March, 2006
Story by Jim Hartley
These pilots fly, by many standards, the greatest airliners ever built. They have tens of thousands of pounds of thrust at their fingertips. They measure the range of their aircraft in continents, not miles. They work at the very pinnacle of the airline industry. They fly the big Boeings for American Airlines.
Why are they standing in line to fly an airplane that retired from their airline before they were born, or at least long before they ever took their first flying lesson? Why would a senior B777 captain be satisfied to serve as an apprentice copilot, never mind his 16,000 hours of flying time, patiently waiting his turn at the left seat? What drives them, and all of the other members of the Flagship Detroit Foundation, to devote their time, their money and dedication to an airplane that is barely big enough to carry the crew of their airliner?
A little over two years ago, George Dennis, an American Airlines B-777 captain, located one of the original 20 DC-3s ordered in 1936 and delivered to American Airlines on March 2, 1937. During its ten years of service with the airline it was known as the “Flagship Detroit.”
The ship had led a long and sometimes checkered life. Amazingly, the aircraft was airworthy and, better yet, for sale. Captain Dennis, a check airman for American Airlines, recruited a group a current and former American captains, extracted considerable sums of money from each and acquired the airplane.
The group filed the proper papers, claimed tax-exempt status and named itself the “Flagship Detroit Foundation.” The Flagship Detroit Foundation began to plan the renovation and restoration of the venerable airliner. They navigated the sometimes tricky waters of airline and foundation politics. American, navigating troubled waters of its own, did not and has not sponsored the project or contributed cash. The airline did however have surplus hangar space at its Kansas City base (MCI). The invaluable resource of having a first-class place to keep the airplane that was also home to some of the best aviation mechanical talent in the world was a godsend.
The employees of the MCI maintenance base felt, as did Captain Dennis, the link to their company’s history. The thousands of hours of work contributed to the restoration made the project possible. If the foundation had to pay for the efforts of the MCI people, the project would have been impossible. The spare time, nights, weekends and holidays worked by American employees on the project is a tribute to the loyalty and dedication of all involved.
Since the foundation acquired the aircraft there has been an almost continuous program of renovation, both at the Kansas City base and at the American maintenance base at Alliance Airport near Fort Worth. At the same time a group of pilots, mostly original foundation members and either current or recently retired Triple Seven captains for American, have been training to fly the historic airliner.
Flagship Detroit History
The Douglas DC-3, first introduced in 1936, revolutionized airline travel. Within three years of its introduction, 80% of airline travel was flown in a DC-3. Coast- to-coast flight, although arduous by today’s standards, became practical. Innovations such as cabin heat and all-weather capability ended the common practice of putting airline passengers on overnight trains at sundown and then picking them up in the morning. With a little luck, a passenger on a DC-3 could be nearly across the country in a single day.
For the first time the airlines could make money from passenger fares. Until the DC-3 began service, the airlines relied upon government subsidies, in the form of airmail contracts, to sustain them. More than anything the DC-3 proved that airline travel, while still an upper-class activity, had real financial potential. In fact, the purchase of the first 20 Douglas DC-3 airliners by American Airlines in 1936 was the first time that airline airplanes were used as collateral for the loan used to acquire them. Within three years of the DC-3’s introduction, airline travel doubled. Airlines became more than a curiosity, they became an industry. Not surprisingly, Douglas Aircraft dominated the airliner manufacturing business for years after the introduction of the DC-3, following with the DC-4, DC-6 and the DC-7.
This particular aircraft, factory number 1920, registered as NC17334, was delivered to American Airlines in March of 1937, at Phoenix, Arizona. All of American’s DC-3s were delivered in Phoenix to avoid California sales tax. For the next ten years the airplane, AA fleet number 34 and named “Flagship Detroit,” hauled passengers and mail on American routes throughout the country, but especially on the high volume routes between Chicago, New York and Detroit. There are no records of any incidents or damage to the airplane during its American service.
The airliner did not, as so many of its brethren did, serve in WWII. In 1947, ownership of the airliner was transferred to Banco de Mexico and then to Beldex Corporation in St. Louis a year later. A string of owners followed in the next 34 years: Mustang A-W, Gaylord Container, Crown Zellerbach, Storm Oil Company, Mid States Aviation, Roberts Merchandise Marts, H. E. Guynn, General Leasing Corporation, Executive Air Transport, J. Robinson, and finally, in 1978, R. Morgan of Florida. Sometime after 1978 the airliner’s history becomes a little murky. Rumor has it that the old bird was caught hauling something it shouldn’t have been hauling, from somewhere it shouldn’t have been hauling it from. In any case, the airplane was confiscated by the government, its registration cancelled. In 1995, K&K Aircraft of Virginia (now Dynamic Aircraft) registered the airplane. It served as an aerial sprayer for several years in “medfly” (Mediterranean fruit fly) and mosquito eradication programs around the country.
