The oldest Douglas DC-3 airplane still flying, the Flagship Detroit DC-3, will be on display at the Purdue University Airport June 24-25.
The Purdue University community is invited to the airport between 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m, Monday, June 24, to tour the airplane and learn firsthand about its important history.
The tours will open to the public from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., Monday, and from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday. Admission is free. Parking is available in the parking lot near the airport terminal and the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building (campus parking map).
After it began active service in 1936, the Douglas DC-3 was credited with helping passenger-carrying flight become profitable for the first time. As World War II started, many civilian DC-3s were converted to military aircraft.They were used along with the military version of the airplane, the C-47, during many successful Allied campaigns during the war (D-Day, Guadalcanal, Battle of Bastogne and others) and later as part of the Berlin Airlift.
The Flagship Detroit DC-3 is owned and operated by the Flagship Detroit Foundation. Purdue alumnus Tom Taff, who graduated from the professional pilot program in 1971, will pilot the aircraft to Purdue from the Dayton, Ohio, Airshow. The airplane rolled off the production line 76 years ago on March 2, 1937, and it has been restored to its original American Airlines 1937 form.
The Flagship Detroit is a non-profit membership organization and will be selling memberships ($150) during the public viewing.
Flagship Detroit Foundation
The mission of the Flagship Detroit Foundation is to honor the men and women who built, maintained and flew these early commercial aircraft during the dawn of passenger aviation. The Foundation believes that its mission is best accomplished by maintaining the Flagship Detroit in flying condition; taking Detroit to the people and allowing them to experience the sight and sound of this aircraft in flight.