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My first airline flight was in a DC-3. I was on my way to Ft Jackson for AIT in 1966 during an airline pilots strike and only local carriers were in operation. The first leg of my journey was from Baltimore to Washington DC on a Lake Central DC-3. After boarding, I had to claw my way to my seat up the sloping deck. My seat was constructed of wicker like a piece of lawn furniture, to preserve weight. The take off and flight were uneventful, but when we arrived in Washington, it was socked in with a low cloud layer. The pilot descended until our wheels touched the upper layer and then he dove underneath to give us an excellent view of the Washington Monument... dead ahead. A quick, very quick course correction cleared the obelisk and we headed for Washington National (now Ronald Reagan International Airport). The landing was the most interesting part. When the plane settled I thought that we had landed, but we hadn't. We were riding on ground effect. When the wheels actually touched pavement, we bounced. Several times. It was the only flight after which I was tempted to kiss the earth after deboarding.
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CPT Jack Durish, I skydived from Mister Douglas, arguably one of the most recognized DC-3s anywhere. I jumped twice, from an altitude of 10,500’ at Zephyrhills, FL on 27-28NOV75! CW5 John M. SP5 Mark Kuzinski PVT James Strait COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen F. CPT (Join to see) SSgt (Join to see) PO3 Phyllis Maynard SGT Mark Anderson
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LTC Stephen C.
PVT James Strait, my favorite high altitude, large capacity jump plane was the Shorts Skyvan. I can't remember exactly, but I think it held 24-28 jumpers. Upon rotation, that thing would literally jump into the air! We jumped it a lot in LaGrange, GA. The back door was always open, and the jumpers were seated on the floor along each side of the fuselage with one long "seat" belt for each side of the plane. If you weren't strapped in or holding on upon rotation, one could easily fall right out of the back! Since it was a turboprop, the Skyvan got to altitude in a jiffy!
CPT Jack Durish CPT (Join to see) SSgt (Join to see) SGT Mark Anderson
CPT Jack Durish CPT (Join to see) SSgt (Join to see) SGT Mark Anderson
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I remember that plane so very well! I took many a flight on them from Washington DC to Detroit when I was stationed at Ft. Belvoir for AIT.
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This is a pic of my family around 1956 - after we had arrived in Germany. The DC-3 holds a special place in my memory. My dad attended a 6 month German Language school enroute to Germany in 1955, where he made arrangements for our family to later meet him in Germany on a 3 year MAAG assignment as an instructor at the German "Flak-artillerie Schule" in Rendsburg. My mom drove our '53 Ford Wagon from Ft Bliss to New York City with 5 kids, ranging from 9 years to 8 months. She turned in the car for shipment to Bremerhaven, and we climbed on board a civilian airlines DC 3 to Frankfurt, with stops in Newfoundland and Iceland.
The plane reminded me of a rocket ship. I had a window seat, and don't recall ever getting higher than about 8-10 thousand feet (comparing my "visual" memory with my adult flying experience). The plane could not have been pressurized. I was fascinated with seeing the tiny cars and trucks - and the tiny boats on the wavy ocean. I am convinced that my 1956 Trans-Atlantic flight experiences played a huge role in my later choice of career.
The plane reminded me of a rocket ship. I had a window seat, and don't recall ever getting higher than about 8-10 thousand feet (comparing my "visual" memory with my adult flying experience). The plane could not have been pressurized. I was fascinated with seeing the tiny cars and trucks - and the tiny boats on the wavy ocean. I am convinced that my 1956 Trans-Atlantic flight experiences played a huge role in my later choice of career.
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