DOUGLAS AIRLINERS - Part 2 of 3, The Great Douglas 4-Engine Propliners 

I flew in a DC-4 on a charter flight operated by Maritime Central Airways from Vienna to Moncton NB (Canada) with over 60 other Hungarian refugees in 1957. So this airplane has a special place in my heart. We made two fuel stops - in Prestwick and Keflavik.

I flew as a passenger in a US Navy C-54 in 1967 on a reserve flight from Roanoke, Va,., to Willow Grove, Pa. to Norfolk, VA, with a return to Roanoke a few days later. Seating was a canvas bench along the sides of the plane, with rubber plugs in the windows for ventilation, along with a plywood floor. In 1979, I had a flight in a Colombian DC-6 cargo plane from Barranquilla to Miami (I was a vice-consul and my boss asked me to fly along to make sure that the line was legit.). Plywood floor again, with a flight engineer who kept looking out of the windows with a flashlight to see how much oil the engines were throwing. The plane's cargo consisted of three engines being transported to Miami for overhaul. At the time, the cargo lines considered the DC-6 the most efficient cargo carrier. Others used in the area were the C-46 and C-47. One of my more interesting tasks was to track down the identity of a crashed plane that had been coming in to pick up a drug shipment. The only piece given to the consulate was a metal plate showing a part serial number. We managed to identify the aircraft as a former USAF C-118 (DC-6). Another interesting Douglas plane was a confiscated DC-7 sitting on the ramp at the Barranquilla Airport, which had been captured by the Colombian Army when it landed carrying a cargo of children's toys to be traded for drugs. I am retired now and only see these planes in museums.

During the 90's I was a flight Engineer on DC-6's for NAC in AK. The Six is one of the finest machines to ever take flight, designed by smart men using slide rules. The saying that we had at that time was, The DC-6 was the best prop liner Douglas ever built, combined with the best piston engines that Pratt & Whitney ever built.

I was an aviation crazy kid in the 50’s, and my very first flight was on an Eastern DC-7B from Bradley-Hartford to Philly. Only an hour flight but I was in Seventh Heaven. I still have my ticket and Golden Falcon envelope along with a half-dozen old B&W snapshots my dad took of me deplaning. What a memory, and how nice to revisit it through this great video featuring the very same type aircraft. Oh, and in 1968 in the Air Force I had the opportunity to catch an instrument training flight from Langley to Colorado Springs in a C-54.

Ahh, I love those old birds. I worked at United Air Limes SFO maintenance center back in the 60s on those DC-6s. They were very dependable machines. And fairly easy to work on. I did sheetmetal/structural repair on them until they were retired in 1969.

Thanks for a really great video and the wonderful memories it conjured. My first flight at 14 was on a DC-3. The male flight attendant passed around a basket of Chiclets chewing gum to help relieve our ears in the unpressurized cabin. 3 years later we flew to SFO on a DC-6 with a semi-circular lounge in the aft of the cabin, where the hostess (that’s what they were called in the 50’s) sat with us & played cards. Several years later we returned from the UK to the U.S. on a Pan Am DC-7B. I turned 21 on that flight & while I was writing in my travelogue at midnight, the steward wearing a white jacket & black bow-tie set a martini in front of me. My birth date was listed on his manifest. Those were the days.

I grew up in Park Ridge, IL which was just east of Chicago's O'Hare Field. I recall the old Chicago-Douglas plant that built most of the Douglas C-54 Skymasters (all the C-54Ds). The main assembly facility, located at the far northeast side of O'Hare, was a long, mostly wooden structure with a classic "saw-tooth" factory roof. As a little six year old kid I was able to get an inside view of this plant when after the 1964 Armed Forces Day aircraft display at the military section of O'Hare, my dad lifted me up to look through one of the windows of this huge assembly hall. The whole place was completely empty! Not a machine in sight. I remember being disappointed. Turns out after WWII all the jigs, tools, machines and C-54 parts were packed up and sent to Canadair at Montreal, QC to build the DC-4M/Northstar. The whole complex was torn down about 1966.

Flew on the prop airliners and loved it very much. Never ever had a mishap of any sort that I can remember. No matter which airline you flew, all were top notch people and the ground crews were too. Sure miss the sound of those big radials.

