I am so grateful that Red Bull is supporting the restoration, operation, and maintenance of this magnificent aircraft, as well as the P-36 and F4U that it also flies.
You've made my heart sing! I was a stewardess for Western Airlines in the early 1960's and this is my all time favorite plane. I've spent hundreds of hours on the DC6b. My best friend and I worked on this plane, I am 75 and she 80. Well done Red Bull!
Congratulations on your career and may the Lord grant you and your friend many years in health and happiness. I got qualified on the DC-6 but before my first line flight I was transferred to jets. My loss for sure.
That is my dad, Captain Eric Douglas Lee at the controls of her first flight after the restoration. He loved that airplane, he loved the Flying Bulls. He died of cancer at the early age of 68 in 2015.
Thanks a lot for your amazing comment. I have been on board when the DC-6 was flown from Windhoek to Salzburg and did some filming during the restoration. It´s a fantastic airplane and I understand very well why your father loved it./Frank
Take-off TV Thank you Frank, and thank you for a beautiful video. My father spent thirty years hauling cargo all over the state of Alaska in DC-6s, I grew up on board those trusty old birds. One still comes out of Anchorage on a regular basis and I always stop whatever I’m doing to watch and listen as she flys by. I’m not positive but I think the old bird that still flys by is 80B, known as 80 Bravo she was Howard Hughes’s airplane, and she was the best in the fleet of DC-6s that Northern Air Cargo owned having next to no time on her when they acquired her from the Howard Hughes estate. When I was a kid and dad said “were flying 80 Bravo today” I was in, wherever she was going throughout the great state of Alaska. My dad was the number one pilot on the line at NAC and had been for over 20 years before the Flying Bulls came to NAC looking for some expertise. By the time Red Bull came a knocking on Northern Air Cargo’s door for some help with training my dad was flying the Boeing 727 but his love of the DC-6 never left him and he jumped at the chance to get back in her again and help the Flying Bulls take her through her first flight, flight testing, and certification with the FAA and then be her Pilot for a few more years until he retired at age 60 as he had always planned. At age 66 he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He said “it’s ok, I’ve lived more in one life then most do in two, if it’s my time I’m ok with that”. He died Sept 11, 2015. The Flying Bulls gave him the chance and the honor to be a part of something great towards the end of his career as a pilot. He cherished the plane and the people he came to love at the Flying Bulls, he considered them family and was proud to have been a part of it. Thank you again for this video, it means a lot to me and the legacy of my father. As long as this bird lives so shall a piece of my father. Thank you
@@craiglee5568 Thanks so much again for your amazing comments. It makes me proud that you found and like this video. All the information that you are sharing with us about your father and your relationship to him is so heart warming. All the best to you, Frank
My grandma and I took one home from Chicago to Grand Rapids Mi once in the ‘50s! I’ll never forget that! It was fantastic!! That was 67 years ago!!! ❤️👍🙋♂️🖖🏻
That's a good way to get the mechanics as honest as possible. "You all had better fix it well because every one of you is riding along on the first flight!"
This is a great video and thank you! The sound the engines made while flying overhead was unmistakable and I could hear one coming for miles. Some people have found the sound of a distant train comforting, but for me it was the DC-6b... and I miss it.
I flew on the DC 6 in 1974 on a 2 hour flight it was 35 below zero the 2 stewardess wore gloves you could see your breath on the plane, I remember the sound of those engines, and the flames coming from the exhaust, it was a night flight, loved that plane.
I was involved with those things. Believe me we weren't sad to see them go & replaced by nice clean Viscounts, Electra's, DC9's & 727's, ours ended up in Taiwan. Those 4 R2800's burn around 145 GPH each, so fuel costs would be around $3,800 per hour. Good to see what can be done when money is not a problem. Fantastic restoration.
I got to fly a DC-3 10 years ago . These aircraft are not for the weak ! The controls are all cable and pulley no hydraulic assistance. Seeing these aircraft restored to their former glory is wonderful.
I love these videos! You seldom hear radial engines or see an old airplane in the sky anymore. More of these old piston pounders should be saved. They represent a significant piece of history.
I was lucky enough to visit the Flying Bulls facility in June of 2019 as a part of the D-Day Squadron trip to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day invasions. As a pilot and especially in the world of vintage aircraft, I've been fortunate enough to visit a lot of air museums. But hands down, the Red Bull Hangars 7, 8, and 9 (never saw 9, but 7 and 8 are incredible) complex is the most beautiful aviation facility I have ever seen. A fantastic group of professionals dedicated to keeping 'em flying makes this a truly unique place. A blank check helps, too.
@@The_ZeroLine Just incredible collection and the things they do with them. 23 airplanes at the moment I believe, and the cinematography and photography they do to promote the airplanes is world-class. Their team are extremely qualified pilots as well... a Red Bull Air Race world champion among them. And they don't just sit! With unlimited money, I, too, would take my Caravan Amphib to Zell am See for lunch.
When I was a kid, my family flew from Guam to San Francisco on a DC-6. in the mid 50s.. with a stop over on Hawaii.. Man that was one long trip.. but the in flight food was amazing.. the fried chicken was to die for..
