"Teamwork is a part of every feature article we produce, but few exemplify that spirit better than the stories we're telling of the Douglas DC-3 this month," says Technical Editor Julie K. Boatman. The package, " 70th Anniversary of the DC-3," starting on page 80, which celebrates the anniversary of the airplane's first flight, highlights several modern uses of the airplane, as told by Boatman and AOPA Pilot contributor Michael Maya Charles. Boatman's experience went from a simple demo flight to a quest to finish her initial airline transport pilot certificate in the airplane, and paralleled the training airplane's return to the sky after a gear failure. "My new certificate is the sum of our efforts — especially those of instructor Dan Gryder and my fellow new DC-3 captain Charlie Atterbury. Getting the airplane back in flying condition involved the dedication and effort of many people over several months," says Boatman. "Aside from the experienced mechanics available in the Atlanta area, Gryder was able to call upon help across the country, from the folks at Global Radial Aircraft Engines (who worked over a weekend to complete the rebuilt engine) to the folks at Basler Turbo Conversions in Wisconsin, who provided technical advice and parts. The community at Thomaston-Upson County Airport provided everything from forklifts to first aid. It's a great example of an airport that has paid off for the community — and the DC-3 ties into it. Without the airport, a large commercial printer would not have relocated to the area, bringing several hundred jobs. And without the DC-3's ability to carry bulky cargo short distances for a competitive price, the airport's business plan might not have sounded quite so rosy."
There's no official listing of really neat hangars. Super hangars tend to be known only to the owners and their friends. AOPA Pilot Senior Editor Alton K. Marsh searched the Web to find the hangars featured in " Hangar Heaven" (page 90) but mostly relied on a friend of a friend. After the article was written, details about additional unusual hangars arrived, such as the one built behind what appears to be the wall of the owner's home. Only the wall, complete with palm trees growing in front of it, rises to reveal the aircraft inside. The palm trees rise with the door and are grown in pots that pivot as the door rises to keep them upright. You can read about this hangar and others that readers have submitted online ( www.aopa.org/members/hangarhomes/).
"Landing with bum landing gear is a bummer," says AOPA Air Safety Foundation Executive Director Bruce Landsberg, author of " Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: Down and Locked" (page 96). "There will be damage to the aircraft but it will be minimal. The media accounts of fantastic saves of GA aircraft when someone wedges the recalcitrant gear into place either by hanging out of the airplane or yanking it into place are the stuff of photos and hangar stories. The flip side is not considered by many pilots — when the attempted cure is far worse than the problem. This month we look at an unintended consequence of what should have been a nonevent. It turned into a major disaster."
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