In 1965 our family of 6 flew on vacation Vancouver-Reykjavik-Gatwick 18 hrs on Dan Air DC-7. I think of how thrilling it must have been for my parents. 8 years earlies my family immigrated to Canada arriving in NY on an ocean liner. On the flight I was 4 years old, vague memories only. So I can say I have flown trans-Atlantic on a prop airliner! and I'm only 60! Thank you for the history of DC 7 prop airliner.

Another excellent job Mike. I never grow tired of seeing and learning about Douglas propliners.

My father worked with American Airlines in the 1950s. I flew on DC3s often from Washington National Airport to up state New York. I still remember them doing "run-ups" at the end of the runway prior to take off. Real meals and great flights.

Man, I LOVE everything about your RU-vid videos! Nothing fancy, just chock full of interesting info, interesting pics/clips, and a no nonsense voice over delivery. Very well done!!

I’m realizing this morning that I’ve had a huge gap in my air history from 1945 to 1958! I’ve always thought first about the Connie and 707. Douglas was a huge player and now I’m up to speed! Have a need to see The High and Mighty complete without commercials. 😊

As the story goes,when Eddie Rickenbacker of Eastern was told about Capital painting squares around DC-4 windows,He replied that the next thing they would do is to paint faces on the windows to make it look like they were carrying passengers.

The Connie DID start life as an airliner, an idea and request of Howard Hughes that was taken over by the military at the outbreak of war, that was the 049

On Lan Chile DC-6 Panama to Miami, in middle of Carribean, #2 blew in fireball w/one bottle put-out, #3 blew in fireball w/both bottle put-out, then #4 just died in pity for it's buddy. Mid-Ocean, #1 lone soldier, stewardess crew gave ditching instructions in English, Spanish, & French, & we struggled on. Approached Cuba & MIG 15 materialized off each wing. I only 9, waved to Pilot, passengers freaked, but he just waved back. Suddenly, rt. MIG zoomed up, over, & behind, but other MIG followed quick. I believe had shoot-down orders, but lt. MIG didn't like it, so they zoomed left of Liner & fought it out until rt. MIG took up his station with lt. MIG following suit. Nearly out of power, we cleared Cuba, MIGs came back w/lt communicating with our Capt, then driving out in front, buddy buddied up astern, & we were Push/Pulled to Miami. Huge flotilla out by Airport wantin' to see the big crash at dawn, but Capt & MIG Pilots disappointed. MIGs broke off last minute, plane struggled over landing light gantries with #1 still at full supercharger, & we dropping gear as cleared last. Gear locked and half second later landed on grass of threshold. We rolled a bit but then bumped up on Foote of runway, & Capt announced, '"Welcome to Miami!" MIGs outta gas circled, landed over us, and taxied back to say. "HI". Pilot from lt. spoke Russian & Spanish but Buddy spoke only Spanish. Passengers, crew, & Pilots all went to Souvenir Shop, so Dad paid for MIG Pilots & they bought a lot of stuff to remember when!! MIGs, gassed up, so left in magnificent takeoff, but 20 minutes later USAF appeared "to save us"!! 15 min later, State Dept Reps showed up in DC-3 to help with "rescue". They took our sht, and balked when hit my DOD Top Secret Security Clearance Card in billfold, and then Dad had one too!! No passengers, crew, nor Pilots could remember seeing a MIG that morning, which I'm sure didn't agree with Airport Personnel. Dad handed card with just phone number on it to SOS honcho, & asked him to dial asking for Dwight. He started speaking with, "Have trio of spies down here in Miami blah, blah,blah....ah what.....both Erwin Schmidts...and guy's Wife. Well, we were just doing our jobs Sir....ask Wife for cookies?" Honcho most tamed, asked Mom if would have Boys drop off 5 doz peanut butter cookies at earliest convenience. Mom scared shtless, just nodded, so he continued, "Cookies baked upon return home, Boys happy to deliver, and they'll be starting back in a couple minutes! Thanks for taking my call, Mr. President...no there'll be no further troubles, and apologize for interrupting your breakfast, Sir. Poor bass turd neutered, fell back in chair, then escorted us to luggage pick-up, told Dad to drive carefully, and we were off!! DC-6 so powerful it can make destination even if doesn't have enough energy or power to do it! Now that's an airplane!! And Yes, Ike got 7 doz cookies in about a week. I was jet aircraft designer for DOD, and therefore for Ike, so he loved explanation of return trip from Panama. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed...then told us DOD & CIA were investigating Ruskies having some type of cloaking device, as pair of MIGs had appeared and then disappeared before their eyes. Ahh, I didn't see anything....did you???