Dieter Mateschitz is a huge preserver of history from the unique to the soon to be unique like this DC-6. He deserves a lot of credit. He’s also the main supporter of a lot of sports that would have little or no funding without him.
As a sheet metal/structures aircraft mechanic who has a passion for old, radial-engine planes, this video nearly makes me cry for desire of doing this kind of work. Restoring old airplanes would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, the money's not there, so I get to work on F-35s, which I enjoy, but airplanes like this DC-6 are the heart & soul of aviation. I wonder who bankrolled the millions of $ this required?
Thank you Red Bull for having an interest to restore to flying condition One of the best airliners of all time. Workmanship is superb in every way possible. It truly is a working piece of history.
I'm old enough to have had the opportunity to fly in the DC-4, 6 & 7 aircraft a few times. Then, these birds were leftovers of the previous generation of air transport and needed at least a good scrubbing along with some fresh paint, which they weren't about to get from the airlines that still had them. So, it really feels good to see this machine, its sisters and the two or three Lockheed Constellations that have also been restored. Beautiful, beautiful airplanes.
The DC-6 was the best prop liner Douglas ever built, combined with the Best piston engines Pratt & Whitney ever built, if you compare the aircraft's speed, range, payload and fuel burn, it still has competitive numbers compared to most modern turbine powered aircraft. Hats off to you guys for bringing such a wonderful machine as the DC-6, back to life.
She is a beauty, and sounds owsome on take off, again thanks to all who brought her back to life. Many, many hours of safe flying to you all. Be safe. Peace.
I can remember working at the PX gas station at Chelsea Naval Hospital and just north of the pump island was and still stands and is in service is a 150 foot tall water tower, the tank being a ball on top of the tower. I was watching DC 6's take off from Logan airport and the DC 6's were getting closer and closer to the water tank until finally one DC 6 misjudged his approach to the tower and I heard all 4 engines go to full throttle and literally stood the aircraft on his left wingtip until the aircraft was in a 90 degree turn and missed the water tower by not more than 15 feet, and this was a fully loaded passenger aircraft. This happened in 1966, I was 16 and loved it until the car I was gassing up stepped out and looked up and bitched him out. It was then I noticed the wings on his chest and he walked into the single bay gas station picked up the phone and called Logan to complain and told them to get the aircraft away from the hospital. He was a full Commander and boy was he mad about the close call. Seeing this video brings back long forgotten memories.
I was a Fight Engineer on DC-6's in Alaska during the 90's. Only shut down one engine on one occasion, cracked spark plug ceramic. We were well over the gross takeoff weight of a hundred thousand pounds. The pilot said he couldn't even tell that the number 4 engine was shut down by the way it flew. The DC-6 is fast, reliable, hauls a heck of a load and lands on short Alaskan Bush runways. The saying was, it was the best prop liner Douglas ever built, combined with the best Piston engines Pratt & Whitney ever built, and I never saw anything that would suggest that wasn't true.
Spectacular! I got goosebumps watching it take off after 40+ years. Hats off to Angerer and Schutte who saved this beauty, and to each and every one who brought it back to life!
What a beautiful restoration of a wonderful aircraft. I spent almost two weeks on a DC-6 as an Observer and Flight Attendant back in September 1970 on a charter to Newfoundland from Fort Lauderdale,FL, to search for a balloon named the "Free Life" with three people aboard, that had gone down in the North Atlantic. 14 hour days working a grid pattern and dropping sonar buoys when we saw any part of the balloon and the Canadian Coast Guard would pick it up. The only part of the balloon recovered was the O-ring and some Portuguese fishing nets, all three passengers were never found, and perished at sea.
One thing I found funny was that they said the engines (or maybe something else) were on the verge of dying when they landed. But that thing was still flying when they bought it and that’s the beauty of a lot of these machines built during the 50s and 60s. They were really high quality and could last wayyyy beyond what is/was thought possible.
Thanks cappie - many times taxied through those gates at Eros - NCF and NCG - now NCG is just standing there - did the last charter 3 years ago - sad story for this old lady.
This thing is amazing. I remember them setting on the tarmac at Lambert Field in St.Louis and under each engine was a big oil spot on the ground. Those oil spots were all over the place wherever radial engines were parked. Beautiful sound and a good flyer they were. Damn, I'm getting old.
Oh, my goodness, this brings a lot of memories to me. I used to fly with this beauty at least once a year back in the late 60s from Santa Cruz (SLVR) to Cochabamba (SLCB) with the Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), and because we had lots of relatives in that company I was also able to fly in the cockpit ! I still remember the roaring sound on take off. Thanks for posting this video
Sweet! Nothing like the sound of a radial engine... all 4 of them. Especially on this 'ol bird. :thumbup: Great to see she was kept away from the boneyard.
I've ridden hundreds of thousands of miles in the DC-6. It was a super comfy airplane, and instilled a lot of confidence in it's character and integrity. During one of the flights, we flew through a Typhoon off the coast of Japan. She plowed right through without a hiccup! i truly miss the old girl. It's sad that none of them are still flying in regular service!
