Old Airplanes

TRocket

TRocket

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Nov 10, 2014
Messages
983
Location
Huntersville, NC
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Display name:
Uncle Jesse
I'm assuming this is the right place to post this. I am just a student pilot, hope to have my PPL before long and fully understand I have A LOT to learn about aviation. For me it is a hobby at this point, but who knows? I just turned 28 last weekend but have always been fascinated by airplanes and anything that came before my time. Here is my question, what if down the road I want to learn to fly (Assuming am lucky enough to the opportunity to fly one) to get typed in say a DC-7 or DC-6 for example? I know there are a few of these planes still flying today but obviously this isn't a common thing by any stretch of the imagination. To me old planes like this are cool as hell and would some day love to get the opportunity. Any thoughts here?
 
You would need a PPMEL, type rating (not sure of any place that does DC-7 or DC-6 type ratings) and a buttload of money.
 
Hey, I've had the same thoughts. Curious to see where this thread goes.
I
 
As far as I know there isnt any places that offer type ratings in DC-6 or 7's. If your interested in DC-3's, your chances may be higher in one of those.
 
There exists a program that gives you a type rating in a Ford Trimotor. Again, wads of cash required.
 
steingar said:
There exists a program that gives you a type rating in a Ford Trimotor. Again, wads of cash required.
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Now that would be cool! If only money grew on trees :mad2:
 
Your best bet would be to get a job flying for a company that flies them. Otherwise I don't see it happening realistically.
 
Lower your sights a little. A Twin Beech is somewhat less unaffordable. Other radial engine throwbacks to the golden age of aviation are even more reasonable: C-195, Stearman, Stinson Gullwing, many others.
 
TRocket said:
I'm assuming this is the right place to post this. I am just a student pilot, hope to have my PPL before long and fully understand I have A LOT to learn about aviation. For me it is a hobby at this point, but who knows? I just turned 28 last weekend but have always been fascinated by airplanes and anything that came before my time. Here is my question, what if down the road I want to learn to fly (Assuming am lucky enough to the opportunity to fly one) to get typed in say a DC-7 or DC-6 for example? I know there are a few of these planes still flying today but obviously this isn't a common thing by any stretch of the imagination. To me old planes like this are cool as hell and would some day love to get the opportunity. Any thoughts here?
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Seems like a large waste of money, you'll not see any in service other than what are being crewed by the left over old timers.
 
Yeah what about those Beech 18's? The airport I fly at has a flight museum on field, that has connection with one. Pretty neat
 
I would presume that any DC-6 or 7 still flying would be used in some sort of an airshow act, rather than a flight op, but I could be wrong.
 
Ryanb said:
I would presume that any DC-6 or 7 still flying would be used in some sort of an airshow act, rather than a flight op, but I could be wrong.
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There are still working DC-6's in Alaska. Get your ratings, get up there in person, and work for it, is how I it was explained to me to get into them.
 
I've seen DC3s and 18s still being flown, there was a turbine DC3 job overseas a while ago, paid really well as I recall.
 
If you have the money. Any things possible,by the way welcome to POA.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
There are still working DC-6's in Alaska. Get your ratings, get up there in person, and work for it, is how I it was explained to me to get into them.
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Oh wow, I did not know that; that would be one awesome job!
So there you go OP, it surely is possibly for you to fly a DC-6!
 
Checkout beechtalk and get to Tullahoma TN for one of the bt fly ins. Then start begging for a ride in a beech 18.

Hey! This is what flying is about: enjoying an aircraft for exactly one reason - because it exists. And the only thing better sounding than one round engine is two!

Yep, bring a big checkbook...
 
Watch the Canadian series Ice Pilots NWT to get an idea of how difficult it would be to get and work an actual job flying a DC6 or a C18. You'd have to be extremely determined and even up there the gig is headed for an inevitable end as the high octane fuel to feed them is getting more and more scarce and difficult to obtain.
 
This guy was landing just ahead of me when I went to Sedona a few months ago - it can certainly be done if you have the cash!

lockheed.jpg
 
Start with getting a tailwheel endorsement and flying something with a round motor to learn how to operate them. A couple hundred hours in a Stearman, Waco or N3N will give you the good basic airmanship skills you need to fly the bigger airplanes. I love flying old airplanes and most of my time is in airplanes built before 1950. And what's with wanting to fly the big multi engine stuff when for less money you could get a type rating in a Sea Fury at Sander's or a P-51 at Stallion 51. Don
 
deyoung said:
(Oops - sorry about the image size!)
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No worries...I'll deal with the size, thank you for the great picture!

Did the guy know he was in a jet reserved parking space? :)
 
Nice to see a couple of fellow members here that are close to me in Tennessee ;)

When I lived in Denver, there used to be a company there that did type ratings in the DC-3. Can't remember the name of it and I'm not even sure they are still in business. Most anything you want to do IS possible...given the right amount of money for it. Aaron Tippin was just typed in the B-29.
 
deyoung said:
(Oops - sorry about the image size!)
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By the way that's not a Beech 18, it's a Lockheed Electra. Two easy ways to tell. Beeches have forks on the main gear where the Lockheed has an arm that goes around one side of the wheel alone. Then if you look at the horizontal stab (visible in this picture), the Lockheed horizontal stab protrudes through the vertical stab on the end. The beech 18 has no part of the horizontal outboard of the verticals.
 
