DC-3s flying in the Amazon

Writes Tim McGraw :

This is a good video. It shows how radial engine maintenance is done in the Amazon. I helped do a twin-engine change on a DC-3 in the US Virgin Islands in 1983. We used the same old WWII lifting cranes. The engines and propellers are fairly easy to remove and install. It’s the engine overhauls that are expensive. To do it right by overhauling the engine, replacing all the hoses and accessories, with overhauled propellers, is about $250,000 for both engines. It could be more.

The flight time between overhauls is probably about the same as for the Pratt & Whitney R-985, which is 1600 flight hours. My guess is that these DC-3s fly their engines and propellers until something breaks, then they fix it, and fly it until something else breaks. It’s a risky way to fly, but it’s cheaper than a total overhaul.

Flying on these DC-3s over the Amazon is very risky business.

And yes, you have to watch out for the kids around the airplane.

The Best of Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.