Aviators Season 3 - Giving the Venerable DC-3 New Life

I love the fact that Basler is replacing the original Pratt & Whitney R1830 radials with a Pratt & Whitney turbo prop. Keeping it all in the family to say the least. the DC-3 will continue indefinitely because of companies like Basler, but also because of the aircrafts tremendous strength. No DC-3 was ever lost due to structural failure, that and being a non-pressurized airframe has contributed to it remarkable long life.

The DC-3 is probably the most important aircraft of all time. Calling it venerable is a gross understatement. A true legend she is.

Amongst many other aircraft, my Dad flew a lot of DC3's. I wish he could be around today to see this, he would have loved it. I wonder when demand will become so high for this amazing iconic aircraft will become so high that the Basler company start building brand new airframes. Wouldn't that be fantastic? Kudos to Basler for this project!

I maintained a DC-3 in Alaska for 13 years, the airframe was more reliable than any of our more modern turbine engine machines, the radial engines were a different story. The Turbine conversion uses the -67 PT6 turbine, which is the highest horsepower version of that particular engine. They really need to go with something like the P&W 100 series engines, which start at 1500HP and are a newer design, that have better specific fuel consumption numbers, and the exhaust straight out the back. They also should design and install a WW2 style bomber hatch type door behind the pilots seat on the aircraft's belly, because once the aircraft is loaded with freight, the pilots don't have reasonable access to the cockpit.

1965 Frontier Airlines RT Denver - Colorado Springs. 11 years old in the coolest bird ever. 👉🏽🙏🏻👈🏻

Got to tour Basler in 8th grade for a field trip and loved it! It's amazing to see a new life given to such a beautiful airplane. I love living in Oshkosh where aviation is all around me 24/7

Incredible aircraft, they're still flown here in Alaska, and 20 years ago I was loading fish onto a DC-3 in both Dry Bay and the Tsiu River. I feel very fortunate to have had that opportunity.

The DC-3 brings back great memories. My growing up years (1950's) was around an airport. These great planes were a common sight then and it is uplifting to see these planes being brought back with the original design intact. Bravo!

This makes make little engineers' heart grow 10 fold! Super awesome to see this passion and utilization and value the original designers created.

How amazing is this to see a brand new DC3 take to the air?

Nothing beats a DC-3!

The first aircraft I ever flew in was a DC3, 1956. Nothing compares.

Back in 1969, I had the pleasure of riding in a DC-3 operated by Eastern Airlines. I was new to air travel, only having been on a Boeing 707, up till then. A group of us had missed a connecting flight from Atlanta to Charlotte and Eastern broke out the DC-3 to get us there. It was a little unnerving at first, when it cocked at an angle for run-up before kicking straight and heading down the runway. I enjoyed it thoroughly and if I had known the history of the DC-3 and what it meant to be a passenger on one, I would have enjoyed it even more. Kudos to Basler for giving these aircraft new life, of which they have earned.

Love that tail-dragger! 1950 era flight attendants often remarked that they were flat-footed in heels due to the incline.

Love the Basler rebuild of the world's most reliable plane...no one else does it like Basler!

Brings back some good memories. The DC-3 or C-47 was a robust air platform. Great to see that it can continue to fly with updated technology that makes it a better platform after all those years.

I would work there is a second..... if I wasn't 61 and too damn old!  But talk about one tuff bird:  The C-47 version is the only non-combatant aircraft in history to be awarded an official "Kill".  In the Pacific during WWII a C-47 was repeatedly strafed by a Zero.  And when the Zero ran out of ammo, it rammed the C-47.  The Zero crashed but the C-47 continued on with severe damage and landed safely.  She is one tuff bird for sure!!!!!!!  Glad to see someone is breathing new life into her.  Hell, she'll probably live another 80 years.

What a fitting tribute to a marvelous, iconic aircraft. The Japanese were retro-fitting Dart turboprops to DC-3s in the 1960s but this did not involve the comprehensive rebuilding from the last nut and bolt upwards, that Brasler Aviation lavishes upon them. It's exactly the kind of aeroplane I'd like to charter and do a leisurely world tour with a select group of friends!

THANK GOD THAT SOMEONE IS BUILDING THE DC-3

Best airplane ever built