www.TheDC-3Network.com                                                                

                                    ___________________________________________

                                                                  

                                             APRIL 13, 2009

 

 

     DOUGLAS    DC-3    DOUGLAS    DC-3    DOUGLAS    DC-3    DOUGLAS    DC-3   

                                   ...there are now more than 5000 subscribers on this list!      

 

 

It has been an exciting couple of weeks around here, LOTS of flying going on, and

lots of graduates with certificates in their pockets!

You can read about that and see the pictures of some star graduates

below.   A big Thank You! to all of these students from the last few weeks that have

travelled from:   Denmark, London, Amsterdam, St Louis, California, Alabama(3), Florida (2), Washington D.C.

to take their training!  Isn't that amazing that these people buy airline tickets to come in

here and fly this old greasy 1938 vintage airplane?!?!?

 

By travelling in and flying this old airplane you are helping to keep it alive and in good flying condition.

Thank you to each and every one of you for taking training in the Douglas DC-3!

 

We are happy to report that the examiners have had very high 

comments on the results of the ORALS and FLIGHT TESTS for those students

completing those courses.  Examiners are Bill Mercure for all DC-3 ops and multi ATP,

and Jeff Helms for all other initial Multi exams.   See examiner pictures below.

These are great guys that are very professional and very nice to work with.  They are some of the

best in the business.  

 

PRICES:

 

The DC-3 is expensive.  No doubt about it.  This is not for everyone and we know it

is a lot of money just to fly this old girl left seat.  There are two other similar

operations out there, one for the Tri-Motor that books the S.I.C course and

rating at $6900.00 See their site at

http://www.valleairport.com/fordtrimotor/typerating_summary.htm

 

This is run by my friend Bryan Godlove, contact him for a really neat

1920's vintage aviation experience.  I recommend.

 

Also on my list is to someday fly a P-51.  This plane is about $3200 / hr

for the dual instruction and they do let you fly it.  A very nice operation

run by some of the best.   See this site for more information

on how to book this:         http://www.stallion51.com/

 

Then there is the DC-3.  We have worked hard to hedge on fuel,

fly efficiently, and run enough volume that we can keep our

prices "affordable" for most pilots that want to try this.

 

A special note to those of you that are "THINKING" of flying the DC-3 in 2009:

The month of April is booked.  Due to the DC-3 MAY road trip, there will be no classes of any

kind in the month of MAY.

 

I have a list of possible students that want DC-3 credentials on their pilots certificates -

I am still holding the $3960 SIC course price for training in the month of JUNE

List prices on the front page of my web site are:

$5960  DC-3 SIC course

$2790  Any multi INITIAL course

$6395  Combine any multi course with DC-3 SIC INITIAL

 

I will hold the special $3960 SIC course rate, as well as the $6395 Combination rate through

JUNE schedule -  After that there is most likely going to be a rate increase on all the courses -

depending on fuel contracts, and the economy.  

This $3960 course price is total price, we include pickup from KATL, a free crew car,

all meals, and a hotel at contract price of $59.00 / night at the Hampton Inn.  See the TRAINING

SCHEDULE SECTION below for info on how to secure a spot.

There will be a day when a type rating or a left seat flight in the DC-3 is no longer available.

                                                                       See our site at www.TheDC-3Network.com

 

Remember - If you have a pilots license of any kind, we can upgrade you to Multi.  If you are already

multi, you can fly the DC-3.    Actually, we are looking for ANY pilots to fly the DC-3.  

Low time single engine folks still get to fly it.

If you are already Multi and SIC typed, you can upgrade to the ATP and/or PIC

at any time.  I look forward to flying with you this year! 

                                                                                                                     Thank You!

 

                                                                                                                                                   Dan Gryder

                                                                                                                                                The Herpa DC-3   

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

____________________________________________

 

DC-3 2009 ROAD TRIP!

The last DC-3 newsletter included one paragraph at the end of it about a possible

DC-3 2009 Road Trip.  We did one of these in 2008 and  this was probably the best aviation

experiences of my entire career.  We had numerous requests to duplicate the trip

again in 2009 so the offer was made to write in if you were interested.

The replies to this were again very strong and as of today,

we have just finished whittling down the players and made a firm list.

