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As Published in the South County Business Digest, June 1999. (Orange County, California)
Dream Flight On Rose
by Colin Kennedy Jr.
If you think time travel is science fiction fare or mere theories from Stephen Hawking volumes on astrophysics, think again. I have done it. The event took place on Saturday, February 6 at John Wayne Airport, where I experienced my first flight aboard a Douglas DC-3. To those of you who have flown in one, I need not explain myself. For younger readers who may not know it, the DC-3 is a celebrity on par with the most famous of movie stars. Better than the most engaging of video games, this is real. As a "dinosaur" it is alive and well to this day. Best of all, you too can still take one for a ride.
Meet "Rose," a DC-3 operated by an organization aptly named Dream Flight. The Douglas Aircraft Company manufactured Rose, the first of the Dream Flight fleet, in April 1943 as a civilian airliner. Prior to delivery the Army Air Corps diverted her to serve in the European theatre from April 1943 to August 1945. Pan American Airways then acquired the plane, flying her all over the USA until 1956. Rose then underwent a conversion to a DC-3 'C' designation by the St. Louis firm, Remert-Werner Corporation. Picture windows were added on both sides, the electrical system was upgraded, the original military avionics and autopilot systems were removed and Rose was brought up to modern standards. She has since been owned by a series of private owners and small airlines / operators, serving time as a parachute jump ship, a corporate transport and private aircraft. Having never suffered any major damage, Rose has some 27,000 total hours and I found her to be in excellent, pampered condition.
Current owner John Pappas initially founded Dream Flight for purposes of offering pilots their twin engine type ratings or simply for the opportunity to actually fly historic, vintage aircraft. Membership in the Mission Viejo-based group is open to all pilots and non-pilots with a love of aviation and a desire to support vintage aircraft. Other options include scenic flights, birthday flights, photo missions and more. Since its inception, the rapidly growing Dream Flight group has acquired more than a half dozen vintage planes, including an AT-6D Texan, a P51 Mustang, a T-28 Trojan, a Lockheed T-33 T-Bird jet trainer, a PBY Catalina and a Boeing PT-17 Stearman.
Comfortably accommodated, Rose's cabin is outfitted with seats upholstered in burgundy leather and cloth with gray carpet. While the airlines once packed up to thirty-two seats in a DC-3, I counted twenty on Rose including two tables seating four persons apiece. Prior to takeoff, Pappas briefed passengers with the obligatory safety instructions. Conspicuous by their absence in this monologue were the words "oxygen masks," for the cabin is not pressurized.
Pappas was present in a co-pilot capacity that afternoon while Chris Freeman served as pilot. Following seven pre-flight checklists they proceeded with takeoff at 5:30 PM, from just outside the AMR Combs building. Rising to an altitude of 4500-5500 feet I felt my ears pop a little while going up, but no more than in any pressurized cabin. Cruising speed varied between 110 and 140 knots (126-161 M.P.H.).
Mingling with passengers, Crew Chief Lou Card answered questions on all aspects of this and other Dream Flight planes. He also ushered small groups into the cockpit where, with room for four or five, we could stand behind the pilots and watch them maneuver the plane. Two sets of headphones were available for monitoring the voices of other planes' pilots, and ours, plus those of air traffic controllers. Chief Card's granddaughter Autumn Whitmark served as our uniformed "stewardess". It was pleasing to find that Autumn herself displayed an impressive knowledge of Rose.
Contrary to my expectations, noise levels were lower than I had anticipated and engine vibration was remarkably smooth. Beneath the cabin's wooden paneling lies a layer of sound absorbent material throughout. Conversation did require elevated speech levels, but not so as to pose a nuisance. Vibration felt about the same as any ride on a commuter train. Scattered clouds that day presented no obstructions of view or bumpiness. We went well around them. Although the plane itself is capable of flying under most conditions, it was good to learn that Dream Flight pleasure cruises are flown on a "weather permitting" basis.
Curiously, I have no prior ties to any plane built during the 1940's, when my parents were barely in their teens. So how, at forty-two, shall I explain my fascination for the DC-3? This gem of aircraft history enamored me from the moment I first noticed it as the subject of a television documentary some twelve years ago. Doing my homework, I embarked upon what turned out to be a difficult quest for more knowledge of this plane. Searching numerous bookstores I was confronted by a rarity of material. My ultimate goal of encountering one "in the flesh" proved even more elusive. Compelled to become content with used books, I persevered, collecting anything with info about the DC-3. Again, why?
Two answers lie in the DC-3's classic design and its role in the history of flight. This design ushered modern airline travel as we have come to know it. Very soon afterward it provided immeasurable utility to the Allied Powers during WWII. While previous commercial craft made most of their money carrying mail, this was the first plane that could make a profit carrying passengers. Douglas Aircraft made 430 of them by the time WWII broke out. Over the course of the war approximately ten thousand DC-3's - almost the entire Douglas output - were made for military use. Designated as the "C-47," they saw action comparable to their more famous counterparts such as the B-17 or P-51, transporting troops and supplies to all theaters of operation. Despite the plane's relative lack of glory, General Dwight Eisenhower took special note of its importance. Once the fighting had stopped, Eisenhower issued a commendation crediting the significant role of this plane in helping win the war.
Afterward, most C-47's were converted back into airliners and remained the zenith of air travel into the 1950's, when planes having more engines and seats gradually replaced them. However, far from being obsolete, one lingering aspect of DC-3 design - its endurance - came into play. An estimated 1000 of the craft exist in the world today. A remarkable feat considering that all are approaching sixty years of age. Current uses include commuter shuttling, fire fighting, cargo transport, barn storming and - in the case of Dream Flight - training and pleasure cruising. (I recently saw one in a television news report about a recent major quake in Colombia, where it apparently carried relief supplies into the area.) Given this track record, it is possible that some being born as I write will fly aboard DC-3's well into the coming century.
What I also find attractive among DC-3 design aspects are its "lines." I think it has good looks and, in this case, beauty is more than skin deep. What one cannot see is a brilliant modular airframe that revolutionized airplane construction. Certainly the plane's designers, Arthur Raymond and Jack Northrup had aerodynamics foremost in mind while sketching it out. Just the same they managed to create an abiding work of art. Its features hark of an era when futuristic appearances evoked hope and promise of technological advancement. Moreover, with all of them having been built in Santa Monica, DC-3's were California bred.
So it was with a sense of "the future has arrived" that I boarded Rose. I know of few other experiences that yield such an impression of stepping into the past while seeming so "modern". Visiting the Queen Mary or riding in antique cars come to mind. Yet, whereas the Queen Mary is no longer at sea and antique automobiles are limited mostly to auto shows, I find the ongoing "work horse" element of an operational DC-3 all the more astounding. Rose is no exception.
The exhilaration presented by such an adventure is not restricted to DC-3 buffs like me. One could easily detect the glee on behalf of everyone aboard. There was a round of applause when the front tires met the tarmac, and again when the tail wheel touched down. In all, the trip had most of the familiar trappings of a "real" airline experience, except this felt much friendlier and less formal. Our sunset / moonlight trek lasted for an hour that seemed more like fifteen minutes. Fortunately for anyone with similar interests, Rose is available for group or company excursion bookings day or night. As someone who is aware of the scarcity of such opportunities, I can recommend Dream Flight for offering experiences that cannot be found elsewhere.
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