Air travel has evolved over the years, and it is interesting to look back on some of the things that challenged early air travel. We didn’t have an aircraft that could travel from coast-to-coast. Early airliners were the German Fokker 10, and the Ford Tri-motor. Cross-country travel involved flying in daylight to a place to board a train to continue cross-country by train. When the new day began, you would leave the train station to board a plane and continue the journey. The coast-to-coast trip took days.
In March of 1931, a Fokker 10 came apart during a cross-country flight and the crash changed air travel forever. The Fokker 10 was a tri-motor aircraft using wood structural elements. All passengers and crew were lost in the crash. There was a huge public outcry to find out what happened, and up until then, the reasons for the crashes were not made public. A famous passenger on board, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, was mourned by a nation, and people wanted answers. It was revealed that wooden structural spars had rotted due to moisture and poor maintenance. This led to a more open review of future airplane crashes. It also led the flying public, as limited as it was, and the airlines to move to an all-metal but slower Ford Tri-motor. There was a need for a better, faster, more modern airliner.
Boeing was developing the Boeing 247, a twin-engine aircraft that was faster, sleeker and could carry more people. The challenge was that Boeing had contracts with United Airlines, which prevented Boeing from producing aircraft for any other airline other than United until all the United orders were filled.
Enter Donald Douglas, who had worked in the aviation industry and was one of the first to earn an Aeronautical Engineering Degree from MIT. TWA was hurting from not being able to fly anything but slow, low-capacity Ford Tri-motors. They went to Douglas to design a twin-engine aircraft that could continue takeoff on one engine and return safely and land, have powerful enclosed engines, and carry more passengers.
Douglas designed and built the Douglas Commercial 1, aka DC-1. They only built one and TWA immediately bought it. The next version of the DC-2 had more space, better wings and engines, and this design began the DC legacy. There were around 200 built before the ultimate final airframe was developed and that is still flying today, the DC-3
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The DC-3 at one point in the 1930’s carried 95% of airline passengers. It could fly coast -to-coast with just a few fuel stops, making a 17-hour trip, which was much better than a multi-day trip. On December 7th, 1941, our world changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many of the commercial things we were producing either were stopped to redirect the materials to the war effort, or things were converted to serve in the war. The DC-3 became the US Army Air Corps C-47. The government took over the production lines, and took those aircraft destined to commercial carriers with the promise to give them back after the war.
General Eisenhower said there were three things that enabled us to win WW II: the ability to mass produce things we needed, the Jeep, and the Douglas C-47. The C-47 served every place in WW II. After the war even though there were many more modern, larger airliners in service, the DC-3 kept on serving for transport and cargo. It continued to be used in the Korean War, and in Vietnam. In Vietnam, the AC-47-gun ship provided incredible support for our ground troops. The original design of the DC-3 is still in use today hauling cargo and people in remote places.
The beauty of the DC-3 is the rugged design and the ability to haul heavy loads into and out of short, rugged airfields. The DC-3 in a classic example of the Johnny Cash song, “I’ve been everywhere man”. The DC-3 has and continues to be a valuable airframe that has stood the test of time like the B-52 and the C-130.
Bassler Aviation in Oshkosh, Wisconsin has updated the DC-3 with turbo-prop engines, new wings, and tail, making the aircraft a whole new type that is built on the bones of the DC-3. What a legacy Donald Douglas and his engineering team built in the 1930’s that is still meeting the needs of the aviation industry today.
There are other examples of designs that have stood the test of time. These are my personal choices beyond the B-52 and C-130 and they include the Cessna 150 and 172 platforms, the Chevy Suburban, the VW Beetle, and blue jeans. I have had all of them, and they are classic designs. Sure, they have been improved from year to year or so, but the original design is there. I have had three 150’s, two 172’s, two VW beetles, and eight Suburbans. None of them ever let me down. My only regret was I didn’t keep my 1968 VW Beetle.
