DC-3's

[Zing 2]

How much money you got?

Zing Lurks

[sfullerman 0]

The "Firestone 3" went to Georgia, and flew under the name of "Sugar Alpha".......

Any of you folks on the Sugar Alpha load at FB '85
when it blew the jug? Organizers had put together a "2-ton 20 way" All guys over 200lbs. I only had a couple hundred jumps, but I was really good at being over 200lbs, so I was invited along.Around 8 grand, I see a guy look out the window then reach for his helmet and put it on. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked "what's going on"? He said "we're about to lose an engine" When I asked "how do you know that"? His reply was "Cause I'm a DC-3 pilot!" Everyone within ear shot of him jammed their helmets on, and less than 30 seconds after he said it...a cloud of smoke went by the window, and as called, we were down an engine.
The co-pilot asked everyone to - slowly - stand and pack up toward first class. While we were standing there waiting to get back closer to the DZ some one said "S*%#! they're gonna blame this on us...everyone is gonna say the fat boys broke the airplane" Before exiting, the fella that had called the shot on the engine going out, called me over to the window and said "take a look at that, may be the only time you get to see a feathered engine in flight" Thankfully he was right.

*footnote...over a year later we had a visiting jumper at our little NW Louisiana DZ. Very small DZ and visiters were not the norm. We're sitting around and I'm telling him the Sugar Alpha story. When I get to the part where I asked "how do you know that?" He smiled , interrupted and said "Cause I'm a DC-3 pilot!!" small dang world I'll tell'ya

[bozo 0]

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The "Firestone 3" went to Georgia, and flew under the name of "Sugar Alpha".......

Any of you folks on the Sugar Alpha load at FB '85
when it blew the jug? Organizers had put together a "2-ton 20 way" All guys over 200lbs.
--------------------------------------------------------
Being over 200 my whole life I qualified for that load...and was on it. I remember it well.

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

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[sfullerman 0]

Being over 200 my whole life I qualified for that load...and was on it. I remember it well.

[bozo 0]

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Being over 200 my whole life I qualified for that load...and was on it. I remember it well.

Alright! I was almost on a 20 way with 'ya!As low man on the load, I went base and was supposed to dive out and turn a 180 back into the line of flight.....the guys directly in front and behind me each had 1000 - 2000 jumps, and I was totally intimidated... dirt dived my 180 all the way up (till the engine thing) thinking "DON"T F--- this up! The emergency exit was a relief!

[pcrt 0]

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The first time that I jumped the DC-3 that crashed in Alaska was when the registration number was N109Z; red, white, and black at the time, circa 1973(?) and at the old Z-Hills when Jim Hooper ran the place. Then, it was repainted light blue and royal blue and the registration was changed to N111ST (Sky Train).

I jumped Skytrain a few times when it made the rounds to Spaceland in Dickenson TX in the late 70's. I have a few pics of it.

~Paul Creel SCS-5015

[jimjumper 25]

I just saw the first episode of "Burn Notice". At the beginning of the show the hero escapes from some country and the footage shows Jan Aarvicks DC-3 taking off with the guy going to Florida. Got lots of jumps out of that airplane including my 1000th with most of the old Wuest way crew.

[GTairhoss 0]

There was a 3rd person in Skytrain when it crashed. That was Debbie Scatting. She was a jumper who used to hang around with Gary Hannah.

[GTairhoss 0]

The 3 that was lost in Alaska was N111ST - Skytrain. They were flying frozen fish to Anchorage. The story I got was that they lost an engine on climbout and seemed to be trying to set it down in a peat bog but caught a wingtip. Gary Hannah, Greg Wirth, and Debbie Scatting were killed in the crash. I knew Gary and Debbie but did not know Greg. Gary was the pilot, Debbie was a jumper who hung around with Gary. I heard that Greg was serving a co-pilot, but I really don't know about that. The accident happened on July 1, 1981. You can Google NTSB and click on Index of Months and read the NTSB account. It is pretty sparse on details but states the facts as NTSB sees it. This account closely matches other accounts of this accident which appear in the forum except the part about Greg. I'm pretty sure Debbie was not a pilot. So if Greg was a pilot it stands to reason he would have occupied the right seat. Maybe someone who knew Greg can shed some light on this.

