In 1934 American Airlines was beginning to consider a US transcontinental air service. To achieve this an enlarged version of the Douglas DC-2 was requested. The DC-3 was developed and first flew on 17th December 1935. It had a long and distinguished career in many fields. It began life as a commercial airliner, but was widely used in WWII to transport troops and cargo. The two main variants were the C-53 Skytrooper paratroop transport and the C-47 Skytrain. For carrying up to 28 paratroopers, the interior was fitted with fold-down bucket seats hinged to the walls. In its cargo role, the interior was fitted with pulleys for lifting and moving up to 6000 lbs of cargo. There were many variations and conversions made to the plane to fit a variety of roles. For example, it was used as a glider tug. The 10000 DC-3 was delivered in 1945. A few Dakotas remained in military service until 1957. In its civilian role it could carry 28 passengers. A few Dakotas are still in use today as both a passenger and transport aircraft.
The plane was built by starting with enlarged Nick Zeroli plans. The construction of the model was started in early
1998 by Dave Baker doing some cutting
of foam for the fuselage and wings. The model is predominately foam, but has
hardwood spars and is covered in veneer. Solartex forms the final covering which
was sprayed in cellulose paint. The model was completed in October 1998 having
taken most of the year. The scale retractable undercarriage and fixed tail wheel
were built by Ray Smith and Clive Goodier.
The paintwork was originally going to be based on an aircraft from Southern
Airlines. However Dave temporarily had Johnson Airlines painted on the plane has
has got used to having his own airline!
Doesn't this look real! (Cosford 2001)
In flight. (Cosford 2001)
Through the door you can just see the box and switches with twin receivers placed on top for easy access.
Dave with his DC3.
This page was last updated on 24/7/02.
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