Wow, hop out of the simulator, ride home in the jumpseat of a 757 and then go fly a DC-3 the next day.  Even my wife feels like she has to check this website to catch up on what's happening.

My dad came out on the all nighter to Boston and I picked him up on Monday morning for our 3rd attempt at flying the DC-3 on our transcon ferry flight.  This time we were in luck.  It seems after a whole lot of troubleshooting, the backfiring and popping of the right engine is gone.  At least all the troubleshooting gave me some time to shoot this video tour of the interior of the airplane. 

Before we take off, maybe we should first learn how to start a DC-3.  I made up this video to help me remember.  We departed Plattsburgh, NY in N877MG in the afternoon and made it to Rochester, NY just an hour before heavy rain began to fall there.  The flight was scenic as we passed over Lake Placid which was the former home of the winter Olympics.  We were only indicating 130 knots and we had a serious headwind that put us down to around 100 knots.  We were starting to wonder if the landing gear had crept down.  I think we put the gear lever up 3 times along the way. 

When you arrive at the FBO (airplane fuel and service facility) you tend to attract a bit of a crowd with this airplane.  Everyone was interested in the history of the airplane.  I guess you don't see a DC-3 flying every day, unless you're in San Juan, Puerto Rico, I suppose.

I managed to get some video along the way.  I'll eventually put that together and post it here or on YouTube at some point.  Right now, we're just interested in getting this airplane delivered.  Oh, and we might have some fun along the way.

Update:  Here’s a video clip of the landing in Rochester.