 

So the Road Trip is on!  In addition to the pilots selected to fly the plane on the trip,

we have coordinated to take Senior Editor Russ Niles from Av Web along for our 8 days

of DC-3 vintage aviation in America!  Russ is excited about this trip and we are working now to make

this very interactive somehow so that by watching the AvWeb site, you can track our progress,

see the in flight videos, and even possibly chat with us online while we are in flight!

Our flight plan is no flight plan.  We have no idea where were going except for the

two stops listed below.  This course filled fast, watch for info on the 2010 trip

if we get one together, probably just one of these per year.

We are still working on the comma and Internet concepts but you should be able to live vicariously on the

adventure through the writing and video captured by Russ on the trip.

 

The two destinations that we will be trying to make on this trip are listed below -- read about those

in the sections below on GASTONS and MOONTOWN.

___________________________________________

 

GASTONS RESORT AVIATION WEEKEND!

The DC-3 is planning to be at Gastons resort the weekend of May 29 - 31

This is by invitation of owner Jim Gaston who is pilot as well as a pioneer aviator himself and

the owner of one of Americas finest fly in resorts and fishing camps.  If you have never been to

Gastons you should check it out for this weekend at the end of May.

We were there last year with the DC-3 and resort owner Jim Gaston shot some pictures

and made a DC-3 video that he posted on you tube.

A neat DC-3 video and you can see it here:

This place has cabins, pool, gift shop, and one of the best restaurants in North America.

You will love the dining view looking out over the water while you eat.

 

We will be there with the DC-3 plus a huge array of warbirds and other fly ins for the weekend.

Book your cabin now by calling 870-431-5202

 

We will arrive with the DC-3 Friday night and stay through Sunday morning - plans are in the

works to have the soon to be famous "100 obscured" DC-3  based bluegrass band featuring

"WORLD FAMOUS" champion fiddle player Jeff Pritchard.  We will play both Friday

and Saturday nights.  Bring a lawn chair and share the evening

with us.  The DC-3 will be flying on Saturday and you can watch it come in and out

of this beautiful grass strip with ease.   The DC-3 will be open and free

to the public to tour when not flying - please make plans to stop by and say HI!

 

Thanks to good friend Jim Gaston and the entire crew of Gastons Resort for making all

of this possible.  You talk about a weekend to remember, this one will have

airplanes, flying, food, music, fishing, and more flying!  See you there!

 

____________________________________________

 

DC-3 VISITS MOONTOWN!

We met George Myers on a stop over at Moon town airport near Huntsville, Alabama.

(3M5)  George is a RPA formation pilot and one of the key players that keeps Moontown

running like clockwork.  Moontown is a great vintage general aviation grass strip kind of an airport

with a cadre of pilots that often hang out and fly and tell stories together.  They have begged for the DC-3

to visit for several years so it looks like we are going to stop in here and spend the night.

These are great aviation people and we invite you to join us at their party

for food, fun, bluegrass music, Av Web and the DC-3 on Saturday night, May 23, 2008.

 

All are invited.  Just show up and bring a dish to pass if you are able. 

Official Av Web Pie testing and evaluation will be available by the Av Web DC-3 crew as a courtesy

to those that make and bring homemade pies.  There is no charge for having your pie tested or evaluated

by DC-3 crew - We consider this a service that we are proud to provide.

 

                     

________________________________

                  DC-3 FLIGHT TRAINING 

(AND) MULTI-ENGINE  INITIAL  TRAINING

                                                                                                                   ____      

(DC-3)                     (DC-3)                     (DC-3)                        (DC-3)                  

APRIL COURSE 1       MAY COURSE 1         JUNE COURSE 1            JUNE COURSE 2                           

BOOKED                      BOOKED                      BOOKED                        AVAILABLE

BOOKED                      BOOKED                      BOOKED                        BOOKED

BOOKED                      BOOKED                      AVAILABLE                   AVAILABLE

We are in the middle of changing over computer systems.

Please send me an e mail if you want to be on the

new list of people that I can advise about training positions

for the balance of 2009.  We will hold all pricing

for at least June and July if you get your name on

the "potential course" List.  Heres how: 

 

 

Send me an E mail that looks like this:

 

     From:            You

         To:            Dan Gryder

     Date:             xx/xx/2009

Subject:            I WANT TO TRAIN IN 2009

 

Please put me on the list for a possible position in 2009

for Initial Multi, DC-3, SIC, DC-3 PIC etc.