TRocket said:
I'm assuming this is the right place to post this. I am just a student pilot, hope to have my PPL before long and fully understand I have A LOT to learn about aviation. For me it is a hobby at this point, but who knows? I just turned 28 last weekend but have always been fascinated by airplanes and anything that came before my time. Here is my question, what if down the road I want to learn to fly (Assuming am lucky enough to the opportunity to fly one) to get typed in say a DC-7 or DC-6 for example? I know there are a few of these planes still flying today but obviously this isn't a common thing by any stretch of the imagination. To me old planes like this are cool as hell and would some day love to get the opportunity. Any thoughts here?
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Nope, not common, however not impossible either. There are still operators using these planes who will train you for the rating to make some extra money. They aren't cheap however. :lol:
 
That's one of the nice things arriving in an antique or warbird. You get parked in front and if you are overnighting almost always get offered a free hangar. Don
 
deyoung said:
(Oops - sorry about the image size!)
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If you save it from where it is, you can then use the attachments on the top bar of the WYSIWYG box. With that it puts a thumbnail in the post that people can click on o get the full size image without disturbing the thread format. I'm not sure why POA hasn't adopted an auto sizing routine, but I don't know enough about the system to understand.
 
Really old means really expensive to maintain. And very frustrating because you cant find the parts.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Really old means really expensive to maintain. And very frustrating because you cant find the parts.
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If you can't find the parts you just have to make them. With the new Laser scanner/ CADCAM technology anything can be reproduced fairly inexpensively. Don
 
Thanks for all the input on this guys. Some really good information here. Hope to have my PPL soon, then on to instrument rating. I am definitely interested in the tail wheel endorsement. Hopefully down the road I will be able to make it happen
 
TRocket said:
I'm assuming this is the right place to post this. I am just a student pilot, hope to have my PPL before long and fully understand I have A LOT to learn about aviation. For me it is a hobby at this point, but who knows? I just turned 28 last weekend but have always been fascinated by airplanes and anything that came before my time. Here is my question, what if down the road I want to learn to fly (Assuming am lucky enough to the opportunity to fly one) to get typed in say a DC-7 or DC-6 for example? I know there are a few of these planes still flying today but obviously this isn't a common thing by any stretch of the imagination. To me old planes like this are cool as hell and would some day love to get the opportunity. Any thoughts here?
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Sounds like we have alot in common. I have always loved old airplanes and in my opinion, the DC-6B is possibly the most beautiful airplane ever built.

As others have pointed out, yes, there are operators out there still flying the old beasts although with every year, they continue to dwindle. There are still some in AK and Canada and also Florida Air Transport still operates a DC-4 and DC-6 in FL/CA as oil spil dispersion airplanes. Up until a few years ago, FAT had several DC-4-7s flying cargo out of Florida to the Caribbean.

Because the number of operators is so small these days, you pretty much need to get hired by them in order to get the type rating. You are still young and if you haven't started a family yet, I'd say go finish the PPL and build the time to get your IR/COMM and Multi-rating. Then contact the guys like Everts, Buffalo Airways and FAT and see if they will hire you. If they do, enjoy the experience while you can.

There was an outfit (might have been FAT) that did offer type ratings in DC-3/4/6/7, but that was a few years ago.

I was already active duty Navy and married when I started flying, so going off to the frigid north to fly cargo was never a real option for me. Instead I sought out opportunities to fly old things wherever I could find (DC-3s, B-25, T-6s...etc). Old airplanes can be affordable if you only fly them a few hours a year.
 
Build up your skills and experience so that other people will let you fly their airplanes. I get to fly some fun airplanes but I do help with maintenance and they are always cleaner and full of fuel when I get done flying them. I just got my A&P after 30 years of working on these things so I just got more popular. Don
 
Another way is get involved with a CAF squadron and/or sponsoring a plane (not as much as you my think). This comes with access and gets you specialized training, and that opens doors to having other people have you fly their planes.
 
Henning said:
Another way is get involved with a CAF squadron and/or sponsoring a plane (not as much as you my think). This comes with access and gets you specialized training, and that opens doors to having other people have you fly their planes.
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True, although the CAF minimums are fairly high before you can fly.

I am a member and have a love-hate relationship with the CAF. I love that they keep old birds flying, but the rules have become rather excessive. I don't blame the current administration - it is the unfortunate result of decades of cowboying around with rare airplanes. They are trying hard to clean up the wild west reputation. There is an old joke that the CAF has destroyed more allied aircraft than Germany and Japan combined. While an obvious exaggeration, there is an unfortunate reality behind it.
 
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