Era Classic Airlines DC-3

Flight Journal, Apr 2002 by Oltersdorf, Jim

GALLERY

A few years back, Era Classic Airlines president Bob Palmer had a dream-one that was hugely expensive and would take years to achieve. But Palmer is a man to be believed, and when those two beautiful 1943 DC-3s rolled out of the hangar after years of refurbishhad a ment, they were better than new, and his dream had been realized!

Now, those silver and gray birds fly for Era, and they give the Alaskan sky something it hasn't seen in a while: the sound of the past and the sight of one of the finest aircraft ever built.

From D-day to the Berlin airlift to hauling tourists on sightseeing tours, the Douglas DC-3 has seen it all. Hailed as being "built like a tank," the old bird is beloved by pilots like Capt. Ron Carlson, who says, "The DC-3 is different to fly, inasmuch as with any tail-dragger, you don't stop flying it until you tie it down."

Affectionately known as "Gooney Birds," DC-3s became symbols of the War effort during the trying times of WW II. Used mostly to ferry troops, paratroopers and cargo into and out of the European and Pacific theaters, the DC-3s-aka C-47s-- were the backbone of the effort that eventually defeated Hitler.

Here, the DC-3 Spirit of the North-owned by Era Aviation Inc., Anchorage, Alaska-flies over Cook Inlet, Alaska (photo courtesy of Era).