Is this a C-47 or DC-3?

[vtdeucedriver]

Were not the side doors different on the civilian planes? Are Jeeps the same too?

Most of your Civilian DC-3's had the passenger door on the right of the Aircraft as they were ordered that way. Believe both American and Eastern ordered theirs this way. Some early DC-3's also had a passenger door on the left side.

The C-47 had the double cargo door installed on the left side. These aircraft were also different by having a heavier floor structure and heavier Gear to support the increase in aircraft load weight.

 

[yetti96]

Hi all --- I fly the DC-3 / C-47. We have six flyable in my county. Here is a little info that may help next time. C-47 had fabric covered elevator , ailerons and rudder -- but may have been replaced with metal at some point. Ours are still fabric. The military data plate is mounted inside on the rear bulkhead. Most of the DC-3 were C-47's.

Somebody works at Mosquito Control I love waking up to that sound of a few low passes as the grid happens to fall over my house where they spray.

 

[zout]

DC-1,DC-2,DC-3,C-47,Dakota Aircraft

 

[Oldfart]

I vote for a DC 3. The "N" number N4008 was assigned to a Waco in 1975 and that appears to be a current registration. The British got lots of the C47 production in WWII and those were know as "Dakota's". Because of the large production for WWII and post war, these planes were plentiful and cheap workhorses for many years. Some have been converted to turbo props and tricycle gear configuration's. The US military did have some standard door planes as personnel transports

 

[vtdeucedriver]

I vote for a DC 3. The "N" number N4008 was assigned to a Waco in 1975 and that appears to be a current registration. The British got lots of the C47 production in WWII and those were know as "Dakota's". Because of the large production for WWII and post war, these planes were plentiful and cheap workhorses for many years. Some have been converted to turbo props and tricycle gear configuration's. The US military did have some standard door planes as personnel transports

Please post the pic of a tricycle gear DC-3??? Never seen one. The only non tailwheel 3's that I know of were the ones that were installed on floats for the military.............even then, they were not that many made and installed.

 

[Oldfart]

The only tricycle gear DC 3 that I saw was a photo in a magazine article that dealt mostly with trigear conversions of D18's. Personally, I have seen only a handful of turboprop conversions. This was back in the late 60's when I was trying to convince my wife that we needed a plain old D 18 to travel around in and build time. She pointed out to me that while we could afford to buy one of those, I would have to finance the fuel. I never did get a multi-engine rating. At the time I saw the article, I wondered how the mains got set back or reversed to move the CG forward, and what might have been used for a nose wheel. For that matter, I never found out how that was done on the D18. Wasn't the D18 conversion called a Vulcan?

 

[Oldfart]

I took the time to do some online searching and the Beech D18 tricycle conversion was done by Volpar. Later this was a factory option I guess as I found a currently for sale D18 trigear that is being represented as original. I found a photo with no details of a DC 3 with triple turbo prop engines. Odd looking with a nose engine as well. Then I searched the FAA STC's for a tricycle conversion to DC3's. The fact of the matter was I could find nothing for DC3's. There was a list of STC's for A26's, B26's and a bunch more Douglas Aircraft, but no DC3's listed for any kind of STC. Odd indeed. I found STC's for Curtis C46's and other aircraft of the same vintage. There were STC listings for Beech D18's, but nothing on the Volpar conversion. I thought I might be able to assure myself I was not having a senior moment with my recollection of seeing an article with a DC3 with a trigear conversion, but ????

 

[vtdeucedriver]

I took the time to do some online searching and the Beech D18 tricycle conversion was done by Volpar. Later this was a factory option I guess as I found a currently for sale D18 trigear that is being represented as original. I found a photo with no details of a DC 3 with triple turbo prop engines. Odd looking with a nose engine as well. Then I searched the FAA STC's for a tricycle conversion to DC3's. The fact of the matter was I could find nothing for DC3's. There was a list of STC's for A26's, B26's and a bunch more Douglas Aircraft, but no DC3's listed for any kind of STC. Odd indeed. I found STC's for Curtis C46's and other aircraft of the same vintage. There were STC listings for Beech D18's, but nothing on the Volpar conversion. I thought I might be able to assure myself I was not having a senior moment with my recollection of seeing an article with a DC3 with a trigear conversion, but ????

Yes on the D18 conversion. Volpar did many mods to the twin beech. Even removing the twin rudder tail and installing a single tail and calling it a "tradewinds".
Volpar converted C-45s into trigears and I believe Volpar sold the plans back to beech where they produced factory Beech 18s called H18.

Here is my uncles, one of the last few off the line.

They eventually produced another 20 in the early 70's for JAL Airlines in Japan. I think those were BA-699 to BA-720 if I remember right.

As for turbo 3's. Basler out in WI converts them to the PT-6-67D engine. They have a longer fuselage and are just plane ugly. Sorry but I am a round engine guy!!!! Long live Pratt & Whitney Wasp series engines!!!!

 

[Oldfart]

Don't be sorry about the round verses in-line! That's what made the Reno Air races so fun (and, I think radials held the most wins over the 18 years we attended.)

