THIS YEAR marked anniversary celebrations for the Douglas DC-3 and the Boeing B-17, both 75 years young, at AirVenture, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It also marked the celebration and honouring of all veterans and those who serve now, with warbird fly-bys held every day.
But before any of those celebrations could get underway the aircraft had to get on to the field. For almost 72 hours preceding the show, Oshkosh was under a storm that at one point delivered seven inches of rain in a 12-hour period. Someone called it “Sploshkosh.” Even Milwaukee International Airport, 150 miles south of Oshkosh, was closed because of runway flooding, and that was a “first”! At Wittman Field, Oshkosh, venue for Air- Venture, most of the 10 000 incoming aircraft were diverted to nearby airports when the taxiways became clogged with aircraft. Once the rain stopped, officials had to wait until the ground dried out before they could recover (and park) any aircraft.
The rain and mud caused four empty campgrounds as EAA made arrangements to move campers and motor homes to nearby malls. By noon of opening day, (July 26), warm temperatures and low humidity had things almost back to “normal,” but residual issues lingered until late in the week.
This photo: “The Ugly Duckling” a rare Sikorsky S-38 in action at Oshkosh.
DAKOTAS RULE
A cavalcade of 21 DC-3/Dakotas roared over AirVenture Monday afternoon as part of a mass arrival. By mid-week, the event would become the largest gathering of DC-3s since World War II with 36 aircraft scattered around the airport. The soggy ground washed out the plan to park them all together. There is no doubt this was the last time that this many Dakotas will meet.
The original goal was 25 aircraft making an hour-long flight from the staging area at Rock Falls, Ill., to Wittman Regional Airport for a formation fly-by at 1 000 feet to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the iconic aircraft. Organisers were deluged with requests to take part in the flight. The current record is 28 set in South Africa in 1985. There are only two airworthy examples of the DC-2 remaining. One is in The Netherlands, and the other, in the TWA livery of The Lindbergh Line, arrived at AirVenture. It was given a coveted place at Aeroshell Square, and the centre of attention.
There was at least one forum on the Dakota each day with veteran C-47 pilots, Spooky and EC-47 drivers, private owners, and airline pilots all sharing funny, and often times hair-raising, stories of how the beloved Gooney Bird saved their bacon.
Tuesday evening saw an exclusive DC-3 community (about 600) cookout hosted by Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh. Basler refurbishes DC-3s from its base at Wittman Regional Airport which is technically where Air- Venture takes place.
On the Thursday evening, there was a special DC-3/C-47 reunion at the Theatre in the Woods. Special guest, Jim Douglas, the last surviving son of DC-3 designer Donald W. Douglas, shared a perspective on growing up with his famous father. Almost 4 000 people attended the event which featured a threepart programme: the early history through the Super DC-3; World War II and Vietnam and what the old girl is doing today, which included the missions of the turbine-powered Basler BT- 67 and the appearance of the stars of hit Canadian reality TV series “Ice Pilots”. The Ice Pilots, of Buffalo Airways, still operate the last scheduled daily Dakota passenger service in the world. They fly in the frozen country of the Yukon Territory, in Northwest Canada.
The futuristic Cobalt was unveiled at the show
SHARING THE LIMELIGHT
The DC-3 shared the limelight with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress as Wednesday, July 28, marked the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the B-17. Between Boeing, Lockheed, and Douglas, more than 12 000 were built, and 75 years later, four of the believed nine airworthy Flying Fortresses in North America, flew into AirVenture. According to Boeing historians, the B-17 went from its design as the Model 299 prototype to flight testing in less than 12 months. By the time the war was over, the design was up to the “G” model, which carried twelve .50 calibre machine guns. In all, there were 8 680 B- 17G models built by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas to make this the largest production variation.
The four Fortresses included the EAA’s Aluminum Overcast, the Thunderbird, from the Lonestar Flight Museum, in Galveston, Texas, Texas Raiders belonging to the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), and Yankee Lady. EAA’s own B-17G Aluminum Overcast operated out of Appleton (about 60 miles away) this week to provide rides. Seen and heard overhead throughout the week, the EAA’s flagship Fortress survived a major rebuilding. Earlier this year, its lower ball turret, was refurbished to operating condition. It did land on the field later in the week to help celebrate its 75th birthday.
With a P-51 Mustang making a mock head-on attack, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress takes off for its flight to commemorate the type’s 75th anniversary
Thunderbird, which, like the Texas Raiders, hails from the Gulf Coast, has financial challenges during these economic times. “We used to do 20 shows a year,” said pilot Doug Peoples. “Now, five or six road trips, and some local hops make up a season for the B-17, beleaguered with a scarcity of sponsors to foot the bill.”
Texas Raiders has spent the past 47 years in the care of the CAF, but was out of action for seven years after inspections revealed extensive corrosion resulting from exposure to the saltwater of the Gulf Coast. The rehabilitation cost almost $600 000. Yankee Lady B-17G, N3193G, was delivered to the US Army Air Corps as 44-85829, then transferred to the US Coast Guard as PB-1G, BuNo 77255 in September 1946. Since then, it has worked in various configurations. It was a tanker in 1966, and in January 1969, Yankee Lady appeared in the movie Tora Tora Tora. Yankee Lady flies for the Yankee Air Museum at Yspilanti, Michigan.
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