DC-3 75th Anniversary Celebration at the AAM

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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.

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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.





Mr. Reynolds describes flying the DC-3.


A toast to 75 years.


Starting engines...