Flying in a Dakota

Aboard the 75-year old royal PH-PBA dakota

Oct. 19, 2019 - Willem L. Middelkoop

As a wonderful birthday gift I was honoured to fly in a DC-3 classic plane. It was the 75-year old PH-PBA, a C-47A Skytrain or Dakota, formerly owned by H.R.H. Prince Bernhard from The Netherlands. It's a very special plane operated by the enthusiastic people from the Dutch Dakota Association (DDA Classic Airlines). Read along for some aviation history!

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Inside the cabin you have a clear view into the cockpit as there is no door separating the pilots from the passengers

Volunteers preparing the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp aircraft engines for ignition

The tail wheel of the C-47-A PH-PBA is quite close to the ground when parked on the platform

Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial aero engine on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford (photo: Nimbus227)

The PH-PBA taking Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard to Belgium, May 1960 (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat)

PH-PBA wing over Friesland, the Markermeer on the horizon

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