Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) DC3 Passenger flights in England

My late brother was a night shift HGV driver for Parcelforce and one night he got allocated a run down to Coventry to deliver some international parcels.

He arrives, drops off his load and parks up for his break, comes to the end of his break and the freight manager comes rushing up and asks him if he could help load the Belfast flight. Brother was only too happy to oblige as he'd get a bit of overtime. Gets out onto the ramp and what taxis in was an Air Atlantique DC3!

Arwyn

Hi Richard and Heinz
That aeroplane in Casablanca could either be the 10 seater Lockheed Electra or the 15 seater Lockheed Lodestar. Both types were used by the then National Airline of New Zealand. Interestingly about the DC3 flights Richard as a DC3 has been regularly flying out of Tauranga airport on short scenic flights. This was before the world changed with the lockdown here. One of my most interesting flights was in the Catalina that is based in New Zealand owned by a syndicate. It flew down to Tauranga where it picked up one of the syndicate members and myself and then flew to Gisborne where there was a airshow then that evening we flew down to Napier where there was another airshow. Sunday afternoon flew back to Tauranga where we disembarked. Amazing flight at low level and marvellous views out of the mid section bubbles where the machine gunners used to be.
Life in lockdown is somewhat eerie, been over the young age of 70 we have been requested to stay at home but able to go for walks in the neighbourhood. I have plenty to keep me occupied and my wife can work remotely. Some lovely neighbours have been doing some minor shopping for us. We all have to stay safe.
Doug
from deep deep downunder

Doug, thanks for that fantastic experience wow what I would give for a flight in a Catalina, I have seen the one flying that is based at Duxford at their own airshow and a couple of years ago it made an appearance at the Torbay airshow, they have great presence.

My late father was a Spitfire pilot and had been operating in North Africa (Palestine & Gaza) before they were redeployed to Italy (Treviso) they had some R & R in Durban before setting sail for the UK. About a day out they were torpedoed by a German U boat and there was a lot of lives lost. He and 3 other squadron members made it into a life raft and after 2 days were spotted and recovered by a Catalina so they always have a special meaning for me. He has a picture of them all in the raft stuck in his log book taken from the observers position in the Catalina, just where you would have been sitting.

It does put this Chinese takeaway into perspective when all we have to do is stay at home to succeed, and yet that seems too big an ask for the present new generation

Take care out there and thank you for sharing your VERY special experience.

I can imagine he must have been blown away with the sight before his eyes, a great experience.
When I was working I used to fly into Jersey from Exeter on a 3 monthly basis and around 20 years ago there were regular flights by Air Atlantique from somewhere into Jersey as you would often see one on the tarmac. If I remember correctly they were white liveried with a green stripe they always looked very classy to me.

Richard knowing your love for aviation and especially the Percival Proctor I think you will enjoy this video of a recent Australian restoration. The Proctor is such a good looking plane. There's one in NZ too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlmF4uafmjM

Also thanks for the tip on DC 3 flights at Duxford. One of the plans for this summer was to fly the Kitfox (ersatz Auster) to the UK and base it there for a month (near Swindon) visiting a few airshows plus the Auster rally at Eggesford in early August. Those plans are obviously now on hold in the shadow of CV lockdown but will be dusted off the moment restrictions are lifted. I'll keep you informed.

Arwyn, you typing of the Air Atlantique DC3 brings back memories, I think they had a contract to fly newspapers out of our local airport, and as such the old thing was pretty heavily laden. Many a night I stood near the end of the runway listening and watching as it used rather a lot of runway in it`s bid to reach for the sky with it`s radial engines spitting fire like there was no tomorrow...Happy days..(-:

Richard you are correct green and white livery I have some old photographs of it in those colours, assuming I was not using B&W at the time..(-:

Thanks for sharing that Kerry what a beauty and so pleasing to know these treasures are being preserved for future generations whilst being enjoyed by their present owners, the Kiwis and Aussies seem as keen as we are over here with the specialist firms with the requisite skills to perform this magic and long may it be thus.

That really brought back some fond memories of my late father and G-AHBS and Little Snoring thanks for that.

When/if you make it over let me know and we can arrange a meet at an airshow somewhere stc - what an exciting adventure you have planned

Stay safe out there.

A very interesting film if you can lay your hands on a copy is Mitchells do fly IMC. It tells the story of how Englishman, pilot/adventurer John Jeff Hawke sources from all over the USA and arranges to fly six B-25 Mitchell bombers to the UK for the filming of Hannover Street with minimal instruments and only one working radio between them!

Taster here https://youtu.be/52eUHn6HazI

Sadly the intrepid Hawke dissapeared some years later having hired a Piper Aztec in southern France during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The remains of his plane were later trawled up by an Italian fisherman in the waters to the north.

There are old pilots and bold pilots but not many old bold pilots.

I cannot offer a flight in a DC3 but you can look inside a 1944 C-47A Dakota at the RAF Metheringham Museum in Lincolnshire. https://www.metheringhamairfield.co.uk/dakota-kg651.html. Sadly the museum is closed at the moment with Corona Virus restrictions but when it reopens we allow full access, you can sit in the pilots seat or on a Para seat. It is a former Air Atlantique aircraft, last used for spraying detergent on oil slicks at sea, that we are restoring to look something like it would have back in 1944. It will not fly again and we are currently in the process of housing it in a building to preserve it for the future.

Thanks for the heads-up on that ....always fancied a flight in a DC-3 .....have nearly managed on the one that flies out of Palm Springs in CA but somehow the alternative of hiking in Joshua Tree has always won out ..... did manage to get up in the DH Dragon Rapide that flew out of Caernarvon in N Wales years back .

K