by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 09/05/2017 at 11:09
by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 09/05/2017 at 11:09
Tags: planelopnik
; harvey
STARS: 18
More 70 years after the Douglas C-47B rolled off the assembly line in Oklahoma City and went to war with the RAF, this rugged old bird was called up out of retirement to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey. The bright polished aluminum of the Bluebonnet Belle has been a regular sight at air shows since it joined the Highland Lakes Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force in 1995, but with the overwhelming need to bring supplies to the beleaguered victims of Hurricane Harvey, this doughty WWII veteran once again became the workhorse she was built to be. With more relief supplies than they could deliver, the Georgetown Airport north of Austin called on the Highland Lakes Squadron for help. The Belle and her crew departed on Friday with 4,000 pounds of supplies and headed to Beaumont, then reloaded in Conroe and flew to Orange in East Texas. Its relief mission completed, the Bluebonnet Belle will return to her regular air show duties this weekend at the Bluebonnet Air Show in Burnet, Texas, but remains ready to serve should she be called upon again.
Photos by the author
"X37.9XXS" (x379xxs)
09/05/2017 at 11:14, STARS: 3
I’d like to think that the old girl enjoyed doing her job again
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/05/2017 at 11:15, STARS: 1
Me too!
"$kaycog" (skaycog)
09/05/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 3
In one word............AWESOME!
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
09/05/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 3
But can we put it on floats
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/05/2017 at 11:18, STARS: 0
We might have to. I think there may still be one of those kicking around in Alaska or Canada.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
09/05/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 1
This warms my heart. I bet the crew was ecstatic to be flying an important mission that they were uniquely trained for.
"Rock Bottom" (rockbottom81)
09/05/2017 at 12:03, STARS: 2
There’s just something “right” about an old workhorse that can still do work rather than collect dust in a museum. Kind of like when Union Pacific uses their restored Challenger to pull a freight train because “it’s going that direction anyway, might as well put her to work!”
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"Makoyouidiot" (makaan12)
09/05/2017 at 13:04, STARS: 1
too much dust in here
"Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
09/05/2017 at 15:58, STARS: 0
I’d be curious to know how many of these are still flying and even working. There was a freight company near me that still had two still in operation till around 2010.
I know the US forest service has some, and I believe two of theirs were converted to turboprops. I know the company that was doing those conversions is still in business so there must be enough left to create a demand.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/05/2017 at 16:07, STARS: 0
Well, Wiki says there were more than 10,000 C-47s produced, and they also provide a list of survivors, both airworthy and not. I have no idea how accurate it is. You could search FAA databases and perhaps Canada and Europe, but there are probably others out there. Then you have to count R4Ds, DC-3s, Dakotas, etc. I would think that an exhaustive list would be nigh on impossible. This site says that there were ~1,400 DC-3/Dakota airframes remaining worldwide as of 2008, and lists those airworthy and undergoing restoration. Bluebonnet Belle is not on the list.
"Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
09/05/2017 at 16:12, STARS: 1
That’s the issue; I don’t trust wiki for things like this, and I’m sure there are enough still flying in South America and Africa that checking the FAA doesn’t say too much.
I know parts are still relatively plentiful for something that’s been out of production for so long. I think it’ll be a long time before we hear stories of the last one of these birds being retired.
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
09/05/2017 at 20:33, STARS: 0
Conservatively, probably in the hundreds for all DC-3 variants.