly agressive push forward on the yoke on touchdown. From the cockpit looked like the tail would come up too high and the nose was going too low. However, the technique worked. If you bounced the "3" you had to pin it on the runway on the second touchdown or she would head to the barn (run off the runway). Quite a unique smell from the engines on T/O and of course a lot of noise. Starting the engines required all the fingers on both hand. Great old bird.

 

[Waldom]

I was lucky enough to fly the '3 hauling boxes and skydivers as well as spraying with them doing forrestry work.

You asked for a story, so here's my sportiest moment. As with most incedents, stupidity played a role but this airplane excells at taking care of the stupid.

We were approaching our destination one night at 7000 feet, IMC in moderate rain, OAT above freezing. The destination was reporting freezing rain. I briefed the approach with the strategy of staying in the warmer air as long as possible until we had to strart down. We would keep the speed up while maneuvering for the ILS and ask for short vectors. The F/O would monitor the ice accretion and try to keep ahead of it with the boots, squirt alcohol on the windshield occasionally, and hit the windshield wipers just before the "approaching minimums" call. That was a great plan for landing at the destination. The copilot was sharp but too inexperienced to say "you idiot, turn around and land at an airport on the warm side of the front!"

The approach went as planned and, needless to say, the clear icing was in the moderate to severe catagory. I doubted we would have the performance left to climb back to the warm air if we missed, so landing out of this one became pretty important.

We were still in the "clagg" at 400 feet above touchdown when the F/O opened the windshield wiper valve. You may recall that the windshield wipers are hydraulicaly accuated. Even though few things happen fast in a DC-3, several things happened suddenly at this point. A hydraulic line at the valve under the glareshield blew out of the connection. At 1500 P.S.I., the fluid instantly covered the back of the windshield, the entire instrument panel, and us from the neck down. The F/O instantly closed the wiper valve and that cut off the fluid leak, but we still had problems.

The fluid that covered the instrument panel foamed and obliterated the view of the instruments. We were approaching minimums and still IMC. If we did break out, ice/slush on the windshield caused the usual problem with visibility. Since we were already soaked with warm hydraulic fluid, I missed a golden opportunity to pee my pants right at that moment. No one would have known the difference.

The approach had been stable, so I just froze the yoke where it had been so as not to change the pitch attitude and left the throttle setting right where it was. I yanked the side window open but didn't move my head until the copilot called the approach lights in sight.

I stuck half of my head out of the side window and had a wonderful view of the runway threshold and touchdown zone. Due to the higher approach speed required by the ice load on the airplane and the poor braking action, we used about 4000 feet of the 5500 foot long runway to get stopped. Because the F/O had the smarts to close the wiper valve as soon as the line blew, we still had hydraulic fluid and consequently brake pressure available for the landing.

We were lucky for several reasons, among them that the glareshield had prevented the hydraulic fluid from spraying in our eyes. And the fact that the marvelous Douglas engineers designed the windshield so that you encountered a slight vacume and no air blast within 8 inches when sticking your head out of the side window in flight if the windshield view is obstructed.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. Come on folks, I know you have better Gooney Bird stories than this and I'd like to hear them.

 

[CSY Mon]

Well, I can't top that story.

Once we were suppsoed to land on our beach in Alaska but the weather was too bad to get it down.
Low clouds, rain and strong winds.
(The beach was Tsiu River btw)

I knew of some kind of dirt strip nearby but had never been there.
We started circling at low altitude and found the place, about 3000' long between trees.
The wind shield wipers did not work and the view forward was a bit blurry from the heavy rain. We sort of lined up between the trees as there was a good contrast from the green trees and the grey strip. On short final I opened the side window and stuck my head out to do the landing.
Not a good idea as it felt like I was shot in the face with hail...It stung a bit so I pulled my noggin back in and just guessed on the flare..It worked the -3 is a forgiving Lady.

(Guess I stuck my head out more than 8 inches, did not know about the vacuum created by the windshield)

We carried 2000 lbs with ice to keep the fish cool, but had to stay overnight in the plane for the weather to clear. Pilots stayed cool instead that night.

Learned later to use Lemonpledge on the windshield, that will keep the rain off if the wipers ain't working.

Got few more stories, but later..