 

This is not an obligation of any kind on your part - and actual class scheduling will

occur for June in early May.  But write it and tell me to hold a space for you

If you think you are or might be a candidate for 2009 training.

 

You can always call 678-688-7069 and talk to me direct, but e mail

is the best way of corresponding so I can go back and remember what

we talked about!

______________________________

AV NET - 

COMPLETION CENTER! 

 

www.TheAviatorNetwork.com

 

You May not know that in addition to DC-3's we also work on little planes too!

If you have a plane that needs new paint, interior, and avionics, we can do it all

in one shot.  The shops associated with this work are all on our field at Griffin

(6A2) Anything from a small single up to and including light twins and turbo props

can get their makeover.   Write for more info if you have a plane that needs help.

 

New instrument panels by:                         www.Jetpanels.com

Avionics upgrade and installs by:             www.precisionavionics.com

Paint by:                                                        www.advancedaircraftrefinishers.com

 

                

We completed two airplanes this spring, the one pictured here is a 1977 Piper  Warrior.  The

owner wanted a new panel, Garmin radios, new paint, and a new interior.  Done in 60 days!

              

This project was completed using our on site avionics shop, our on site paint shop,

and our on site panel producer.  You can see the big difference in the panel.  This is the

same plane!      

 

Next, this 1965 C-182 had less than 3000 hours TT on it, we bought it and cleaned it up

and completed some upgrade avionics work on it.   It was sold last week to its

new owner and is now out flying!

 

                 

__________________________________________

 

NEW GRADUATES!

The spring has been busy for us with the DC-3, with a total of 13 courses

being completed since FEB 15, 2009.

 

Included in those were (1) Initial Multi engine course with Commercial and Instrument privileges,

(1) Initial multi engine ATP course, 

(8) INITIAL DC-3 SIC courses,

(2) DC-3 PIC Recurrent courses,

(1) DC-3 full PIC unrestricted DC-3 course

 

First, Meet Mark from Washington D.C.  Mark owns a Chain of restaurants and he also has owned a

Beech 18 for several years.   Now with more than 50 hours dual received in the twin

Beech, he was ready for a commercial multi engine certificate.  Mark trained for 3 days

and took his check ride with examiner Jeff Helms and did quite well.  See Marks engine failure video

by clicking here:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-8uYMToegY

 

 

  Jeff (Examiner) and Mark  shake hands as "The Certificate"  is

   slid across the table.

 

 

 

The obligatory proud shot at the airplane getting ready to make one last flight back

to Griffin and put that airplane away!  Now it is time for the big multi engine airplane!

___________________________________________________________________________

 

This is George, he came in from St Louis and was in a class comprised a class of three

for the DC-3 INITIAL course.  George is an investment banker and has flown a lot of

GA planes for many years, including a job long ago as a traffic reporter

from a fixed gear single.  Great job George!

 

  

 

Andrew (below) is a career Navy guy that drives large navy vessels for a living,

but his real passion is in airplanes.   Andrew is from California and made it in to

fly the old greasy DC-3 and pick up a new pilots license from us, Thanks Andrew -

nice flying and we enjoyed having you with us!

 

     

 

COMMERCIAL PILOT - AIRPLANE SINGLE AND MULTI ENGINE LAND, INSTRUMENT AIRPLANE

is what the first certificate said, "DC-3" is what the second one added to it!

 

   

                

Andrew, George, and Mark enjoy a few laughs at the table before

heading out to the plane. 

 

   

__________________________________________

 

 

DC-3 GRADUATES!

(More)

              Mark from Alabama                                         David from Alabama                                     Jonathan from Alabama   

 

Mark called me on the phone with an idea.   He had two friends that wanted to come over and fly with

him and get their DC-3 rating.  All three of these guys are from Alabama and live near each other.

Mark and Jonathan both own their own computer consulting corporations as well as their own GA airplanes,

David owns the Huntsville Flight Center which is a Cessna Pilot Center as well.

See their site at http://www.huntsvilleflightcenter.com/

 

In addition, Marks Dad drove over and spent some time with us during the three day course

and was a welcome addition to this motley crew!   Great job by all three of these guys.

