DC-3 75th Anniversary Celebration at the AAM

On December 17, 1935, 32 years to the day after the Wright Brothers first flight, Douglas test pilots first flew the DC-3 in Santa Monica, CA, leading to a revolution in airline travel. This Friday, the American Airpower Museum will mark the 75th anniversary of that first flight of the DC-3 with a celebration at the museum, located at Republic Airport. The celebration begins at 11am, and will feature the museum's C-47, one of more than 11,000 military and civilian versions built.

http://www.moose135photography.com/A...96_HYHgR-L.jpg

A few shots from today's ceremony...the special guest was an 88-year-old former DC-3 pilot, Robert Reynolds. He flew C-47s during WWII, including dropping paratroopers on D-Day and dropping supplies into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Following the war, Mr. Reynolds joined Pan Am, where he ultimately retired in 1982 as a 747 captain. After the ceremony, Mr. Reynolds and a group of students from Dowling College boarded the museum's C-47 for a taxi ride down the runway.

http://moose135.smugmug.com/American...48_GsZet-L.jpg

http://moose135.smugmug.com/American...92_X4D7G-L.jpg

Mr. Reynolds describes flying the DC-3.
http://moose135.smugmug.com/American...31_aL98A-L.jpg

A toast to 75 years.
http://moose135.smugmug.com/American...99_XavRL-L.jpg

Starting engines...
http://moose135.smugmug.com/American...86_MHHdD-L.jpg

http://moose135.smugmug.com/American...73_2V94a-L.jpg