Once again the airplane became surplus as K&K upgraded its fleet to Beechcraft King Airs. Captain Dennis arranged the purchase of the airliner, including a spare fuselage, five engines and “tons of parts,” for $160,000. Although the airframe, avionics and systems were in need of extensive renovation, the engines were relatively fresh, with only about a hundred hours or so since major overhaul.
The Renovation
During its 69-year life, the airframe accumulated about 45,000 hours of flying time, according to available records. The configuration of the airplane changed from airline passenger to executive to cargo to sprayer. Modifications, such as redesigned wingtips, Airstair door installation and conversion of the landing gear from DC-3 to C-47 configuration, were done. Antennas sprouted and avionics came and went, as the airplane was adapted to its various missions. Here and there are patches to the aluminum skin— nothing major—probably historical scars of long ago hangar or ramp rash.
Purists will point out a missing air scoop here, the aforementioned wingtip modifications there. Actually the configuration of the early DC-3s did vary slightly as the design was improved. The very first airframes were not designated as “DC-3” but rather “DST.” This designation, an acronym for “Douglas Skysleeper Transport” was used to describe passenger accommodations that included both upper and lower sleeping berths. This was, after all, the age of the transcontinental railroad. The railroads offered sleeper cars so the airlines, trying to attract the upper class and business traveler away from the railroads, did the same. The sleeper configuration did not last long; the airlines soon found that 21 seats were financially better than the 14 seats available in the DST version. Purists can also spot aluminum patches on the upper fuselage, above the cabin windows, on former DST airframes that replaced the “eyebrow” windows. The small, rectangular windows were installed after passengers described the environment of the upper berths as “coffin-like.”
The Flagship Detroit, NC17334, had been in sprayer service immediately before the foundation acquired it. This was both good and bad. The airplane had been relatively well maintained and was airworthy, with fresh engines…but it stunk! The years of service in aerial insecticide application had inevitably led to spillage of chemicals inside the aircraft. The wood sub-floor, under the cargo floor, had soaked up the chemicals. Volunteers said that you could smell the airplane across the hangar. Removal of the wood floor and hundreds of hours of cleaning by volunteers removed all traces of the chemical odor. In addition to sprayer service, the airliner had served in the soft-freight business. This means that it hauled anything that could fit in the door, a standard size passenger door rather than a large cargo door. One serendipitous result of the renovation was that removal of the metal cargo floor and the replacement of the original heavy plywood flooring with modern honeycomb aluminum flooring resulted in a major weight reduction for the aircraft and a corresponding improvement in performance. Flagship Detroit was sent to the American Airlines maintenance base in Kansas City. The interior was stripped bare and repairs to the airframe planned and executed. Engine work and accessory repair and overhaul, including repairs to troublesome engine harnesses, were completed.
A trip to Mena, Arkansas, was made for exterior work including a historically correct paint scheme. At first glance the orange and blue design seems wrong. For so many years the red, white and blue of American Airlines has been ingrained in our minds, as familiar as the blue of IBM, the green of Seven-Up or the red of Coca Cola. The minutia of when the orange and blue gave way to the familiar red, white and blue American logo and fleet colors is beyond documentation, but it has been more than 30 years. The Flagship Detroit moved temporarily from Kansas City to Alliance Airport (AFW) near Fort Worth in September of 2005. Again, even though American Airlines does not sponsor or financially support the foundation, there was room in the massive hangar for the airplane. And again there was a talented, willing and dedicated corps of volunteers ready and eager to work on the airplane. Plans were made to restore the interior of the airplane to its original configuration. Plenty of documentation on mechanical systems is available for the DC-3, but documentation on interior fittings, arrangement and construction is rare. When the airliner arrived at AFW the interior was bare, front to back, top to bottom. No trace of the cabin seating area, the galley, rear bulkheads, lavatory, sidewalls or headliner remained. The reconstruction was largely guided by pictures of early American DC-3s as well as pieces gathered from the spare fuselage bought by Captain Dennis.
