Gooneybird Groundschool
Article and
pictures by Evan "Crash" Wright
A few months ago, I read an article in “Plane and
Pilot”, about things pilots can do to keep flying “Interesting”, as if it
isn’t interesting enough already. The article listed several things such as
taking aerobatics or getting additional endorsements. The last suggestion
was getting a type rating, which is an endorsement the FAA requires pilots
to have to act as PIC of any aircraft over 12,500 lbs. Since there was no
way I could shell out the big bucks required for a type rating, I didn’t pay
much attention until I read it was possible to get a type rating in a DC-3.
I have always thought the DC-3, also known as the Gooneybird, Dakota,
Skytrain, R4D, and probably a lot of other names as well, was one of the
most beautiful airplanes ever built, so out of curiosity, I did a Yahoo
search. It turned out the school was at the at the Prairie Aviation Museum
(PAM) in Bloomington, Illinois! The web site mentioned that a one-day crash
ground school is held once a year in February. I emailed the museum to get
on their mailing list, and when the announcement for ground-school was sent
out at the beginning of January, I signed up right away. The museum even
booked a block of rooms at a nearby hotel for $30 each!
On the Friday before the class, I chucked a backpack and my
flight bag into my car so I could drive straight to Clow after work. The
flight from Clow to Bloomington was just over an hour, and was my first IFR
flight at night. Fortunately, I had been studying the two approaches for a
few days before the flight, so I would be familiar with them and didn’t have
any trouble.
Since all the pilots were staying at the same hotel, I had no
difficulty bumming a ride to the museum on Saturday morning. One thing that
impressed me was that people had come from all over the country to take this
class. The second thing that impressed me was that the museum facilities
were really top notch. The building was brand new, and there was a replica
of NASA mission control (with working computers stations linked by
intercoms) set up for school classes to execute simulated space missions.
The class started with the teachers introducing themselves followed by the
students. Most of the people in the room were high time airline pilots,
although there were a few mere mortals like me. When I finally got to
introduce myself, I told the class I had just cruised down from Chicago in
my “Glass-Cockpit” 152, which was good for a laugh. One guy in the back row
was a naval “Aviator”, which he pointed out meant that he was better than
just a mere pilot.
The lectures were all surprisingly entertaining, and were
interspersed with lots of amusing and exciting flying stories. We were each
given two very thick manuals, which we barely scratched the surface of. In
general, most of the systems on the DC-3 were surprisingly straightforward.
The one thing that really confused everyone was the landing gear. There are
actually 2 landing gear levers. One is called the “latch lever” and has 3
positions. It acts as a safety (somehow) for the regular gear lever (which
also has 3 positions). I am still completely confused, and am certain
everyone else is, too. The only slightly dry section was a lecture on Crew
Resource Management (CRM), which the airlines are huge on. Airline pilots
have to take CRM lectures every few months, so I think a lot of guys were
there to meet the requirement.
After the class was over around 4:30, we were allowed to go
over to the hangar where the DC-3 is stored. It was fun to sit in the
pilot’s seat and be able to recognize all the dials and switches. I had
another student take a photo, because that’s as close as I’ll ever get to
flying the Gooneybird.
Where To Now?
Safety? We DO Need That Steenkin' Safety!