dc-3 | Blind Bat News

USAF photo.

In reality ‘drone’ technology is not new, it can be traced back to before the Second World War. So it’s not really a surprise to learn that the U.S. Air Force used a WW2 C-47/DC-3 Skytrain/Dakota to test the latest stuff for its MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle.

U.S. Air Force photo by David Dixon.

It is known as the Mini-AgilePod, the Air Force Research Laboratory began aerial testing using a DC-3 (silly-vilian version of the C-47), in Ohio, in 2017.

USAF photo by David Dixon.

USAF photo by David Dixon.

USAF photo.

The AgilePod is an Air Force-trademarked, multi-intelligence reconfigurable pod that enables flight-line operators to customize sensor packages based on specific mission needs.

USAF photo by David Dixon.

It was also tested on the Textron Aviation Defense’s Scorpion Light Attack/ISR jet, at the end of 2017.

USAF photo by David Dixon.

USAF photo by David Dixon.

USAF photo.

This is the larger prototype AgilePod, seen in 2016. In 2018, a report stated that testing for the Mini AgilePod would be done over two years. By the end of 2020, reports indicated that the AgilePod was being used to test electronic systems for other countries. So far there is nothing indicating that it has been accepted for regular use with the U.S. military.

The Airborne Imaging DC-3 used in the AgilePod testing is based out of Mid-Way Regional Airport in Midlothian, Texas. The contractor operates several DC-3s, used in USAF testing of things like sensor pods and new styles of bomb racks. An Airborne Imaging DC-3 is scheduled to make an appearance at the July 2021 Dayton Air show in Ohio.

Hurricane Harvey, 2017: WW2 C-47 used to deliver food aid to Texans

Entex got it right when their model box stated it was “The plane that changed the world.” It’s my top pick for Zombie Plane, after seven decades it just won’t die, still flying today in both private and commercial use, and apparently some countries are still using it for military purposes. It even commands the respect of wartime enemies, who adopted it for their own use.

Production began in 1936 and from then until now the C-47/DC-3/R4D has been used by at least 82 countries.

Fort Benning, Georgia, 16AUG2019:

Berlin Airlift 70th Anniversary, Clay Kaserne, Germany, 09-11JUN2019:

Videos:

May 2019, DC (Douglas Commercial)-3 over Catalina Island, California:

“That’s all brother!”, Air Mobility Command Museum on Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, May 2019:

April , 2019 video report, history of 3rd Combat Cargo Squadron which flew the China-Burma-India Theater during WW2:

“That’s all brother!”, Sumpter Smith ANGB Alabama, April 2019:

November 2018, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida:

May 2016, AC-47 Spooky over New Mexico:

February 1964, M2-F1 lifting body tracking behind a Goonie, Edwards AFB, California:

August 1963, NASA R4D-5/C-47H:

1956, NACA R4D, High-Speed Flight Station, Edwards AFB, California:

German Dakotas, 1957 to 1976:

Iran Air ‘DC-3s’ were actually C-47s with passenger interiors:

Iranian CH-47 gives an Iranian C-47 a lift:

Weirdos:

Video report, North Dakota Air National Guard’s first disaster relief mission (Operation Haylift), during the winter of 1949:

Video report; C-47 Operation Market Garden:

Jungle Skippers’ “Cleo C”, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas:

Flak damage to a Jungle Skippers C-47, Corregidor Island, Philippines, World War Two (1943?):

2018 video explainer of the inception of the 349th Troop Carrier Group in 1943:

HARVEY: C-A-F DELIVERS AID WITH WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT (Unfortunately this restored C-47 crashed and burned not even a year after taking part in Hurricane Harvey relief ops)

Popular Mechanics explains “Why the DC-3 Is Such a Badass Plane”

To make an Iran Air ‘DC-3’ use the C-47 fuselage with the DC-3 interior. Iranian airliners were converted C-47s and retained the cargo doors.

Believe it or not, ESCI and Italeri kits are not the same.

The Italeri kit is larger and its fuselage has an oval or egg shape to the cross section. The ESCI kit looks like a down-scaled version of the 1:48 Monogram kit, with recessed panel lines instead of raised surface details. The now out of production ESCI kit is the better kit.

Incomplete model kit supply list: