Aircraft type longest service career?

(JSH5176) wrote:
How about the old C-47 ? It seems it was designed
in the 30's and is still
flying in some parts of the world.
Orignial DST, which became the DC-3, first designed in 1936. Even with
the various Turbo-Dakotas around, still quite a few old C-47s still around.
Even the Colombian AF and Salvadorian AF stil fly AC-47s.

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"Matt Wiser" wrote in message
news:3fcb933d$1@bg2....

Orignial DST, which became the DC-3, first designed in 1936.


It made it's first flight in December 1935, methinks design began a bit
before that.

Ken Duffey wrote in message ...
monkey wrote:

Does the SAAF (South African AF) still operate C-47's ??

Sort of. They fly the C-47TP which has turboprops, a plug in the
fuselage of about a metre in length, updated avionics, higher all-up
weight, speed, etc. etc.

I used to have all the specs to hand but seemed to have mislaid them.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Matt Wiser" wrote in message
news:3fcb933d$1@bg2....

Orignial DST, which became the DC-3, first designed in 1936.


It made it's first flight in December 1935, methinks design began a bit
before that.

I have had a quick check through last week's issue of Flight International
- which has a comprehensive Directory of the World's Air Forces.

Among the CURRENT operators of the DC-3/C-47 are :-

Bolivia (1 x Basler Turbo 67)
Colombia (3/1 x C-47/C-117D)
El Salvador (3/3 x C-47/Turbo AC-47)
Guatemala (4 x Basler Turbo 67)
Haiti (3 x C-47)
Honduras (6 x C-47)
Madagascar (1 x C-47)
Mali (1 x Basler Turbo 67)
Mauritania (1 x Basler Turbo 67)
Paraguay (1 x C-47)
South Africa (12 x C-47/C-47TP)
Taiwan(5 x C-47)
Thailand (6 x Basler Turbo 67)
Venezuela (1 x C-47)

That's 51 - yes FIFTY ONE - C-47's (or derivatives thereof) still in
operational service as at December 2003.

So, I hereby declare that the AIRCRAFT TYPE LONGEST SERVICE CAREER award
goes to the good old DC-3/Dakota/C-47/Basler 67.

With a first flight date of December 1935 it is still in service with the
above air arms in December 2003 - so with 68 years it wins hands down !!

BTW, I found the following current operators of the T-33:-

Bolivia (19 x AT-33/T-33) (note - ex Canadian, recently upgraded !!!!!!!!)
Ecuador (22 x AT-33)
Iran (5 x T-33)
Mexico (30 x AT-33)
Paraguay (4 x AT-33)

So, with a first flight date of 1948, I hereby declare that the Lockheed
T-33 Shooting Star takes the prize as the LONGEST SERVING JET AIRCRAFT.

Ken

PS - To the 4 Wing Canadian pilot - the Flight Directory does not list any
T-33 in service with Canada - maybe you ought to write to them and ask
where they got their info??

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++
Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast
Flankers Website - http://www.flankers.co.uk/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++

On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 19:12:59 GMT, "Matt Wiser"
wrote:

Even the Colombian AF and Salvadorian AF stil fly AC-47s.

There's a DC-3 at Hampton Airport. I love to watch it do a wheelie on
landing--if the pilot ever three-points, I've never seen him do so.

Regardless of the wind, he takes off to the south. He's heading for
Nashua, I think, and he doesn't want to spend the gasoline it would
take to head north (the usual runway at 7B3) and then change his
heading.

Expensive hobby!

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 19:12:59 GMT, "Matt Wiser"
wrote:

Even the Colombian AF and Salvadorian AF stil fly AC-47s.

There's a DC-3 at Hampton Airport. I love to watch it do a wheelie on
landing--if the pilot ever three-points, I've never seen him do so.

Regardless of the wind, he takes off to the south. He's heading for
Nashua, I think, and he doesn't want to spend the gasoline it would
take to head north (the usual runway at 7B3) and then change his
heading.

Expensive hobby!

