1,491 mi
Douglas DC-3/Range

How many DC-3 planes are there?

More than 16,000 DC-3s and military version C-47s were built in 50-plus variants. More than 300 are still flying today. The DC-3 was born into a still-nascent commercial air travel industry—and traveling by air was much riskier and arduous before the DC-3 came along.

How old are DC-3?

The ruggedness and bulletproof reliability of the DC-3 has made it strangely relevant to today’s missions, despite its 80 years of age. It can land on grass and dirt runways with ease, and requires a surprisingly conservative runway length, making it popular in developing countries.

Who designed the DC-3?

Donald Wills Douglas Sr.
Arthur Emmons Raymond
Douglas DC-3/Designers

Who built the DC-3?

Douglas Aircraft Company
Douglas DC-3/Manufacturers

Built by Douglas Aircraft, founded in 1921, the DC-3 incorporated breakthroughs developed at Douglas and Boeing—super-charged 1,200-horsepower twin engines, cantilevered metal wings, retractable landing gear.

What does the DC-3 look like?

Unlike the other entries, DC-3 was much more conventional in layout, with an almost cylindrical fuselage and low-mounted slightly swept wings. The design looked more like a cargo aircraft than a spacecraft.

Was there ever a prototype of the DC-3?

There was no prototype DC-3, and the first DC-3 built followed seven DSTs off the production line for delivery to American Airlines. The DC-3 and DST popularized air travel in the United States. Eastbound transcontinental flights could cross the U.S. in about 15 hours with three refueling stops while westbound trips against the wind took 17

What is the history of the Douglas DC-3?

The DC-3 resulted from a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, when Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American’s Curtiss Condor II biplanes.

What is the DC-3 spaceplane?

The DC-3 was a proposed spaceplane designed by Maxime Faget at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston. The design was nominally developed by North American Aviation (NAA), although it was a purely NASA-internal design.