Together We Fly: Voices from the DC-3, a new book chronicling the history and heritage of the famous airplane, is being released this year at EAA AirVenture. Written by Julie Boatman Filucci, and published by ASA, the book seeks to humanize the airplane and its many players over the years.
Boatman Filucci, a former writer for AOPA, said the idea for the book started years ago with a flight in one of the beloved airplanes for an AOPA Pilot article about the seventieth anniversary of the DC-3.
“The response to that article was tremendous,” she said at a book signing at EAA AirVenture July 27. People who flew or worked on the airplane contacted her to tell stories about their experiences with the DC-3. She began collecting stories and researching the history of the aircraft and Douglas Aircraft. As the people who flew the DC-3 in its early days aged and some passed away, she wanted to publish the book to preserve their stories. “I was compelled because those stories were going away, and they needed a greater audience,” she said.
According to ASA, “Boatman Filucci recounts fascinating stories, introducing the reader to the people that helped make the DC-3 seem larger than life and greater than the sum of its parts. From the DC-3’s early development, through its many historic roles, and into the present, ‘Voices’ is a human journey of visionaries, engineers, pilots, mechanics, hostesses, and passengers alike.”
Jack Pelton, who wrote the book’s foreword, had his own connection to Douglas and the DC-3. His father flew the aircraft in the military, he said at the book signing, and he started his career at Douglas, working there for two decades as an engineer. He said his favorite experience with the DC-3 was at an EAA AirVenture, when he had a chance to fly left seat and was cleared for low passes in front of the crowds.
He said that while he had experienced Douglas and the DC-3 from his own perspective, Boatman Filucci’s research expanded his appreciation of the aircraft’s history.
“She really kind of broadened my understanding of how this airplane really did change the world,” he said.
The hardcover book runs 192 pages, and includes many full-color photographs.
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