 

[CajunM35A2]

Dc-3/c-47

Don't know if it is accurate, just remember flying from Fort Polk to Dallas in a DC-3. I said something about is this a C-47 and one of the airline people said no. DC-3 is the civilian version and has tricycle landing gear. The plane I was in had the tricycle landing gear and was a regional carrier. It was silver on the outside also.

tricycle gear on a DC3/C47?? NO. Perhaps some post-war mods were tried, but the bird was conventionally-geared (taildragger).

Douglas C-47 Skytrain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[vtdeucedriver]

Don't be sorry about the round verses in-line! That's what made the Reno Air races so fun (and, I think radials held the most wins over the 18 years we attended.)

Yep, Lyle Sheldon and Rare Bear have a few. Think he still has the record at 530 something

 

[Oldfart]

As I recall, the whole race record is 503 which is moving for a piston powered prop aircraft. Qualifying laps are faster than the whole race. They can only hold up for a while when pumping all that Nitrous at supercharger pressures 3 times normal. We have missed the last several races so I am not up on the latest. Jets were being raced on a trial basis and I would expect that will or has become a permanent class. We were on the road to the Reno Air Races when 9-11 happened. We sat in empty stands for 3 days while they were trying to get permission to fly. We spent most of our time in the pits talking to the grounded flight crews. Nothing to do but stock up on tee shirts from distressed vendors and speculate on what had happened in NYC. Any stars and stripes flags were quickly sold out and people bought red, white and blue ribbons instead. They were tied to car antennas, door handles, fences, tree branches and the like.

 

[emr]

Were not the side doors different on the civilian planes? Are Jeeps the same too?

"OUCH NO Jeeps are NOT the same... And only a Jeep is a Jeep....Now U started something.... and a C 47 will always be a C47 to us, even if It did have a new reg number, It is possible at the end of the war some off the assembly line were right from birth a DC3 that would have been a C47 if the war continued... just sayin,

 

[m1010plowboy]

C-47 pretending to be a DC-3, but it's not and page 1 explains why

I'm bumping this dinosaur because I touched some crazy history this weekend and Aluminum Soldiers would want pictures.

Hauled a crazy load out of Edmonton to Red Deer today. The belly tanks, on the front of the trailer, belong to the Ventura that was also tugged out of Edmonton recently.



There isn't a lot of information online about this particular Ventura but it survived because these belly tanks kept it mostly off the ground until its recovery in 1988.
The Ventura group are hoping to get the entire story online and recognize the need of web design and support. Here's a bit of info..... http://www.vpnavy.com/vmfa_01oct2001.html

"""""""The Ventura was a WWII twin engine bomber/reconnaissance aircraft. This Ventura saw active service with 149BR Sqn. stationed at Terrace, B.C. during the War, and is the only Ventura remaining in Canada.


It is the intention of the Ventura Memorial Flight Association to restore this Ventura to its original WWII flying condition, complete with appropriate squadron markings and identification. This aircraft will service as a tribute to the contribution that crews of the Western and Eastern Air Commands, as well as R.C.A.F. Ventura crews overseas, made during WWII.
After the War, Ventura 2195 was decommissioned and sold to Spartan Air Services under the registration CF-FAV, and was used for airborne survey work In the North West Territories. In 1953 CF-FAV crash landed approximately 50 nm North of Yellowknife, where it sat for 35 years.
In the summer of 1988 the aircraft was recovered from the crash site by members of the Ventura Memorial Flight Association with the assistance of 447 Squadron, C.A.F.
The Ventura was air lifted to Yellowknife, barged to Hay River and towed to Canadian Forces Base. Edmonton, Lancaster Park, for storage until a suitable facility for the restoration process could be found.
In 1991 the City of Edmonton provided a facility in the form of the 418 (City of Edmonton) Sqn hanger. The restoration process has started, and with continued support from all sources, the process will continue until the Ventura is once again airborne. """""""

"

The big double wasp engines pulled a great number of planes through the air and the C-47 is one of them. As good luck shined today when the sun didn't, I had a very rare opportunity to get a few pics.



This old girl once looked like the one on the right.



We arrived in Red Deer just after the Zero hour props, new engine and the modern avionics had been added to this C-47.



The big C-47 cargo door with the little door open.



Looking forward.



Looking rear



Looking out the C-47 cockpit window at the aircraft the once sat at the Edmonton Aviation Museum.....

 

[tommys2patrick]

Thanks for helping me remember an experience with my father. I think it was in the summer of 1967. My dad was the chief inspector for an airline that operated DC-3's(C-47). Anyway, one had just gone thru some major maintenance and it needed testing. He and I accompanied the pilot on a test hop. The plane was stripped to the floors except for a couple of jump seats near the cockpit door. As a young pup who had not seen much in life yet it was all I could do to maintain composure. I think my dad and the pilot were pretty excited about it as well. They kind of had the look of a kid who borrowed dad's car for the first time without him knowing. Not that I would know what that looked like. My guess is that it felt like a hot rod to them, all stripped down. I can remember getting airborne and leveling off, we unbuckled and stood in the cockpit doorway watching the pilot and looking thru the windscreen. He started doing some extremely steep banked turns and the engines sounding like they were going to explode. My dad and I almost fell on our butts holding on for dear life. Then what seemed like a power dive. Kind of sounded like a scene from one of those world war II movies where the dive bomber was coming in. Pulling out at the last minute.

Anyway, thanks for resurrecting this Dino. and the photos. made my day.