After some months, the day in which we would fly finally arrived (Sunday the 7th of August). Weather forecasts looked bad for that day, but still I got up at 7am to head for the airport. We left our house at 8.00am and it only took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Schiphol as the roads where clear this morning. In contrary to what weather was predicted, it actually looked very good. Some overcast and showers but the sun also showed itself fairly often.
We did not need to get to the usual Schiphol terminal building, as check-inn for this historic flight would be at the KLM Jet Center (building 106) at Schiphol Oost (east). Because the arrival was still early, we waited in the car for 20 minutes until more people turned up and the building was opened. Check-inn would commence at 10.00am but ground crew said that they would have to wait for the captain’s decision for take-off, as the weather could be to tough for the aircraft to handle. But after the captain gave the go ahead, we checked-inn and paid for the flight, said goodbye to my mom and grandmother and went to the waiting area. We waited until around 10.45am when we walked to the bus that brought us to the beautiful DC-3 that we would be flying today. We passed the Dutch government Fokker 70 jet, and made our way to the DC-3 that looked nice and shiny. After stepping out of the bus there where some opportunities to make pictures and then I quickly got on board.
The Dutch Government jet, also used by the royal family (Fokker 70, PH-KBX)
Boarding the old lady (she has been delivered in 1944 to the USAAF);
Boeing B737-700BBJ was also standing on the ramp, preparing for the next mission. Would not mind to have one of these myself one day.
Boarding the historical aircraft.
Here is some basic data about the flight:
General Information:
Date: 07-08-2005
Route: Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS/EHAM) - Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS/EHAM)
Flight number: -
Aircraft:(Planned): DC-3C-SIC3G(DC-3)
Company: Dutch Dakota Association
Registration/Name: PH-DDZ “Doornroosje”
Captain: Mr/Ms Nanne Dijkstra
First Officer: Mr/Ms Lex Bosman
Height: 1500 feet
Distance: - miles / - km / - nm
Delay: -
Flight time:(Planned): 0 hr 48 mins( 0 hr 30 mins)
Departure:
Departure Gate/Bay: 106
Departure: (Planned): 10.57 h(11.00h)
Take-off: 11.06h
Runway: 04/22
In-Flight:
Cruise Speed (kts): 120 knots
Time Airborne: 0.33 mins
Seat: 4H
Arrival:
Touchdown: 11.39 h
Runway: 09/27
Arrival:(Planned): 11.45h(11.30h)
Arrival Gate/Bay: 106
F/A’s: 9
1) Appearence 9
2) Professionalism 9
3) Safety 9
4) Kindness 9
5) Service with a smile 9
6) Goes by regulations 9
7) Service 9
8) Overall experience 9
Date: 07-08-2005
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS / EHAM) – Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS / EHAM)
Flight number: DDA-DC3
Gate: KLM Jet Center 106
Aircraft: Douglas DC-3C-SIC3G PH-DDZ “Doornroosje”
Actual blocktime: 10:57 - 11:45
Flighttime:0 hour 48 minutes
Load factor: (25 passengers = 100%)
We took this route, a flight over “het groene hart”.
One thing you immediately will notice is that the aircraft sits at an angle (the DC-3 has a tail mounted wheel), so one really has to “climb” to its seat. As everyone sat down, the crew introduced themselves. There was one steward and one stewardess, and of course two pilots. The usual security briefing was given to the passengers, and after that the stewardess came around with sweets against the pressure (which was barely noticed by me). May I remind you that this lady has an unpressurized cabin, but we would not be flying that high today (1500 feet).
The engines where started and the aircraft taxied to the runway. On the taxiway the captain stopped the aircraft and spooled (or should I say “rumbled”) up the engines several times for testing. Then the moment came in which we took into the Dutch skies. Full power was applied and it did not take long until we where up and away into the Dutch skies. Winds where gusting at 5 knots, and those where noticeable in the aircraft very strong (and also my stomach noticed them, with a full airsickness bag as a result).
Take-off.
Overview of Schiphol.
