THE LAST DC-3 I was on belonged to Mudhole Smith’s Cordova Airlines, on a trip to Cordova to visit family there. The plane was stripped down to the bare fuselage, half the seats had been removed to make room for cargo, and an army blanket had been stretched across the center of the plane, from behind which came cheeping sounds. The cheeping increased in volume every time we hit a bump, which, since there was a lot of turbulence that day, was often. Now and then, after a series of particularly brisk bumps, little yellow feathers would float up over the army blanket and land in my lap. We all landed safely and as I recall pretty much on time, and it has remained one of my favorite memories of the good old Gooney Bird ever since.

This is a story about a completely different kind of flight. It’s on board a DC-3, all right, but the ride—well, Aladdin never had a ride like this.

Alaska Traveler Chatter alaska DC-3 Era Aviation Gooney Bird