 

[Waldom]

Good one, CSY.

Just hauling fish off the beach on a normal day tops my story.

I knew about the slight suction outside the the side window in flight because I chewed tobacco at the time. When you let 'er go, nothing ever touched the fuselage. The horizontal stab would get ugly, but the oil leaks out of number one usually covered that up.

 

[CSY Mon]

Just Hauling fish off the beach on a normal day tops my story.

Well, not so.
I did not operate the -3 in icing conditions like you did.
My stuff was mostly day/VFR and not too hairy as long as the engines did not quit at T/O way below VMC.
(They didn't..Lady Luck looks after the fools and the drunks. )
The short field work was intersting, but again, the plane is pretty forgiving and ya can get away with "stuff".

The other -3 flying I did in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands was mostly VMC as well...Pretty benign flying really.

After the -3s I went to Twin Otters, then on the DC-8s, then B-747s, etc.

Miss the DC-3 however..As much fun as ya can have with yer pants on..

 

[Waldom]

Hey, CSY, we could start another whole thread on the DC-8! I'm out of computer time, though.

 

[CSY Mon]

Roger on that, got some stories flying Air India Cargo with the -73s.

 

[727C47]

flew a 3 to Bang-kok, via OAK-HNL,-Tarawa-Trukk-Guam- Manila, then up the coast of 'nam and Cambodia. Glorious adventure, tropical storms, the Southern Cross, Fosters Lager,and the grace of God.

 

[CSY Mon]

flew a 3 to Bang-kok, via OAK-HNL,-Tarawa-Trukk-Guam- Manila, then up the coast of 'nam and Cambodia. Glorious adventure, tropical storms, the Southern Cross, Fosters Lager,and the grace of God.

Wow, how many hours was that....?

Did ya have the long range tanks?

 

[727C47]

2 weeks, 67 hours, a 600 gallon bladder tank + a 200 gallon aluminum tank lashed together in the cabin, gave us nearly 17 hour endurance. longest leg,HNL -Tarawa, 15.5 hours, had to leave Hnl at night,because Tarawa only had an unlit 5000ft coral strip so we had to arrive in daylight. great flying,great fun !

 

[mcjohn]

Well, I'm down near OPF (Opa Locka FL) temporarily and there are 3 different DC3 operators on field. They really are just Recip/Round engine maintenace places but they run cargo back and forth to the islands on a part-time basis.

The CP names are Julio, Ramone, and Tito (Super DC3s). :laugh:

For real, and I have guy trying to get my resume to Tito for some part time flying.

There are a few BE18 operators here as well. One is at HWO and the plane says "Aztec Airways" on it. I heard some bad stuff about the guy though. All the others I see have lost their true BE18 status due to some stupid looking training wheel (unconventional gear) conversion.

I think OPF also has some Convairs running.

 

[Waldom]

Wow, What a trip and what an adventure.

I used to fly a Super 3 [DC-3S, R4D-8, C-117]. That airplane had as a standard installation 600 gallon bladders in each outboard wing panel as well as the front and rear tanks in the centersection. I'm told that the Navy and Marines operated them throughout the Pacific, but I never did.

 

[goodgig]

They are still '18's, even with the "training wheel".
Taught me more about flying than any other type....

 

[Waldom]

Taught me more about flying than any other type....[/quote]

I'm with you there, bro (or sis). The ink was still wet on my temporary instrument rating when they turned me loose single pilot in a Twin Beech in December out of PTK. Good thing they are such a stable instrument platform because what I knew about practical weather flying would have fit in a thimble.

I knew a little about round engines and tailwheels because of cropdusting but the learning curve was pretty steep on the instrument stuff. Good thing I was young, dumb, and bullet-proof.

 

[727C47]

Taught me more about flying than any other type....

I'm with you there, bro (or sis). The ink was still wet on my temporary instrument rating when they turned me loose single pilot in a Twin Beech in December out of PTK. Good thing they are such a stable instrument platform because what I knew about practical weather flying would have fit in a thimble.

I knew a little about round engines and tailwheels because of cropdusting but the learning curve was pretty steep on the instrument stuff. Good thing I was young, dumb, and bullet-proof.[/quote]

Royal Air-PTK ?