If you ever wonder just exactly what we do in three days of flying the Dc-3, just click on this

video link and watch Jonathan at work.   This is the before start checklist

being run just before flight.   Not only do you learn how to do this, you learn what each one of

these items is and where to look for it.   If you click on this and open it

up you will see another link to the right that you can click on that will open up the 

actual checklist that we are working from in this video.  Could you do as well in three days?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoJI3cJJV3k

If you are getting ready to come in for training, this is a great video to review.

 

  

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

             

         DC-3 PILOT KEN FROM FLORIDA             DC-3 PILOT JOHNNY FROM FLORIDA

 

OK so Johnny may not REALLY be a DC-3 pilot, but his dad is, see his Dads picture below (Paul).

Ken is retired from Northwest Airlines as a 747 Captain.   Today he is director of operations for the

Valiant Air Command in Titusville Florida where preparations are being made to FINALLY get the

TICO BELL back in the air!  Ken and Paul will be helping crew that historic D day C-47

for airshow duty in the very near future.  Program Director for the C-47 and historic aviation

supporter is Bob James.   Bob has also been in for training and

is slated to occupy the left seat for flight tests on that aircraft in the very near future.

 

Watch for the story and pictures soon to follow.

See http://www.vacwarbirds.org/ and please consider making a tax free donation

to this outstanding organization.  The effort to return this actual D day C-47 aircraft

to airworthy condition has been "VALIANT" to say the least.

Please consider making a donation to that project by marking it

"C-47"  Contact Bob James for lifetime membership positions in this

organization. 

 

   

         Jan from the Netherlands                                              Paul from Florida

 

Jan is a retired KLM 747 Captain with more than 20,000 hours in the left seat

of large airliners as a Captain.   He came across the ocean to fly the DC-3 and

pick up his DC-3 rating.  Outstanding work Jan! 

 

Paul actually flew DC-3's as a night freight DC-3 Captain many years ago.   This was his

first re visit to the DC-3 since the old freight days.   He brought his wife and family up

for a few days of R&R and to get to know the plane again.   Our kids had a great time

meeting his kids and it was  pleasure to get to know this fine aviation family.  Paul is a

737 Captain for Southwest as his part time job and he also flies an aerobatic Eagle when

his wife will let him.   Isn't this a cool shot? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ( Here we see what seasoned high time airline pilots do best when trying to

   figure out what happened...)

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

           

                                           Bill from London

 

This is Bill - a highly experienced GA pilot from the UK that holds a lot of credentials,

both UK and US.  He also flies co pilot on numerous warbirds in the UK including several DC-3,

and one B-17!  He is already typed in the DC-3 and he was just here

for recurrent training.   

 

 

We had a great time flying together and talking about old airplanes.

Bill flies a great airplane and it is easy to see why they use him

so much to help out over there on those airplanes.

If you think vintage aviation is rare here in the states, it is really rare

over there.  Great job Bill, thank you for coming to visit!________________________

       WWII PILOTS REMEMBER THE DC-3 / C-47 

 

 

LEFT TO RIGHT:

 

Bill Barnes     (Combat pilot WWII European Theater)

Joe Shannon (Flew combat WWII P-38’s in North Africa and for CIA trained forces for Bay of Pigs invasion and flew at Bay of Pigs)

Dan Gryder

Bill Burrus     (Veteran of the Battle of the bulge)

 

It was my pleasure to visit the Southern museum of flight in late March and speakto an outstanding group of

aviatorsand present "The Douglas DC-3 - How history came to be"   This is a 40 minute power point presentation

with lots of pictures and the inside story on the creation of the DC-1, DC-2, and the DC-3. 

The Museum hosted us and provided a fabulous southern style buffet and a complete tour of their facility

complete with thousands of artifacts from various stages of aviation development. Of special interest

is the B-25 on display recovered from the bottom of a lake after an engine failure.  I noticed that

the throttle quadrant is still configured properly and exactly the way the crew left it 60 years ago.

They also have a large selection of various engines on display and actually get up close to.

The museum is in charge of more than 60 aircraft, about half are inside and the remainder are available outside on a walking tour. 