Passengers could order and air certificate (vlucht certificaat) in advance, and so did we. The stewardess came around to hand them out, when one noticed that on every certificate the date was wrong. This would be resolved later, as they will send us the “right” ones afterwards. Well, then the moment came in which I needed to empty my stomach, but it was not too bad as I had not eaten anything this morning. My grandfather had a good laugh at me, as he had encountered more severe situations before. In 1947 he flew together with a colleague to Lyon (not as a pilot), because he was an army officer and his colleague knew the commanding officer of the air transport wing very well. After signing some paperwork, they where up and away for their fun-flights. On the way back they encountered a severe storm and afterwards my grandfather noticed the pilots puking under the wing, as they had drank too much of the French wine. No need to say the flight was utterly rough.
Anyway, I got up and headed to the stewardess to hand over my airsickness bag, and to get another one in case I needed them again. I was not the only one feeling that bad, another man was sweating (and throwing up) as hell. One great thing about this historical airline is that terrorism has not made this cockpits into fortresses, as the door was open the whole time to visitors. The ride was really bumpy, as we bumped around every now and then. When the cockpit was cleared of other visitors, I got into the cockpit and took some photographs. Chatting to the pilots was impossible at this stage, as it was loud on front and because they had their headphones on to cancel the noise. Btw, in the passenger cabin it is not that loud as one would expect it to be in these old machines, the humming sound of those old (sterling?) engines is just really admirable.
The cockpit of this old lady, some modern instruments can be seen but no glass cockpit here!
The cabin of this old bird seats 25 people.
I “walked” around the aircraft a bit, and the crew asked if I was feeling better now. I was for the moment, but what did I know that it would change again. After taking some pictures, I got into my seat again and when I sat down I could feel that I was becoming sick again. This time I managed to suck it all up. Then the fasten your seatbelt signs where lit up again and we descended to Schiphol again. The cockpit door was still open, and at some point the runway could be seen through the cockpit windows. Now that was what I call a steep descent. One really notices how sharp turns this aircraft can make and it’s really amazing. We touched down at runway 09/27 due to the crosswinds and had to wait until we crossed runway 04/22 before we would be heading to the platform we had left about 40 minutes earlier. As we disembarked the aircraft, I headed to the cockpit and asked the captain if he could fill out the blank fields in my aviation logbook. He was very friendly and it was no problem at all, but the steward came up to me and said that the bus was waiting. I quickly thanked the captain and the steward before I got down the stairs. The stewardess was standing in front of the plane and I asked if I could make a picture of her and the aircraft. No problem at all, and after taking the picture I got on the bus.
After landing at Schiphol.
The beautiful old bird with a beautiful young stewardess in front of it, this picture gives me some impression of the good old times.
The bus took us back to the KLM Jet Center, and we then headed towards the DDA hanger where we could get some drinks and where my mom and grandmother waited for us. Inside the hanger was the “PH-PBA”, the DDA’s other Dakota, which was the former private aircraft of Prins Bernhard of the Netherlands. I walked around the aircraft and shot many pictures of it, and I also could enter the aircraft to make a cockpit shot of the DC-3 (what a difference to the B747-400 cockpit I visited 1.5 week before!!).
The second DDA Dakota, the PH-PBA, is the former private aircraft of Prins Bernhard. This aircraft has the markings it wore when flying under his command (Prins Bernhard was an avid aviation enthousiast and pilotted this and many aircraft more himself). The aircraft will be flying to Mönchen-Gladbach to pose on a film set, it has to do something with Lufthansa's 50th anniversary.
The other DDA Dakota, the one I flew one, prepares for another sightseeing flight, but this time over the Dutch coast.
Conclusion: The DDA is doing a great job to keep this historical aircraft in an airworthy condition, and moreover to make it possible for the public to fly on those magnificent birds. One can feel that all the people related to the DDA are also enthusiast, and so where the passengers on the aircraft. This results in a very relaxed atmosphere, without all the stress that is involved in commercial flying nowadays. Spirits are high onboard the DDA DC-3, and I guess it somehow reflects the old days of flying. We where really lucky with the weather today, because it was fine at the moments that we where in the air. I enjoyed this special day of flying very much (even I was feeling if my stomach was imploding), and I highly recommend this special flying experience to everyone!
To the DDA I can say only one thing, keep up the good work!!
I hope that you all enjoyed this report, and if you have any questions and/or feedback that is always welcome and I will be happy to answer them.
More pictures can be found here:
http://coppermine.luchtzak.be/thumbnail ... 420&page=1
Expected soon:
- Flying the KLM Jumbo to/from China;
- Chinese domestic flying on China Xinhua and China Eastern;
, pity about the air sickness though 
