How To Fly On A 78-Year-Old Douglas Dakota Aircraft In The Netherlands
, 2022-10-12 07:00:00,
The famous Douglas DC-3 is well known for having been the most produced commercial aircraft in history. This is largely thanks to the number of military versions built that later saw civil use, such as the C-47 ‘Dakota.’ Even today, you can still fly on certain examples, including one based in the Netherlands.
A brief history of the aircraft involved
These flights are run by the Dutch Dakota Association, also known as DDA Classic Airlines. The particular Dakota that this group flies bears the registration PH-PBA, and, according to data from FlightRadar24.com, is an impressive 78 years old. Data from ATDB.aero shows that it began its career with the US Air Force (USAF).
According to DDA, the aircraft was placed into storage in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany after the Second World War. Shortly afterward, it was purchased by the Dutch Prince Bernhard, and it was re-registered as PH-PBA (with the latter component of the registration reportedly standing for Prins Bernhard Alpha).
Having been bought in February 1946, its ownership was transferred to the Dutch state in March 1947, and it thus became a government aircraft. Although it retired from these duties in 1961 to be replaced by a Fokker F27 ‘Friendship,’ it stayed active until 1975, with Dutch aviation regulators using it as a calibration aircraft.
In preservation
More than two decades later, in 1996, the Prince Bernhard Alpha Foundation came into existence. This…
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