A Ride in a DC-7

[jdoran]

My wife and I rode on the restored DC-7 in Opa Locka Florida last month.

We went from Miami to Key West just for the day, returned the same afternoon. We didn't have any "leftover" runway either landing or taking off!

The cockpit was open after takeoff, the crew was fun to be with.

Here is a video I took out of the window during takeoff out of Key West. The temp was 99 degrees!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjHTpH5ECP4

[jim cooper]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

How many on board? That ole girl burns some serious fuel! They must own a refinery! Yes! they did eat up some runway. Thanks. JC

[lfries]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

Several trips across the USA in my Navy Days in a DC-7. Once in a Connie.

[Larry Lyons]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

Talking about longgggggggg trips, while in the Navy we flew a C-54 set up with aluminum benches down each side, from Chicago to San Diego, round trip. No seat cushions, just depressions in the bench for your ass. Out west somewhere the head winds had us down to where the Gray Hound bus below was making better time then we were. We took a squadron of S-2 Trackers out for submarine hunting practice. Good thing the Commies didn't come in by sub, we would not have seen them until they knocked on the door!
L

[N96337]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

Nothing like the song of Curtiss Wright! Thanks for sharing!
John

[magman]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

LL

You're not complaining about more time in a GREAT aircraft are you?

While the C-54 appears anemic by modern standards it offered quite a step up from the C-47, VC-117, R4D ?, DC-3 ,Goon, etc.


"Real men fly THROUGH the weather; NOT OVER it?"

[jim cooper]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

Star of the Berlin Airlift! Great airplane! JC

[Bird]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

My dad used to fly a "Connie" at his last duty station with the USAF out of Rome, NY, where he did alot of flight testing of photographic equipment in the Adirondack Mtns in NYS. We were part owners of a hunting camp there and 1 day while "testing" the equipment at the hunting camp he saw my uncle and another friend mowing the grass and decided to give them a low pass.
Afterward as my uncle was picking himself up off the ground all he said was "pretty damn low when you can smell the exhaust"

[magman]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

I seem to recall the USAF pax version had aft facing seats.

[mikeg]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

You should have seen my Dad go from a C-54 (MATS) to a '41 T-Craft. Wish he was still here to joke with about it.
Mikeg
AKA-Air Force Brat
:-)

[Bird]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

I can just imagine-lol some of the stuff that my dad and his friends did while in upstate NY are still the talk of that town--ie the night of the ufo! (dad never gave a low pass at night with landing lights again), the one time he came in for a pass and saw my brother and I along with the rest of the football team practicing at the high school--just as my side kicked off he came over the trees straight at us- we got mowed over as the other side didn't see him coming and unknown to us there was a teacher confrence going on directly behind us(according to a George Sullivan, science teacher, he never saw so many people vacate a room that fast in his life-they saw him headed directly at them and that was all it took), the town barber swears that his picture window was broken when that plane broke the sound barrier- the day that 2 of his buddies gave us a show in a cannabera b-57 twin engine jet bomber- giving us a 20 minute acrobatic show--that my dad got on 8mm film which also earned him $500 if he didn't show it again to anyone near the base that showed the tail numbers of the AC-about the pass he made on my uncle at the hunting camp he always said it was probably his best, his CO commander who was right seat told him if he was 1 foot lower he would have taking the controls-dad figured he had 4 feet between wingtips between the trees and 3 below proptips to the lower trees-and my uncle never saw him comming which is why he had to pick himself up after he bailed off the lawmower, for 3 years after he retired our hunting camp recieved numerous low passed from any number of different AC from fighters to transports, it was really nice to be out in the woods and all of a sudden out of no where a fighter would pass over (treetop) then loop up and waggle then drop straight down at us ( we could be spotted real easy with the snow and us wearing blaze orange)-they knew that this was our camp and it was better than a phone call.

[mikeg]

Re: A Ride in a DC-7

He also once said NEVER to buzz. BUT if you do - do it real good the first time and DON"T COME BACK, JUST KEEP GOING.