Photo by Steve Cukierski

To help honor the 75th anniversary of one of the most important and utilitarian airplanes ever flown—the Douglas DC-3—EAA is conducting a “Max Effort Day” on Tuesday, July 27. All DC-3s and the military variants C-47 and R4D that wish to be flown that day will make formation flights and aerial displays.

“This event will celebrate the legacy and people of an aircraft that played a massive part in the development of both civil and military aviation,” said Adam Smith, EAA vice president of membership. “Merging both ground and air operations into a single spectacle is sure to leave those in attendance with memories they’ll be able to share and recall for years.”

The DC-3’s diamond anniversary is one of the main themes at AirVenture this year, and there will be numerous other programs and activities conducted throughout the week. Here are a few of them:

• A very special DC-3/C-47 reunion evening at Theater in the Woods, Thursday, July 29, hosted by Ron Alexander and including special guests Jim Douglas, son of DC-3 designer Donald Douglas.
• Air show programs throughout the week to include a parade of classic airliners and a unique heritage flight that pairs the C-47 with the modern C-17 Globemaster.
• Appearances by the aircraft and stars of the hit Canadian reality TV series “Ice Pilots”, about Buffalo Airways—an airliner based out of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories that continues to use the DC-3 in daily passenger service. Included is a Monday evening program at Theater in the Woods.
• DC-3 movie screenings, including the John Wayne classic Island in the Sky at the Fly-In Theater.
• Numerous public forums related to the people, history, and operations of the DC-3.
• A major weeklong effort by the EAA Timeless Voices of Aviation team to capture and preserve the video oral histories of all people connected with the DC-3.
• An exclusive DC-3 community cookout hosted by Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh, which refurbishes DC-3s from its base at Wittman Regional Airport for continued use at locations around the world.
• A luncheon on Wednesday, July 28, in the museum’s Founders’ Wing for anyone who has ever been connected with the DC-3, including pilots, mechanics, flight crew, veterans, etc.

In addition, a rare DC-2 aircraft will be joining the assembly at Oshkosh, as well as a beautifully refurbished DC-7B aircraft.

Fewer than 100 remain airworthy in the United States, and 30–40 are expected at AirVenture.