Air Atlantique Forced to Ground Dakotas
June 14th, 2008 Posted in AirlinesAir Atlantique, who operate a number of historic aircraft out of Coventry Airport, have announced the premature retirement of their fleet of Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft due to the prohibitive expenses needed to make them compliant with new EU legislation.
Their website states:
On July 15th 2008, our faithful Dakotas will end their long and flawless passenger carrying duties. But this isn’t the comfortable retirement of respected old ladies; we know they have it in them to outlive us all - as anyone who’s flown in them will confirm.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, it’s spiralling regulations that have achieved what time couldn’t. European legislation has decreed that all passenger-carrying aircraft must comply with certain criteria - whatever their age. Some of these modifications would be prohibitively expensive; some are actually impossible to carry out on the DC-3.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been immensely supportive and helpful, and we’re grateful for the help they’ve given us. But time is passing, and it looks ever more certain that 16th July - the implementation date for the EU-OPS legislation - will see our Daks no longer allowed to carry passengers.
Dakotas have been synonymous with the Air Atlantique for a fair few years now, and hundreds of people have heard those Pratt & Whitneys making their unique music outside. We want to give as many people as possible this last chance to fly in the greatest airliner in history - the airliner that made flying profitable for the airlines, and safe and dependable for passengers.
The tour will see us bringing the Daks to airports throughout Britain. We’ll be asking you to join us for a commemorative flight, to hear the thunder of those great engines for what could be the last time.
It’s worth stressing at this point that we’re fully committed to anything that makes flying safer - as our safety record demonstrates. The EU-OPS legislation is well-intentioned, but it lays down requirements that are impossible or impractical for vintage aircraft.
Fitting oxygen masks to an aircraft that never flies high enough to use them, or equipping it with chutes to deliver passengers to the ground four feet below the exit door would be prohibitively expensive - even if the items were available.
Sadly, from July 15th, we have to withdraw the Daks from passenger flying
About the Douglas DC-3 Dakota
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Because of its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II, it is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made.
The DC-3 was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond, and first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk). The aircraft was the result of a marathon phone call from American Airlines CEO Cyrus Smith to Donald Douglas requesting the design of an improved successor to the DC-2. The amenities of the DC-3 (including sleeping berths on early “DST” — Douglas Sleeper Transport — models and an in-flight kitchen) popularized air travel in the United States. With only three refueling stops, eastbound transcontinental flights across the US taking approximately 15 hours became possible. Westbound trips took 17 hours 30 minutes due to typical prevailing headwinds - still a significant improvement over the competing Boeing 247. Before the arrival of the DC-3, such a trip would entail short hops in commuter aircraft, during the day, coupled with train travel overnight.
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