Boarding PH-PBA!

[Hanno Spoelstra]

That's what I like so much about the Dakota. It started life as the state of the art "Douglas Sleeper Transport" to compete in American coast-to-coast passenger flights, it turned out to be the most versatile workhorse the world has ever known.

Ever heard of the DC 2.5? How many accounts of grossly overloading (even by a factor of 2.5) are documented and still being able to fly? And 77 years after it's first flight, still in commercial operation today . . . will it make a century of flight?!?

What else can one do but to this grand old lady of the skies?

H.

[Col Tigwell]

And there was the one at cyprus which was blown up and repaired with Dexion stores racking.

Hard to kill this airplane.

Regards

Col

[Col Tigwell]

Age is making me a bit rusty on detail

A google search punching

Aircraft repair using Dexion steel will bring out the full story

Regards

Col

[Alex van de Wetering]

I can imagine you can't get that grin of your face! Great movies Hanno. I didn't see you fly past our house while working on our carport yesterday; The Dakota flies over our house quite regularly.... probably to have a look at the old DDA headquarters at Schiphol. Is the Catalina also still flying from Lelystad?

Alex

[John McGillivray]

Here are some photos I took In 1978 in Northern Sask.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Great documentary on today's reality of operating Dakotas in Colombia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-F-c...e_gdata_player

[John McGillivray]

There is a series on History Television called “Ice Pilots N.W.T” One aircraft shown often on the show is the Curtiss C-46 Commando.

http://www.history.ca/video/default.aspx

[Lang]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Great documentary on today's reality of operating Dakotas in Colombia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-F-c...e_gdata_player

Good vision Hanno, pity the commentary is complete drivel.