One of the first flights I took was on a DC-6. I remember that I could see fire from the exhaust ports. After that trip, it was almost always on a jet.

This is thoroughly delightful, Mike. Thanks for your work! My father was a aeronautical engineer with “Douglas Aircraft,” which of course later became McDonnell-Douglas. He was a principle engineer in cargo systems. His prides & joys were the DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, and the C-17. Cheers, sir.

My visceral reaction as a 10yo boy to the sound of the DC-4's engines, having first sampled DC-6's owned by United and Universal, was, "Holy S*** I'm never riding in one of those". The R-2800 ran with such grace and authority and confidence you just knew you would get there.

I consider myself very fortunate. In 1959 on our way to join my father in Germany [He was in the US Army] we took off from Peterson Field in Colorado Spring in a Vickers Vicount to Stapleton in Denver. There we boarded a DC7c and flew to Chicago and then on to New York for a three day stay at FT. Hamilton. Then we boarded a Mats DC6b a LaGuardia and flew over night to refuel at Shannon Ireland and then on to Reinmain in Frankfort. Quite an adventure for a 12 yr old airplane nut. Thee years later we came back on a DC8. Those were some of the best years of my life.

Fascinating presentation, sir. It appears we both are from the round engine era and can appreciate just how stunningly beautiful these queens of the sky truly were. Alas, every aircraft we fly aboard already has its replacement on the drafting table.

Mike: I encourage you put together a video history that focuses on the Douglas DC-6, as I consider it to be the first modern airliner that had it all together in its standard production configuration: pressurization, air conditioning, constant-cross-section fuselage, hot-wing de-icing, cruise speed of more than 300 mph, tricycle landing gear, weather radar, and doppler radar (eliminating the need for navigators). (And please correct me if I am wrong about any of those.)

Mesmerizing historical data and photos. Fabulous, Mike.

Very good instructive video. Thanks for your work. These were the common airliners (along with the Connie) that graced the skies over my Kansas home as a kid. We were located about 60 miles west of the Kansas City MKC Airport, so I was looking up most of the time. Later, when I started flying, I purposefully chose flights with DC-6 & 7 and Convair 440 service just for the fun of it, knowing I would spend the rest of my future years flying on jets. The prop flights were always relaxed and had a local feel to them. A 1966 Central Air Lines 440 hop from KC to Little Rock thru Springfield, MO with about 10 business and salesmen types and the lone stewardess sat with us and even had a couple drinks and smoked along with the pax. She was probably mid '30s and had been doing these flights for many years, appeared to be acquainted with several of the middle age men passengers. I was reporting to my first Navy duty station at NAS Jacksonville, FL. Never forgot this flight.

Your content rocks...your narration and research and pictures takes us back...thank you soo much for posting.

If anyone has a chance to visit Goodyear Airport in west Phoenix, the very last Douglas prop liner ever made, a DC-7C originally delivered to KLM, is there. It’s visible from the surrounding road. It appears intact and well preserved. Thank you for a wonderful series of videos, Mike!

Excellent! Nice mid week treat--thanks!

I love this video especially the beautiful high definition images. I am old enough to remember seeing and hearing these planes at nearby Laguardia Airport as a child in the late 50s and early 60s. I think the sound of four radial piston engines planes is getting extremely rare but I was lucky to experience it by way of a flight on a B-24 at Republic Airport (Long Island) in 2014 which I did as a tribute to my father who was a crew member on one during the Second World War. Thank you for sharing this!

For years i used to watch old 4 engine dc aircraft converted to fire fighting duty fly out of Abbotsford, BC Canada. Loved those piston jobs.

My father was chief tooling engineer at Douglas Aircraft Santa Monica he told that the DC6 DC7 DC8 AND the DC 9 was the best passenger Air craft built. I grew up close to the Douglas plant in Santa Monica some of the still pictures are amazing no houses and a short runway . ..great video thanks

Wow!!! Just subscribed. Absolutely amazing how you present these vids. Well done! Appreciate your passion and knowledge. Keep ‘em coming!!!

You definitely know your prop airliners. Already watched your part 3 first since I worked and was a crewmember on the jets in part 3. Glad someone is still passionate about the 4 engine DC prop airplanes. The golden days of passenger flying.

Love “The High and the Mighty”....the clip of Wayne slapping the Captain, played by Robert Stack, is still shown today when teaching CRM (Crew Resource Management).