In the early sixties I was one of forty aircraft mechanics that completely disassembled a D.C. 6 passenger plane and converted it to a cargo plane. This was at Santa Monica airport. Being a licensed aircraft mechanic I was put in charge of the major fuselage work such as installing a large cargo door on the starboard side of the fuselage just foreword of the wing, installing the oxygen system and cleaning the pickling juice from the engines and running them up, exercising the adjustable props and testing the pressurization system. When we got the aircraft the cabin stunk of cigarette smoke from its passenger days. A heavy cargo floor was installed with built in tie downs. The upper and lower wing fairings were made of stainless steel and were held in place by hundreds of ss sheet metal screws. The fairings had to be removed to thoroughly inspect the mid section of the wing attachments. We used X Ray and various dye penetrants and Magnaflux to assure a complete inspection. The project took two years. The aircraft was scheduled to be flown down to Peru where it would be used to haul cargo across the Peruvian Andes.
tim mayer. I lived in Santa Monica during that time. I was 15 at the time, used to ride my bicycle to Clover Field pretty much once a week. I would peek through a little opening of the hanger door while you were working on it ! The hanger was not to far from the FBO and observation deck towards the east end of the airport. When you guy's finally rolled it out it was parallel with the runway with the nose pointing West. Never did see it start up. Small World.... WOW. Ps did you know John Grooms ? N7006E 175 Cessna. I got to fly with him a few times. What fun that was, Ralph L
Great memories! I was in the USNR in 1966 - 1971. My last squadron was VR-52 and we has three of these beautiful birds. Mine was BUNO 131593. The navy called them R6Ds, but those of us who rode on them called them C-118s. My last hop was to Rota, Spain in 1970. We refueled at Lajes, Azores on the way over and back. It being an Air Force base, we got some of the best military chow in the world! Those AF chow halls were first class - WAY better than enlisted USN chow.
Air Micronesia use to fly DC-6’s when I lived on Guam (1969-1971) as a teenager. Use to see them flying over early in the morning to land at the Agana Airport. Remember seeing one come in once with a feathered engine. I understand the engines were the same used on the Navy’s F9F Bearcat.
I find it somewhat amazing that in 1958 Douglas and any airline, would build from an order a piston powered airliner when airlines were all focused on the jet age...awesome restomod!
The kids can have their jets! There is just something magical about seeing, then hearing one of these majestic old aircraft come to life. The DC-6 shows a lot of it'as heritage from it's "baby sister" the DC-3. No plane ever built will match the DC-3 or it's record first as an airliner then as a military transport. The sad part is that av gas is reportedly getting harder and harder to obtain and that may be the only thing that will ground these grand aircraft for good.
It’s actually the reverse. It was a military transport and then for civilian transport. It was because of the war so many could be cheaply purchased by airlines and used primarily as a regional transport.
@@The_ZeroLine The DC-3 resulted from a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, when Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American's Curtiss Condor II biplanes. The DC-2's cabin was 66 inches (1.7 m) wide, too narrow for side-by-side berths. Douglas agreed to go ahead with development only after Smith informed him of American's intention to purchase twenty aircraft. The new aircraft was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond over the next two years, and the prototype DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk) with Douglas chief test pilot Carl Cover at the controls. Its cabin was 92 in (2,300 mm) wide, and a version with 21 seats instead of the 14-16 sleeping berths of the DST was given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype DC-3, and the first DC-3 built followed seven DSTs off the production line for delivery to American Airlines. (From Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3).
how is AV gas getting harder to get? there are a lot of aircraft that still use it like the Cessna 172, the worlds most popular trainer. AV gas will be around for as long as there are piston engines in the sky.
@@wedgie502, I got that from a story about a company operating out of Alaska that was having some difficulty in obtaining AV gas and were having to use their piston planes less and less.
these 10 people that don't like, must remind them that before we got the jet engine these airplanes were the best and transported millions of people. excellent work done on restauration of this beautiful machine
Zeltweg airshow, Austria 2005. I sheltered underneath this magnificent aircraft from a torrential downpour. Thank you Redbull. It was amazing being that close to this magnificent lady.
Flew from Nas Lakehurst to Nas Los Alamos in '67 in the military version R54, short stop to Philly Nas to replace the nav black boxes, Capt didn't want to fly cross-country with only a whiskey compass?? Super Fun
What a beautiful airplane and restoration. I remember as a kid, my parents took us on a DC-6 flight from Detroit to Texas with a stop in Atlanta. I think it was American Airlines flying out of Willow Run Detroit to Atlanta on the DC6, then changed planes and flew on a 707 to Tx.
Stephen Burgess I had the privilege of being a passenger in A viscount on a fight to the Isle of Man as a guest of the Ronaldsway aircraft company in the 1980's just before it was withdrawn from service. A great memory, flying over Snowdon at seemingly the same altitude,M though it must have been higher as we missed!
When the speaker mentions "star engines" he means radial engines, of course. Star engine is the literal translation of the German term "Sternmotor". They should have asked me to translate the script ;).