If the history of aviation is a subject worthy of history in general, there is no aircraft more qualified to be part of it than the DC-3 Dakota, the longest-lived machine that has ever flown. This twin-engine propeller, produced in America between the ’30s and’ 40s of the last century, as well as in history appears in the breaking latest news: Avionews – World Aeronautical Press Agency reports that the Finnish Airlines company returns to use a DC-3 for flights of line in the summer season 2021. And it is not even an isolated case: about 170 of these Dakotas, despite the age of seventy and over, continue to fly around the world, not only in gatherings of rich nostalgic enthusiasts, but also for commercial or military use ; the use prevails for the transport of goods or people with the charter formula; but it appears that the Finnish Airlines DC-3 is absolutely the only one in the world used in 2021 for scheduled passenger flights.
The legendary DC-3 was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company to meet the needs of the nascent passenger air transport industry; it wasn’t quite the first airliner ever, but on its debut in 1936 it outclassed its few predecessors and set a new standard, launching the first season of mass air transport. A military transport version (called the C-47) was widely used during World War II, and the Dakota was also produced under license in the Soviet Union and Japan.
The DC-3, which now returns to regular service in Finland, is owned by the Airveteran company, which specializes in the preservation and survival of historic aircraft; the last scheduled flight of this specific machine dates back to 1967 and its very last take-off about twenty years ago.
The Soviet version of the DC-3 was named Lisunov Li-2. Its factory was first located near Moscow, then in 1941, to remove it from the clutches of the invading Nazis, it was moved to Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
A personal memory: the writer saw an example of DC-3 in Soviet sauce even further away, on the occasion of a reportage in the Russian Far East. 500 kilometers north of Vladivostok is a town called Kolsomolsk on the Amur, and this Siberian town is home to a factory of Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi. In this plant a joint-venture between Sukhoi and Leonardo began years ago to build a medium-range civil aircraft called Superjet 100 (later the Italian group left the company). And near the factory a Lisunov Li-2 makes a fine show (standing on the ground). Who knows that someday they won’t decide to fly it again.