 

Three individuals that I met that night are Bill Barnes, Joe Shannon, and Bill Burrus.  All three are

WWII veterans and were there when it was happening. I don't know about you, but the opportunity

to talk to guys like this is like talking to a living history book to me. All three of these guys still

fly, Joe mostly flies his Piper Cub on the weekends early in the morning for his aviation fix!

Thank you for inviting us over - and Thank you for your service to our country! 

Please visit  http://www.southernmuseumofflight.org/

and consider making a tax free donation to this outstanding organization.

_________________________

 

YOUR COMMENTS ON i Pilot

One of the best ways that we have for helping explain what flying the DC-3

is like is from the comments and descriptions left by those that actually did it.

You can read some of those by clicking here: http://www.ipilot.com/yaf/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=20403&p=4 

 

You don't have to be a member to read this thread.  If you have flown the plane and got

a rating with us, please leave your thoughts and impressions on this site

so that others can get a glimpse of what you did.   Did you fly it?

Did it cost what you thought it would cost?  Was the operation safe? Why did

you want to fly the DC-3?

_______________________

 

NEW ATP PIC RATING FOR THE DC-3!! 

 

You may remember Lasse, who came over early this year for the DC-3 SIC rating.

Well he could not get enough.   Lasse wanted his multi engine ATP, and planned to get his

DC-3 PIC rating with the VFR only restriction.  He booked his international

travel and obtained his TSA approval.  When he got to the states he took the written exam at KFTY

and then we started on the multi.  This is by far the cheapest way to get a multi engine ATP

and a type rating.  Pilots often write in and ask if they can get their ATP in the DC-3.

YES is the easy answer, but you can do it a whole lot cheaper by doing the ATP in the little

planes and then just doing the type ride in the DC-3.  No where on a pilots

ATP certificate does it ever say what airplane you GOT your ATP in.  Get it

in the cheapest easiest airplane you can!

 

 

DC-3 Examiner Bill Mercure and Lasse shake hands after Lasse surrenders his second

temporary certificate and picks up his third! 

 

 

Lasse sent me this note to pass on to other pilots that might be considering being an ATP

as well.  I thought it might help others considering an ATP certificate:

 

 I am now an ATP and DC-3 captain - unrestricted!

 

Fascinated by the DC3 and old aircraft in general I decided to go get a VFR SIC type rating on

the DC-3 this February.  I liked Dan, his taste of food and airplanes, his relaxed but professional

attitude towards flying, the DC-3 and his whole setup very much so I decided to go back and do 

the  ATP and a PIC VFR type rating on the DC3 this March.

 

I had already gone through the TSA approval and fingerprinting for my SIC check so the second

approval for the PIC type rating was routine and the approval came quickly.

 

I studied very hard at home on the ATP theory using the ASA books and groundschool.com software

and took the written test the day after arriving into Atlanta at  ALL ATPs at Fulton County Airport.

I did their prep also on the same day and took the test in the afternoon - 98 %! ;-)

 

With that bit done and over with we spent the weekend going to a Fly In at Auburn over the weekend. 

We were hit a bit by the weather and we had to shoot a GPS approach to "minimums" in the DC-3 and

go missed at Griffin and shoot an ILS approach into nearby Thomaston and leave the DC3 there.  Nice...

 

We spent the next couple of days flying one of Dans nice PA-23 Apaches Geronimoes  for the ATP. I

initially thought the ATP oral exam would include all kinds of questions on flying in general but as it turned

out it is basically only on the Apache itself, which is a nice simple aircraft and a little bit Multi Engine theory. Nothing to it.

 

We flew 90% of the ATP training IMC - REAL IMC - no hood. We even shot an approach at minimums -

barely - for a touch and go at Griffin. What fun! All the bystanders at the airport thought we were insane

to go back up in the soup! Ha ha ha. I have never done so many real IMC approaches all of them to 200 feet

and real missed approaches when we absolutely couldn't see anything and it all seemed like no big deal. Really.

 

I took the checkride in the PA23 Tuesday afternoon after two (very full) days of training only and apparently the

examiner, a very nice and friendly retired Delta captain, was happy with my flying as I was presented a temporary

Airman Certificate with my ATP rating!

