Aircraft Review - Essay Example

Aircraft Review: DC-3 There are so many affectionate s for the DC-3 airplane. To old time pilots, the DC-3 is the “gooney bird” for its Herculeancapabilities - with the perception that it is the world’s toughest, longest-lived and most unconquerable airplane. This airplane just refuses to die. Then there is the anecdote told by Joseph Stocker as to why DC-3 is called the Whistling Willie: Jap strafers caught a DC-3 on the ground and riddled it with machine gun fire. Coolies patched up about 1000 holes with pieces of canvas. Then it took off for India with 61 refugees aboard, a plane that was intended – under normal circumstances – to carry 21 passengers and a crew of three. En route the plane ran into a tropical storm. Rain loosened the canvas patches and wind passing over the holes caused a variety of shrill whistles, which increased until the ship sounded like a thousand screaming banshee. (Popular Mechanic, p. 65) The indestructible plane lumbered across the hostile Asian skies and then it landed with all the crew in one piece, ready to take off again for another flight. There are numerous other nicknames for DC-3 such as Old Fatso, Doug, among others. But these underscore how the plane has endeared itself to pilots and the airline industry alike because of its proven contribution in the aviation history. History: The First Airliner Just before World War II, the Douglas DC-3 was made by Douglas Aircraft Company for the American Airlines. The aircraft manufacturer found itself in an enviable position of trying to fill an overwhelming backlog of orders for passenger planes. This feat became possible when American Airlines ordered an aircraft to replace the fleet of aging Curtiss Condor biplanes, which they use for their nighttime Pullman-style sleeper service. The two companies collaborated and a team was assembled to improve on the old DC-2. American Airline’s chief engineer, William Littlewood, determined that by widening the DC-2’s fuselage twenty-six inches and adding ten feet to its wingspan, it could accommodate fourteen sleeping berths. (Hansen, p. 68) In line with this, the DC-3 had combined previous effective designs together. For instance, the DC-3 improved on the combined cabin size of the Ford Tri-Motor and the impressive speed of the Lockheeds. This revised airplane was initially called the Douglas Skysleeper Transport or DST. By time the plane took off for its maiden flight in July 1, 1936, it assumed the name DC-3. During World War II, the DC-3 production line was shut down but the war required its production for military use because of its capacity and performance. The US military realized that the DC-3 was ready-made military transport aircraft waiting to be utilized. At the end of World War II, more than ten thousand military DC-3s had been produced. Surplus military planes were sold to commercial airlines. The DC-3 would remain an airline workhorse for commercial aviation industry until well into the 1960s. Features The DC-3 is powered by a 900-horsepower Wright Cyclone engines. If one looks at its specification and performance in comparison with comparable aircrafts in existence within the period, DC-3 is far more superior. It could fly at 185 miles per hour and could clip off 237 miles at its maximum speed. (Stocker, p. 68) On the other hand, the Boeing 307, which was manufactured in the 1930s could only manage a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour with a measly 188 mile-per-hour cruise speed. In addition, the German made Junker Ju has a maximum speed of 165 miles per hour and 132 miles per hour on cruise speed. The DC-3 also beat these two aircrafts in terms of range. Its maximum is 2,125 miles, with a 604-gallon fuel and 26,200 lb maximum takeoff weight capacity. (Rymaszewski and Stephanouk, p. 80) The Boeing 307 could cover a 745-mile range while the Junker Ju has 540 miles. Aerodynamically, the airplane was extremely far advanced, producing a very low zero-lift drag despite its large fuselage. According to James Hansen, the DC-3 enjoyed “a very high lift/drag (L/D) ratio of 14.7. This was higher than anything that came before – and better than virtually all that came after, certainly in propeller-driven designs.” (p. 69) One of the marked differences of the DC-3 from among its contemporaries was the tendency of the airplane’s wing to flap while flying. It turned out that this “discrepancy” was intended by the designers of the plane. It was explained by the designers that the flap was necessary to relieve structural wing tension. (Stocker, p. 68) The plane, wrote Stocker, is safest and easiest plane among its contemporaries to fly and that its pay load is one third greater. While all the planes in existence during its time must fly through storms, the DC-3 could fly over them. The passenger capacity of the DC-3 was what allowed commercial airlines to make profit out of commercial air travel. It improved on its predecessor’s capacity – the DC-2 – by 50 percent. Then its 900-1000 horsepower propeller engines enabled the aircraft to fly from US coast to coast in less than 16 hours. This was enough for Cyrus. Smith, the then CEO of American Airlines, to boast that the DC-3 was a transport airplane that actually make a profit from the revenue earned from passengers carried, without the benefit of the indirect subsidy available through the mail payments. (Motum 1991, p. 217) Indeed, the DC-3 dominated the passenger airline market in the late 1930s. Innovations The DC-3’s technological innovations also deserve to be mentioned. For instance, the plane had two separate sets of instruments in the cockpit, each independent of the other in case one failed. In addition it also had “George” the name given to the then first ever automatic pilot made by the Sperry Gyroscope Co. The DC-3 is the quintessential aircraft and aviation technology that characterized the period from 1930s to 1960s when the four-engine airlines eclipsed it in terms of performance and specifications. Even though this is the case, the fact remains that DC-3 is pivotal and influential in the evolution of modern aircraft. The Douglas DC-3 was also the first to have stress-bearing bodies that eliminated the need for internal supports – a feature that is now universally used in all aircrafts. Because of its superb performance and durability, the DC-3 would revolutionize air transport from the 1930s and influence future airline industry developments more than any other aircraft that was ever made in aviation history. As a matter of fact, a number of DC-3s operate to this day, each of them carrying numerous tales of performance, dependability and toughness. The DC-3s appearance signaled the culmination of the aircraft design revolution in the United States. As cited by Cyrus Smith, the plane was responsible for the aviation industry to be commercially viable by being a vessel that could make money exclusively by carrying passengers. In addition, its build and design demonstrates a synergy of engineering achievements and designs that had taken place previously. The 1930s were banner years for the American aviation industry. And, certainly, the DC-3 was at the forefront of this era. Its technological and aerodynamic innovations allowed for the American aviation community to set the standards aircraft design. With DC-3, advanced performance through design refinement became a reality. All the plane’s features – from its superior engine, cantilever wings, flaps, capacity, ergonomics and aerodynamic refinements – brought the modern airplane to a higher level of performance and sophistication. References Hansen, J. (2003). The bird is on the wing: aerodynamics and the progress of the American airplane. Issue 6 of Centennial of flight series W.L. Moody, Jr., Natural History Series, No. 34. Texas and A&M University Press. Motum, J. (1991). The Putnam Aeronautical Review: Volume 2 of PUTNAM AERONAUTICAL REVIEW. Naval Institute Press. Rymaszewski, M. and Stephanouk, P. (2003). Rise of Nations: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets: Sybex official strategies & secrets. Games Series. John Wiley and Sons. Stocker, J. (1957). "The Saga of the DC-3." Popular Mechanics. 108:2. p. 65-70. Read More