🤩 Beautiful footage - oh, to go back in time and experience this!🤩

Great video...thank you...😊

Another great video of the great airline’s that used to be and the great plane’s of the time. Great photos.

June 1965, a Delta DC-7B became my second aircraft type. We flew DCA-CLT-ATL. First class was really First Class back then. I enjoyed it. That long weekend had two "one-and-only" rides. The other was a DC-3 on Southern Airways. But, the CAE-CLT-DCA ride was the first of many Electra trips I'd take over the next two years...

Love this stuff...brings back memories of flying for the first time when I was 11 years old. It was a Lan Chile DC6 or B. I wish I knew more .

Fond memories, took a flight with TAA from Adelaide South Australia,to Darwin Northern Territory . Beautiful DC 6 aircraft. Beautiful and friendly air hostesses. Back to Adelaide SA week later , same airline, same DC 6 aircraft same crew . Missed those days !

As a aircraft mech in the early 80s@BOS , South side ramp, I happened to look over toward Easterns terminal and saw an amazing sight! A PBA DC-3, a Zantop DC-6, a United DC-8, a Eastern DC-9 and an American DC-10! On the taxi-way. Only missing a 4 & 7. Took a photo with a little 110 Kodak I carried. They weren't in line by number, but the Doug's were only broken up by another Eastern (whisper!!jet) 727, yeah real quiet! I did contact work at the time and worked PBA, Air North's DC 3 frieghters and Zantop Electra's and DC 6s when they came in,. Those were days work was fun! And greasy! The end of an era, glad I didn't miss it

Very informative and great pictures. In 1946 Santa Fe railroad started Santa Fe Skyway with the DC-4. It lasted until 1948

What a well produced, nostalgic and entretaining video, one of your best. You put me "there" I could almost hear the engines and smell the coffee... The DC-7C is my fav. prop liner, my grandma had a collection of Reader's Digest from the 50s and often I saw a Douglas, one page commercial with a Seven Seas that was pushed by two big hands just behind the engines... it spoke about the speed and power... Never forget that image.

I flew on a MATS C-118 from NellIs AFB [NV] to Langley AFB [VA] in 1974. The seats were set up backwards. She flew pretty low, about 10,000 feet. I noticed the inboard starboard engine was spewing long red/purple tongues of flame. I mentioned this to the AF MSgt sitting next to me, ''Oh yeah. Number 3's running rich, '' and went back to his book. Long flight. Fuel stop in TX. On arrival at Langley, I caught an expensive taxi ride to NAS Norfolk. Next morning, I got a hop on a Navy C-9 NightIngale to my PCS duty station, MCAS Cherry Point NC. The C-9 was convertible: Forward was one pallet with 9 seats, behind that it was empty as Jonah's Whale's belly -- just a sea of deck rollers. Fast hop, pro crew.

My dad was the Chief Check Engineer for the DC6B at Pan Am. He started on the Boeing 314 and his last equipment was the DC8. I got to "fly" (on autopilot) a DC6B as a 12 year old when my dad took me up to the cockpit to meet the crew - that'w when flying was truly an adventure - I miss it terribly.

One of my early memories, enhanced by conversations with my mom was of flying from London to NY in 1958 on a Pan Am DC-7. Most notable in my memory of the flight were the exhaust flames being thrown by the Turbo Compound engines, just outside the windows. Also interesting was flying on an Eastern Airline Super Constellation later that month from Idyllwild to San Francisco.

Looking very nice. Thank you for sharing.

Oh, Mike, thank you. Great video and someone else who says "Life imitates Art"! Like with so many technologies, the Douglas piston airliners were perfected on the eve of their obsolescence.

Another first class presentation. Keep up the excellent work!

I loved prop planes the sound of them the fire and smoke when they start the engines the sound you hear from a prop plane up in the sky as a kid I remember flying in one 4 prop and I’m glad small cargo companies they still fly them .

My family flew from LAX to HNL and then on to Pago Pago, American Samoa on a Pan American DC-7C in 1961. I was almost five years old at the time. Two years later we flew back to the United States on a Boeing 707. While we were in Samoa Pan American began jet service and we were at the airport when the first 707 arrived with lots of fanfare and dignitaries. Have a soft in my heart for the DC-7C.

Great connection to history. Before my time, in the late '40's and '50's, my family flew in Douglas props from CA to NY and back a few times. My dad flew in the Convair twins for business within CA. My first airline flight was in a 707 in the early '60's. For a long time I didn't realize the DC-4 was unpressurized. It must have been difficult to maintain a schedule in adverse weather.