 

Since it all went so well we decided to push for a full unrestricted IFR PIC type rating on the DC-3 with a checkride

scheduled for Tuesday morning. We spent Wednesday shooting approaches and reacquainting myself with Darla Dee -

Dans DC-3. It all went so well that after the checkride Bill the examiner proclaimed that it was the best check ride he

had ever done in the DC3!!! Kind of strange to feel like a little proud kid at the advanced age of 45.

 

 After all of this we flew with Dan to Birmingham where he gave a speech Thursday evening at

the Southern Museum of Flight...

 

All in all we had a blast. Dans operation gets an A+++. I can not recommend it enough. Go do it!   And thats the bottom line...

 

 Lasse

 

As a PS to that note, Lasse had booked and planned on only completing the PIC rating for the DC-3

with the VFR restriction.  Upon arrival and after all the instrument work that we did in the multi,

his scan and instrument skills were very high.  It was the examiners recommendation (after his ATP ride)

that he go ahead and train for and take the full unrestricted rating ride, and I agreed, if you can do all

those approaches raw data in the PA-23, you can probably do them with a co-pilot in the DC-3!

Just food for thought if you ever considered being an ATP.  really, it is no more than studying

for the written, and then taking a three day course, and you could be an ATP!  

___________________________________________

 

"LOW"  LOW PASS

 

 

  Heres a cool shot of another DC-3  making a low low pass in between the buildings

  and airplanes that someone sent to me.  Great shot as he dipped his right  wing

  right on top the crowd.

___________________________________________

 

UFO ON VIDEO

 

             

 

 

We were out flying one day and this UFO pulls up along side.  Apparently wanting to get

a closer look at our 1938 model flying contraption!  We made radio contact and he hung

on our right wing long enough that I could dig out my video camera and shoot some

footage.  Looked like an RV of some kind, but still unidentified and flying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYX0DV6RFwY

 

_______________________________________
 

THATS INCREDIBLE!

 

In other news,  I sent this emergency e mail to AOPA because our local government

had just erected two cement light poles in the approach path for runway 32 at Griffin.

You can see them in this shot. The problem was that these poles were  directly in the

lateral alignment of the runway, and if you flew the VASI (PAPI) precisely, you would

hit the pole!   No notam, no lights, no nothing, they just put it up and went on about

their business.  Here is a pic that I included with the emergency e mail:

Its pretty clear that these two poles are just a few feet off the end of the runway.

Initially the easy solution by the city was two issue two NOTAMS:

the first for "rigid objects 50 feet tall and 50 feet from the runway in the landing path"

and the second for "VASI out of service"

It wasnt long before a bulldozer arrived and just demolished the poles -

thankfully these came down before someone made a night landing on runway 32 and

followed the FAA approved VASI all the way to impact.

 

 

           

 

Obstructions removed from Georgia airport's approach path
When a utility company erected two unlit poles under the approach path to Griffin Spalding Airport’s Runway 32 in March, Dan Gryder did what an AOPA Airport Support Network Volunteer (ASNV) should: He reported it to AOPA. The association immediately jumped into action to help resolve the issue.
That led to the removal of the poles and of the safety hazard they represented to pilots using the Georgia airport.
Pilots feared that the poles, approximately 100 feet from the runway, would soon cause a fiery crash and loss of life, Gryder said. AOPA and Airport Manager Robert Mohl agreed.
They all notified the FAA, citing the builder’s failure to follow the agency’s obstruction evaluation (OE) process that requires the study of potential air-navigation hazards before they are constructed.
“As a result of the quick action and report from Dan, the airport manager got to the bottom of the issue, found out who erected the poles, and was successful in getting the builder to remove the obstructions immediately the very next day,” said Heidi Williams, AOPA senior director of airports.
The incident demonstrates the importance of the ASN volunteer’s initiative, she added.
Tall towers have proliferated with the explosion of cellular phone and digital information usage. To find out if there are tall towers proposed near your airport, sign up for notifications from the FAA.
AOPA has a summary of the safety problem tall towers pose and of the OE process, it can be found online.

____________________________________________

                                     Darla Dee             Drew         Dylan       Dan                         

 

              

That it for this one - We did find a way to sneak out of town for a family vacation again out at our

favorite powder mountain, Jackson Hole! We got this one family shot and then an innocent

by stander snapped this second one after one of our crashes.  Hey were airplane people,

what do we know about skiing?