That's the proper method to land the Gooney, and the Twin Beech also...tail
low on the mains reducing the sink rate in the flare....most tailwheel prop
fighters as well.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt

Ken Duffey wrote:

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Matt Wiser" wrote in message
news:3fcb933d$1@bg2....

Orignial DST, which became the DC-3, first designed in 1936.


It made it's first flight in December 1935, methinks design began a bit
before that.

I have had a quick check through last week's issue of Flight International
- which has a comprehensive Directory of the World's Air Forces.

Among the CURRENT operators of the DC-3/C-47 are :-

Bolivia (1 x Basler Turbo 67)
Colombia (3/1 x C-47/C-117D)
El Salvador (3/3 x C-47/Turbo AC-47)
Guatemala (4 x Basler Turbo 67)
Haiti (3 x C-47)
Honduras (6 x C-47)
Madagascar (1 x C-47)
Mali (1 x Basler Turbo 67)
Mauritania (1 x Basler Turbo 67)
Paraguay (1 x C-47)
South Africa (12 x C-47/C-47TP)
Taiwan(5 x C-47)
Thailand (6 x Basler Turbo 67)
Venezuela (1 x C-47)

That's 51 - yes FIFTY ONE - C-47's (or derivatives thereof) still in
operational service as at December 2003.

So, I hereby declare that the AIRCRAFT TYPE LONGEST SERVICE CAREER award
goes to the good old DC-3/Dakota/C-47/Basler 67.

With a first flight date of December 1935 it is still in service with the
above air arms in December 2003 - so with 68 years it wins hands down !!

BTW, I found the following current operators of the T-33:-

Bolivia (19 x AT-33/T-33) (note - ex Canadian, recently upgraded !!!!!!!!)
Ecuador (22 x AT-33)
Iran (5 x T-33)
Mexico (30 x AT-33)
Paraguay (4 x AT-33)

So, with a first flight date of 1948, I hereby declare that the Lockheed
T-33 Shooting Star takes the prize as the LONGEST SERVING JET AIRCRAFT.

Ken

PS - To the 4 Wing Canadian pilot - the Flight Directory does not list any
T-33 in service with Canada - maybe you ought to write to them and ask
where they got their info??

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++
Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast
Flankers Website - http://www.flankers.co.uk/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++



Interesting that a magazine would have more current information than the
operator?

According to the DND website, although the T-33 has retired from
operational service Four aircraft will remain at Cold Lake's Aerospace
Engineering
Test Establishment for ongoing test support assets.

Dave

In article ,
Ken Duffey wrote:
BTW, I found the following current operators of the T-33:-

Bolivia (19 x AT-33/T-33) (note - ex Canadian, recently upgraded !!!!!!!!)
Ecuador (22 x AT-33)
Iran (5 x T-33)
Mexico (30 x AT-33)
Paraguay (4 x AT-33)

So, with a first flight date of 1948, I hereby declare that the Lockheed
T-33 Shooting Star takes the prize as the LONGEST SERVING JET AIRCRAFT.

Like I said earlier, there's the borderline case of Martin-Baker Ltd.'s
Gloster Meteor "T.8", which IIRC carries a RAF serial number - it's
still in regular use as a bang-seat test platform, so it could be claimed
to still be in service. If so, then it's clearly the jet with the longest
service life - 5 years longer than the T.33..

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Time has stopped, says the Black Lion clock
and eternity has begun" (Dylan Thomas)

Ken Duffey writes:


Beaten easily by the C-47

and a close 2nd, the T-6/SNJ/Harvard 1938-1995
Matt Gunsch,

As for the C-47 - I think the SAAF still operates them ??


On 12/17/85 NOVA had a program on the 50th anniversary of the first
DC-3 flight.

At that time, Provincetown Boston Airways [Airline?] had one with
logs on 10.3 *years* of flight time. Wonder how many more hours
it now has...?

One of the design team interviewed suggested why it's so sturdy *
long-lived -- They did not know how to make it lighter...

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