Hi there, You are such a wonderful resource for aircraft not normally covered. Most channels are preoccupied by fighter planes and supersonic achievements, which is nice, but my own background, hearkens back to these DC series, of my childhood. I spent so much time during my school holidays playing in and around these planes, and I still have the scars on my head to prove it. Those antennae and pitot tubes and what not, were difficult to spot sometimes.

Have watched a dozen or more of Mike’s classic airliner and model videos. Great job across the board, non-stop facts, accurate, error free. Great information. Thought I knew a lot about the golden days of airline travel but I am learning new stuff with ever video. Well done!

Your videos are sure to be excellent; I have watched a great many of them multiple times. Thanks for your efforts!

Mike, you ROCK! Besides being a phenomenal artist you are a great aviation historian. Love your book on the Rainbow, by the way! I also have several of your signed prints on my walls at home! Cheers!

Treasure trove of into and wonderful photos! I learned so much from your presentation! I certainly had never heard of a 'Super DC-3', Harry Truman's special aircraft, and did not know the DC6-B was a stretch of the regular DC6. Thanks so much!

Thanks again for another great jurney through the golden years of air travel....

Great video, the pictures are all great. Some great views I have never seen before.

I really enjoy your vids. Couple of notes: 1. C-117 @ 4:10 is a RATO (rocked assisted) takeoff. 2. Made my one and only military parachute jump at Navy Parachute Rigger 'A' School (NAS Lakehurst) in 1969 from the Navy/Marine Corps R4D-8 version.

In more modern times (1980s to the present) It seems like *the regional Florida airlines* (Silver and its predecessors) *are a simile to the modernization which occurred earlier on a national scale.* I missed the propliner conversion of the '50s & '60s but flying locally in Florida from the early 1980s I experienced either Martin or Convair radial airliners to Bandits to Beechcrafts (C99/1900C/1900D) to Brasilias to SAAB 340s to ATRs. I romanticize what my grandfather got to experience as a frequent international traveler in the 50s/60s/70s, but from my Florida experience I can understand how he probably viewed modernization of his time as welcome upgrades. Would love to hear from the *DIRECT PERSPECTIVE* of '50s & '60s travelers!

Awesome review, Mike! Great effort and thanks for posting.

Nevertheless, having just been very picky about the performance figures you gave, I must say, great video, and I love your work getting this stuff out on RU-vid. Great presentation! Please keep up the great work!

First class presentation, as always. Golden age of aviation

I flew the 6 as FE FO and CA. I flew the DC-9 and DC-10 also

There was also a non-Douglas DC4, the DC4M with RR Merlin engines. It took 3 days to go London-Singapore in September 1953. I was 7.

Thank you. After spending a 41 year career flying some of these old birds you kind of get jaded and forget. Watching your work brought back some of the magic of it all. Again, Thank you for some well done pieces.

There was a DC6 parked on the west side of the terminal in Yellowknife, NWT for a number of years in the 1980s. The belly of the plane was shiny metal with a stage coach and team of horses painted on it. The story I heard was that the airplane landed in Yellowknife and needed a bunch of repairs which the owner couldn’t afford at the time. Then the parking fees got to be pretty large.

Flew up and down the West Coast in United DC-6/7 along with Western DC-6 and United Convair 340. Great memories of noisy, smoky engine starts.

Really excellent work.Wonderfull to listen to you describing all this information about these great aircrafts that I loved since I was 10 year old. .Thank you so much .

Many thanks. Excellent editing and narration of a dynamic period of Aviation greats.

In Jan of 1964 I flew on a navy c-54 from NAS Glenview to Guantanamo Cuba nonstop for about 12 hr. We took off 3 tons over weight. The #4 engine would not start (it was about -20 f) we went back and forth on the runway trying to windmill the engine to start it. Finally got it going had to refuel and then got going about 5hr late.

My mother used to fly to NY on connies,Connie's, DC6 7s. Out of oak...that's what started my interest in aviation...hired by eastern,Eastern, JAL....retired now.

Great review of Douglas airliners. With the discussion of the relatively minor cargo variant at 3:38, I thought the C-74 Globemaster and C-124 Globemaster II should also be mentioned. There was definitely crossbreeding of these two planes to the later Douglas models. Over 460 were built and they were fixtures in the USAF from the 50s to the early 70s. The C-124 was called "Old Shakey" because of vibrations and the ongoing joke stated it was 150,000 rivets flying in loose formation. BTW, I flew on DC-3s in Canada in 1975. I was slow and noisy but it worked. I flew to Ireland in 1960 on a 4 engine, single tail prop plane -- I guess it was a Douglas model but not sure what version.

