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Long Ride Home in a Classic

mvivion

SPONSOR
Bozeman,MT
The winner of this year’s Iditarod Sled Dog Race is from Norway. Because of the COVID craziness, he would have been able to travel back to Norway himself, but couldn’t find a way to get his dogs home. So, he waited in Fairbanks until an opportunity arose to get the whole crew home at once. In the process, a classic airplane found its way to its retirement home. Fairbanks folks will recognize some crew 8).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2Dt-C9kHo

And, a more complete tale of the trip:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media...home#utm_source=Editorial&utm_medium=Facebook

MTV
 
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Great video and tribute to an older lady of the sky. Bad day to be a traffic cone with a sled dog nearby.

Gary
 
The winner of this year’s Iditarod Sled Dog Race is from Norway. Because of the COVID craziness, he would have been able to travel back to Norway himself, but couldn’t find a way to get his dogs home. So, he waited in Fairbanks until an opportunity arose to get the whole crew home at once. In the process, a classic airplane found its way to its retirement home. Fairbanks folks will recognize some crew 8).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2Dt-C9kHo

And, a more complete tale of the trip:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media...home#utm_source=Editorial&utm_medium=Facebook

MTV

Mike we both learned to respect the concerns of others...especially those who paid our wages. Wearing hip boots helped shed the occasional shower.

Edit: More from Yellowknife at Buffalo Airways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHQWsPOdhn8&feature=youtu.be

Gary
Mike and Gary, Thank you both for sharing these videos of the mighty DC-6B. You can not imagine the emotion which I felt in watching this. Nearly 52 years after I last shut down four R-2800s, those engines still bring music to my ears. https://www.enginehistory.org/Sounds/F-8F_2.mp3

What's the story behind the damage to the #3 spinner? It looks like someone used a ball peen hammer on it. And a little less on #4.
 
Pete,

These are what my mentors called “using airplanes”, and have been places and done things Donald Douglas could never have imagined. Everts painted the airplane in preperation for its retirement, but I suspect smoothing out a few dings in the spinners was a bridge too far for budgets.

Youre absolutely right, though......an R-2800 has a sound like few others. And running takeoff power and water injection....magnificent!

MTV
 
On my one visit to Kotzebue a DC-6B landed just in front of me. What to my surprise to find that it was one of the ones which I had flown for Northeast Airlines. It had been completely gutted of all the interior down to the bare skin. All of the pressurization components had been stripped out. It was being used to land on the beaches to pick up loads of fish to take to Anchorage. I asked the pilot how he got the courage to land it on the beach. His reply was that he had ridden in the jump seat of a C-119 which was also doing beach landings. :) You're right Mike, that is what using airplanes is all about.
 
I had a charter in a Navajo one night to take a mechanic from Kenai to Bethel to work on a DC-4 fish hauler. About half way out a cylinder decided to depart the right engine. The mechanic, who was in the right seat woke up and asked for a flashlight. He looked out the window for a minute, handed the flashlight to me and went back to sleep! Since there was really no alternate airport enroute, we continued on to Bethel and I was offered a ride back to Kenai in the DC-4 once it was fixed. Shortly after takeoff they put me in the right seat and let me fly for a while. I was amazed at what a nice flying airplane it was. What I remember that stuck with me was it had a janitrol type heater they fired up for wing anti-ice, and the flight engineer was working an oscilloscope to look at the ignition system - I think. What a great experience!
 
If you have never had a really low buzz job
By a DC6 with all four 2800's flatten right out, you have never really been buzed.......
Mark Bills and I were working in his hanger
at Willow airport early 90's; when a chum of his, that flew for Reeve's, layed a for real "duster style" buzz job on us in the 6: That I thought, would suck the roof right off the hanger! Shook the whole building to it's core, 4 /2800's all "hauling the mail" about 50' above you, is one incredible experience;
You will not soon forget!
E

Sent from my moto e5 go using SuperCub.Org mobile app
 
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