Parts gathered from here and there, aluminum archeology, head-scratching and the application of years of experience by the volunteers at AFW and MCI resulted in an amazingly accurate interior reconstruction. The medium blue seats, dark blue carpet and cream overhead, all designed originally by C.R. Smith to provide comfort to his passengers, look very much like they did when Douglas Aircraft handed over the airliner to American Airlines in March of 1937. The lavatory is there, in just the right place, albeit inoperative until the potty is reconstructed. The space for the galley is there, but it too is awaiting reconstruction. The Airstair door is on the right side of the airplane. C.R. Smith put the door on the right so that the captain could start the left engine while passengers were still boarding. Rumor has it that he also didn’t want his passengers to see their bags being heaved aboard. The Airstair is not original. The door originally opened from the side, with the hinge on the forward edge, to keep the door from being torn away if it became unlatched. The renovation volunteers found that the Airstair was seriously in need of repair; it was no doubt damaged during years of freight and sprayer service. Cracks had appeared in the lower hinge area and the door sill was beyond repair. Skilled metal workers, working without prints or drawings, recreated the lower hinge area, reinforced the fuselage and handmade a new lower door sill. Aviation handcrafting at its best!
Just as at MCI, the American Airlines technicians and mechanics at AFW devoted considerable talent and time to the restoration and repair of Flagship Detroit. No one kept track of their time, but the foundation estimates that, at minimum, 4,000 man hours were donated by the willing volunteers at AFW since October of 2005. American Airlines, while not a sponsor or financial supporter of the program, has exhibited good will and a positive attitude toward the foundation’s efforts. Truly, the people of American Airlines, not the airline itself, have been the driving force behind the reconstruction, repair and restoration of this historic artifact.
Back to the original question: What drives these people, airline captains, mechanics and technicians, to devote their time and talent to the Flagship Detroit? Perhaps there is longing for a simpler time when manly pilots with cigars clenched in their teeth banged through heavy weather to get the mail and passengers to their destination. Maybe they want to be part of a time when the industry was so small that airlines named each of their airplanes. (Remember that Douglas only built 455 of these airplanes for the airlines, and those few airplanes carried eighty to ninety percent of all domestic airline passengers). It could be that, at the end of the day, all of these people just want to feel a connection to history and to be part of a group that is doing something worthwhile and important. They have earned the right to continue to exercise the talents and skills that built not only their airline, but the worldwide airline industry as well.
A Word about Airline Economics
In 1937 the United States was just beginning to awaken from the nightmare of the Great Depression. Yet to come was the great economic engine of WWII, but the economy had begun to improve, if only marginally. Great men foresee great things. C.R. Smith, president of American Airlines, not only could see the coming growth of the airline industry; he was able to convince Donald Douglas of the opportunities that lay ahead if only they had the right airplane.
It is amazing though, when you do the math. In 1937, in the new DC-3 or DST, a round-trip airline ticket on American Airlines from New York to Los Angeles was priced at $269. Research indicates that the purchasing power of a 1937 dollar in 2006 is about $14. A round-trip ticket, converted to 2006 dollars, would cost $3981. The airplane, ordered on July 8, 1935, cost American Airlines $79,500 plus engines, autopilot and radios. The same calculation results in a present day value of $1,120,000. C.R. Smith was confronted with an enormous challenge. Not only was air travel in the 1930s considered to be dangerous, it was expensive. And not only was it expensive, it was, by today’s standards, unreliable. But airline travel had two things going for it, it was fast and glamorous.
Airliner Design
The DC-3, and its sleeper version DST, were an early example of an airline company driving airplane design. Douglas Aircraft had built the DC-1 which, in fact, was a prototype for the DC-2. The DC-2 was successful by 1930s’ standards. It was a better airplane than the Ford Trimotor or the Boeing 247. Douglas had already built over a hundred of them and held orders for ninety more. Cyrus Rowlett “C.R.” Smith, president of American Airlines and his vice president of engineering, William Littlewood, knew what they needed in order to make money above and beyond mail subsidies.
They wanted more power. They needed enough range to fly non-stop between major markets, such as New York and Chicago. They thought handling and safety could be improved. Most importantly, they wanted more seats and room for sleeper berths on longer routes.
American Airlines worked side-by-side with Douglas Aircraft to design the DC- 3. American arranged a loan to finance development from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. What started as a series of modifications to the DC-2 became the DST, the DC-3 and ultimately the C-47 military version.