Thanks Mike , well done as always. If you are ever in the need of an idea, you could do a whole episode just on the DC-3 😎 !

I flew on a Swissair DC6-B from Cairo to Zurich, with a stop in Athens, in the summer of 1960.

No mention of the Canadair C4M, basically a pressurised DC4 fitted with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines specifically for BOAC for its Empire routes. Many were sold to Overseas Aviation based at Gatwick. Derby Airways bought four surplus from Overseas, one of which was lost at Manchester when, due to a poorly designed fuel selector valve, lost all four engines when turning finals over Stockport. The crew managed to make a dead-stick forced landing in Hopes Carr but with some loss of life.

Thanks for a great history lesson. A nice way to see the progress of a line of aircraft from the beginning. Those plans still look great today; and I have always like those prop jobs. I flew on a turbo prop in 1966 (Air Canada) but do not remember the aircraft. Possibly a Canadian North Star (CD-4 variant) or a Vickers.

If ever there was a generic airplane it was the DC-6, and I mean that as a compliment. This is what pops into my head when I hear "airplane"

I was a passenger on DC7 planes as a "non rev" between Chicago and Syracuse. I remember that it was loud and watching my coffee form concentric patterns on the surface as i sat on the plastic tray that pulled down in front of me.

Mike, thank you again for yet another well documented trip down memory lane. As both parents are now gone, I will never know what plane we took from Tokyo to Los Angeles around 1957. Dad had left the US Army but chose to remain in Japan and worked as a civilian employee until he made the decision to return to the US. All I vaguely see in my clouded memory were the windows were at the right and above the wing as I could see the props. Was it pressurized? Who knows! I don't recall any curtains but I am leaning towards the aircraft being tied to the military as Dad certainly couldn't afford regular airline tickets. How I wish it were a Connie though - with all due respect to the Douglas airliners in yoiur presentation.

From an engineering perspective, I have always been amazed that those monstrous radial engines, gave such range and speed, with just the fuel contained in the wings. It just does not appear plausible, that those slim wings held sufficient fuel for that to be achievable. Remarkable efficiency!

Nice work. You brought up facts that I've never heard before-like the square windows story and planes where first class was in the rear. I would have added another sentence or two on the 7Cs (Seven Seas) word play since not everyone would figure that out. Please keep the videos coming.

Great video. Thanks

Excellent channel.

In 1963-64 I was an aircraft electrician stationed at Langley AFB in Virginia.The Indepenence had ended up a VIP for the brass at TAC. I got to work on this plane on several occasions.

Very good job...

Excellent video

I saw lots of those Convairs from North Central Airlines in Green Bay

They all used to fly over my building in the Bronx, I could tell them apart by the engine sounds

another great one Mike

I flew on a DC4 Manston UK to Naples 1964, the flight time was over six hours

3:26 that scene is often used as an intro to CRM (Crew Resource Management) training classes.

Douglas always build massive single slotted flaps with huge throw. Up and including the MD-11

Excellent!

I flew on a propeller airliner between Philadelphia and Chicago in the 1950s when I was about 5 years old. Our seats were behind the wing and engines, and I remember seeing the engines, but all I really remember is how extremely noisy it was, like sitting inside a food processor or a blender on high, or next to a rock grinding machine for several hours. How did people stand the unbelievable noise levels back then??

Another great presentation. I love these because this kind of information on airliners is not as readily available as for military aircraft. I couldn't help noticing in the picture of the DC-2 cockpit that the pilot and copilot yokes were about 180 degrees out of alignment. I'm guessing the airplane was not flight ready when that picture was taken.

I flew that particular ATL-98!

As a professional airline and corporate aircraft livery and interior designer I can tell you that window masking and dummy windowing is as old as commercial aviation itself, even some GA types came from factory with a dummy window in the scheme, to this day ion fact. The latest trend is to put a black mask over the forward/cockpit windows to look like one piece of unframed glass. The square window making is actually brilliant, the effect on pax confidence would have been significant over its operational life.

I flew in a military hop from Langley AFB to Nellis AFB. In 1967 it was a C118 or a DC6. I was confused when I first boarded, because all of to seats faced the tail.

I saw a flying DC4 Carvair variant in Honolulu Hawaii in 1980.