HobbyKing

The Douglas DC-3 revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting effect on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. It started as a request from TWA airlines to Douglas in response to the Boeing 247 being unavailable for purchase. “DC” being derived from Douglas Commercial became the model prefix, starting with the DC-1 in 1933, with the DC-3 arriving in commercial service in 1936. Over 16,000 DC-3's were built, the bulk of them as C-47 military versions but also included license built models in both Japan and Russia. With the market flooded with military surplus versions, they became quite popular for use by small-time airlines, cargo services, sky diving duty, and more. They have been extensively used as fire fighting aircraft, being heavily modified by companies like Basler Aviation to include drop systems and more powerful Pratt & Whitney PT-6A turboprop engines. There are still large numbers of DC-3's in use even to this...