The Dakota Association of South Africa

C/N 12026

ZS-DRJ Comair

Photograph: Peter Wonfor

C/N 12026

C/N 12026

C/N 12026

C/N 12026

C/N 12026

C/N 12026

C/N 12026

Photograph: Paul Potgieter

C/N 12026

Photograph: Paul Potgieter

C/N 12026

Photograph: Karel Zaayman

C/N 12026

Photograph: Karel Zaayman

C/N 12026

Photograph: Karel Zaayman

C/N 12026

Photograph: Karel Zaayman

C/N 12026

Photograph: Karel Zaayman

A legend gets resurrected from the long grass gravesite.

By Erns Conradie

Recently, Gert de Klerk, DC-3 legend pilot/engineer/rebuilder/converter/owner, purchased ZS-DRJ, the old Comair DC-3 with the Egoli emblem, which had been parked in the long grass areas of Rand Airport for the last 13 years.

He got hold of legendary DC-3 engineer Mike Conyngham and tasked him with getting the DC-3 airworthy to ferry over to Wonderboom where she will get taken apart again and properly serviced to full airworthy status. This took him about a month and by the end of January, she was ready. Engines were run up twice and all circuits, pumps, and systems worked fine.

Rand Airport, Saturday, 30 January 2010. Oom Gert, Mike and I arrived at the aircraft, fit borrowed batteries (because the plane had been run up with ground power), just to find out the batteries don’t work. The batteries were checked and found healthy. So we got hold of an electrical engineer. He said a relay broke, but he can’t find it at the usual place so we all start unscrewing panels all over the plane to look for it. Two hours later, we find it under the floorboard below the first passenger row - of all places. He doesn’t have the spares but rewire the ground power relay to batteries and we’re good to go.

Starting up. Wow, no problems. She starts like she’s been flying every day. After the engines warmed up, we switched on the generators (the switches are in the baggage compartment so I have to unbuckle and climb out of my seat to reach them). The generators only work from about 1400rpm and you can only get that sort of rpm with hot oil otherwise the oil pipes burst. No charge. This is bad news even for a ferry, because the propellers feather using electrical power and a lot of it so we can’t trust batteries which are depleting on the flight and has been used for the start as well. I get up again and flick the switches a couple of times and later Mike gets in to help. Nothing. Then I found 2 switches behind the Captain seat with no name or placard. I try them. Still nothing. Then suddenly, one of them jumps online. Now for the radios, and yes they work.

After a radio call for taxi, we taxied to runway 29. Although 35 was in use and the DC-3 has no problems using 35, we decided to use runway 29 because it is a bit longer and the possibility of a rejected take off is rather bigger than normal. This is after all the aircraft’s first flight in 13 years! At the holding point we do a proper run-up. The engines are running beautifully and there is hardly an rpm drop when we checked the magnetos. With the before takeoff checks done, we get told to line up and wait.

We are cleared for take off. Mixtures to auto rich and Oom Gert gently opened the throttles to a modest 35 inches MP at 2700rpm. Temperatures and pressures in the green and unbelievably the same for both sides, he let go of the brakes and we’re off. At 30 knots, the tail jumped in the air and at 85 knots we’re airborne just after the 35 intersection. Positive climb, gear up. I check outside for the wheel coming up and the engine cowling is glittering in the sun without any oil or smoke.

Oom Gert asked for climb power after which I adjust the throttles to 31 inches with 2100rpm. She sounded sweet. Oom Gert confirmed that the aircraft flew good enough to spend another 5 minutes here so I asked the tower for a fly-past/runway inspection as requested by the Dakota Association. We turned final for 35 and kept about 100 feet and 130 knots to minimize stress on the airframe and have a bit in the bank for his old bird.

The flight to Wonderboom carried on without any hitch. We climbed to 7500 feet and set cruise power to 27 inches 2000rpm with the mixtures to auto lean. At Woodmead we flew alongside the N1 past Grand Central Airport and then along the R28 between Waterkloof and Swartkop. We joined left hand downwind for runway 29 at Wonderboom and with no traffic around, were on final approach in no time. The wheels extended on schedule and with flaps set to 45 degrees, we were good to land and what a greaser it turned out to be! We easily made the turnoff just after runway 24 and taxied to the hanger without any hiccups.

After we put all the covers on and locked the aircraft, I walk to Oom Gert’s car where he had just got off the phone with his girlfriend. “They don’t get it you know…. This is the safest aircraft in the world – that’s why they still work commercially after 75 years. She should rather worry about us driving back now!”

Spot on, I think to myself. I started flying 16 years ago at Oom Gert’s flying school, Tropair Training, and at long last got to fly with the legend in a legendary aircraft. I got to be the luckiest person in the world.