Blue Skies,

Gary Thompson
D-4616

[dpreguy 14]

I have jumped Agent Orange somewhere. Also renamed the Dioxin Special. Yes, it smelled like weed spray or something. I thnk it was at one of the Dollar Daze Boogies in Fort Dodge Iowa

[anj4de 0]

Hi

I had my first and so far only DC-3/C-47 jump on September 17th this year. A day I will never forget as long as I live. I have recently picked up jumping again, I am not fully there yet though since I am still restricted to SL...last free fall was in 1987...next one will be April 2012 so God will.
Anyway, on Sept 17th I was with a bunch of guys from a Dutch parachute group and we jumped a historic drop zone In Holland near Eindhoven. There are yearly events there and they almost all the time have at least one C-47 there. This year was a bit special though. The normal jumpship, a C-47 coded 3X was not available and so the organizer was forced to look around for a substitute. This came in form of a C-47 (N147DC) that is based in the UK. From what I heard it normally serves the movie prop circus. When we arrived at Eindhoven airport it was standing ready in fron of the hangar together with another C-47, this one being an active duty RAF Dakota of the BBMF. The outside of ours looked a bit...strange...a new layer of paint in a not quite right shade of OD (it was dark gray) but with full invasion stripes, etc...The sensation unveiled itself when we entered the plane. It was untouched since the end of WWII...or maybe the early 50ties. The original paint was there, covered by a thin layer of RAF interior green that was peeling off by itself. The metal bucket troop seats...all there, the stretcher fixings...all there, the original windows with the little round opening to but gun barrels through...still there. It was like a time slip.
The flight only lasted about 15min...15min in heaven for me...and the jump was excellent, I landed nicely in the DZ even though it was very windy.
This ship is simply amazing, not sure if there are many untouched ones out there still. Truly a day to remember for the rest of my life. I have attached a couple of pictures...

cheers
Uwe

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For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.

-Leonardo da Vinci

[GTairhoss 0]

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There was a 3rd person in Skytrain when it crashed. That was Debbie Scadding. She was a jumper who used to hang around with Gary Hannah.

[PeterXC 0]

Ah the memories of the DC3s at Z-Hills in the '80s (both before and after George & Betty's rebuilding of Phoenix).
N66Whisky ("Bird Machine" I think)
Our Douglas (ZzzzZzzz)
Mr.Douglas (quiet & comfortable)
Southern Cross (What?, Speak Up!)

[airtwardo 6]

VERY nice!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[682beretta 1]

Fred Sand, back in '78 or '79 you had a DC3 at Kalispell city, and if I remember some of the cockpit markings were in Spanish. Do you know the history of that 3? I'm still working on the "Rainbow Magic" conversion, I thaven't forgotten you.
Barney

[xsniper 1]

Does anybody remeber the Tiger Stripped DC3. I think at one time it was the LSU team plane. Loads of fun. It would show up at the Mardi Gras Boogie.

[joesky 0]

although not on topic with respect to the original thread re: DZ's who still use DC3's, the BBC news web has a good story on them
www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131009-dc3-still-flying-at-70

[oldwomanc6 38]

DClicky-3

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[mattjw916 2]

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Southern Cross (What?, Speak Up!)

seriously... they should warn people about that plane and have a box of earplugs by the door!

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[raftman 12]

What?

[377 20]

mattjw916

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Southern Cross (What?, Speak Up!)

seriously... they should warn people about that plane and have a box of earplugs by the door!

What a climber though. Those R1820-86 engines in Southern Cross kicked butt. I was used to getting a half hour nap on the way to 13.5 in a fully loaded DC 3. On my first Southern Cross ride I was awakened by a cute Japanese girl who pointed at the door where folks were already starting to exit. It was way sooner than I was used to.

Sleeping on a climbing jumpship? Well, it was WFFC and those wild nights were exhausting. Those who were there give me an AMEN please.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[propblast 0]

I finished Sugar Alpha today. What became of her?

Propblast