Birdwatching From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 3588 posts, RR: 52 Reply 2, posted (2 years 2 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 3887 times:
Wow, that is SO cool. I think I'll have to travel to Villavicencios some time soon and take some DC3 flights.
Looks like a real adventure.
Soren
All the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I'm home
Gonzalo From Chile, joined Aug 2005, 1692 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 2 weeks 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 3807 times:
Quoting lychemsa (Thread starter): Wonderful report on the daredevil pilots of Colombia and the DC -3s still operating.
Wonderful indeed. Thanks for sharing.
I was 2 years old ( some decades ago ) when I took my first ride on a DC-3, and, believe me, I STILL REMEMBER ( Ok, I only remember some "flashes" and scenes like the square windows, a tiny fuel truck below us after take off and the landing in the pouring rain ). It was a short trip between MVD and a city called Salto, also in Uruguay.
All I can say is the DC-3 is one of the finest machines ever made, a noble machine, and is without any shadow of doubt one of the most important aircraft in the aviation history.
LONG LIFE TO THE DC-3 !!!!
B6JFKH81 From United States of America, joined Mar 2006, 2767 posts, RR: 7 Reply 6, posted (2 years 1 week 4 days ago) and read 2990 times:
UGH, I wish I had more time to watch this here at work, but I have to start the end-of-day procedures. I'm going to have to watch the rest when I get home! Great documentary so far though!
"If you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it"
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21684 posts, RR: 23 Reply 7, posted (2 years 1 week 4 days ago) and read 2966 times:
I found it interesting that at about 3:00 minutes into the video where they refer to aircraft that have crashed in the Amazon jungle, the first crash footage they show appears to be of a Korean Air 747-300 that struck the top of a hill approaching Guam in 1997, half way around the world from Colombia.
mabadia71 From Costa Rica, joined Nov 2008, 75 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (2 years 1 week 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 2559 times:
Quoting something (Reply 9): but isn't that show almost an identical copy of that show 'Ice Pilots'?
Technically it isn't a show, that was a small reportage of this pilots in Colombia. It's gotta be really cool to be in one of those. And I also found very interesting that nobody, not even the pilots speaks English, when technically it's a requirement to get your pilot license.
We do not know that. They just do not speak English on camera.
There was a DC-3 (N129H) on the skydiving circuit for years named "Mr Douglas" and when a dropzone in Tullohama Tennessee had it under lease I made probably 30 jumps out of it. Great old bird. It would take 45-60 minutes to climb to 10500ft on a hot summer day the noise and vibrations would lull everyone to sleep! There would be so many people on it that the first and last out always expected to land off the DZ... We knew where the light poles were when we had to land in the Wal-Mart parking lot. If you were going out with a big group, you would hate to be first out because your jumpsuit and rig would get oil all over it from the engine. The ongoing joke with that DC-3 and all DC-3s was that they didn't need to change the oil... it was self changing.... pour it in the top, it comes out the bottom.
Another DC-3 story... On an airport in Georgia, a school would train pilots to fly the DC-3 and while doing touch and go-s I watched one after a non-eventful landing had its gear collapse when the pilot touched the brakes. The strut went through the wing. It was fun getting the thing off the runway.. We called a local automobile wrecker who lifted the wing off the ground and onto another truck and then it was all pulled off the runway by tugs. A couple of days of repair... it was back in the air!
There is a reason these beasts are still flying!!
RIXrat From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 774 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (2 years 1 week 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 2443 times:
About speaking English, technically they are not crossing international borders and are not flying via ATC, so I don't see any big problem with them communicating in Spanish, or any other native language. It is a flight from A to B in nowhereland. I've flown jump seat into Russia and many SU crews use Russian, which annoys western pilots who don't know the language.
A: how do you know they don´t speak English? They may have been uncomfortable speaking their 2nd language on TV, making grammatical errors; and all sorts.
B: The documentary was about Colombian pilots pulling their rather dangerous shift……….in Latin America!!
I guess it´s only realistic to witness this in their native language!
Nothing worse than hearing James Bond saying "Hande Hoch" on some cheap German TV channel.
C: And so what????? So, they don´t speak English, perhaps!!!!!! They fly out-dated planes in a Latin American area, with great local knowledge & skill; for a very basic salary!!
No one else would like to touch those planes on a daily basis unless it was paid a big buck……….for them however, there´s a sense of community duty involved!
You whack their professionalism because of some language thing………..come on, on those routes the English tongue is simply not required!!
Please forgive them for perhaps not being fluent in their 2nd language, they are only risking their very own life very day of the week!
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) when I took my first ride on a DC-3, and, believe me, I STILL REMEMBER ( Ok, I only remember some "flashes" and scenes like the square windows, a tiny fuel truck below us after take off and the landing in the pouring rain ). It was a short trip between MVD and a city called Salto, also in Uruguay.
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