A Few More Numbers
Douglas sold 114 DC-3 or DST airliners to American Airlines. They manufactured a total of 455 of the model for the airlines. During WWII, Douglas and its licensees built nearly 11,000 airframes, primarily designated as the C- 47. Japan and Russia also built the airplanes, the numbers of which are vague and in dispute. A common estimate is that 13,000 aircraft were eventually built by all parties, but that number could be way too low. Russia was not forthcoming after WWII as to their production numbers. (Japan even tried building a DC-3 entirely out of wood. It was too heavy to get off the ground.) Not in dispute is that neither Russia nor Japan ever paid a nickel in royalties to Douglas. (The production numbers herein are subject to considerable variation in the historical records.)
It Flies On and On
A review of the FAA registry, searching for Douglas as the manufacturer and both DC-3 and C-47 as the model, show that 573 of the type are still registered, airworthy or not, in the U.S. as of February of 2006. No reliable numbers of how many of the type are flying outside of the U.S. are available, but certainly the airplane continues to serve in passenger and cargo service worldwide.
Most of the airliners, with the Flagship Detroit being a perfect case-in-point, followed a familiar history. First, they flew for the mainline carriers, American, Eastern, TWA and other first-level airlines. Then, as the aircraft were replaced by bigger and faster models by the mainline carriers, they moved to the regional airlines serving shorter routes. From there they mostly took one of two different paths: either they were pressed into domestic cargo and charter service, hauling everything from auto parts to salmon, or they moved into second and third-world countries, hauling freight and passengers. There was a third path. A few were converted to executive use, sporting plush interiors and custom paint jobs. The last service the aging aircraft provided was to give up their engines and parts to prolong the lives of still-operating airplanes. The last chapter was about airframes rotting on faraway ramps, shedding pieces and parts, waiting patiently for the knacker to take them away to salvage.
Some Quotes
“The bazooka, the jeep, the atom bomb, and the DC-3” was Dwight Eisenhower’s phrase, describing equipment and weapons he considered key to the Allied victory in World War II. The aircraft has a huge military history; it was used in every theatre in the war in huge numbers. It was invaluable. In fact, the Jeep, also ubiquitous in WWII, was designed specifically to fit through the cargo doors of a C-47. As late as the 1970s the C-47 was serving as a gunship for both the U.S. and the ARVN in Vietnam.
Ernest Gann, airline pilot and author of Fate is the Hunter, among other titles, had this to say about the DC-3: “The (DC-3s) are an easy aircraft to fly, almost totally forgiving to the most ham-handed pilots. Their inherent stability makes them an excellent instrument aircraft and their low stall speed combined with practically full control response at slow approach speeds allows the use of very short fields.” He continued, “In the hands of a skilled pilot, DC-3s can be successfully landed in just about any cabbage patch some optimist has dared to call an airfield.”
Little more need be said about the reputation of the airplane. Other than wanting to roll over on its back in a deep stall, a situation best avoided, and certainly better observed than experienced, the airplane flew a heavy load well and safely. Uncountable hours and miles were flown with a safety record as good as any propeller-driven airplane of its time. Flying Artifacts A word about flying aircraft such as the Flagship Detroit is appropriate. Admittedly, this airplane is a historical artifact. While there are still numerous DC-3s operating in this country and around the world, there truly is only one Flagship Detroit. Should this aircraft be grounded, put in a museum and protected? Perhaps, but the pilots, mechanics and technicians who brought the plane to the condition it is in now want to, and will, fly it.
The radial engines will bark and rumble to life, the brakes will groan as she taxies to the runway. The Flagship Detroit will again take to the air, shedding its clumsy ground life for graceful flight. Maybe someday she will end up in a museum. Until then though, children, whose father’s fathers were born long after NC17334 flew for American Airlines, will listen to her radial song as she flies overhead.
The Airplane Has a Future
The Flagship Detroit flies on. With the care and dedication of the foundation members, both young and older, the airplane should fly on for years to come. As she visits airshows she will work magic on the crowd. The growl of her radial engines and the graceful lines of her cowls will please most and will touch the soul of a few.
This summer a young man with just a few hours in a Cessna under his belt will turn his head and catch the Detroit in just the right light. A girl who would rather hang out at the airport than at the mall will see her too. Twenty years from now she’ll call for “gear down, half flaps” from the left seat of the solid old airplane. The young man will move the gear and flap levers smoothly and grin, just like George Dennis and his Flagship Detroit Foundation pilots do today.
