They let me LAND a DC-3! + Accidentally blasted a J3 Cub off taxiway - Flight VLOG 

Steve, your "always willing to put my mistakes out there" is what makes you no. 1 in RU-vid aviation videos. I've learned many good lessons from your videos and this is no exception. I'm glad you have thick skin for posting this, as it is obviously a great lesson for all around. After watching the video I'd say ultimately that everybody and nobody was at fault (you're least at fault really). Realistically I feel that the marshals and the cub pilot should hold the most blame. Seems like runup procedures for large aircraft should have been sorted out long ago at Oshkosh. Personally, I will take the lesson learned that every prop plane needs to make a run up and that I need to always be mindful of prop/jet blast behind larger aircraft during taxi. I've never really worried about scooting behind a jet on a ramp but perhaps I should be. I'll definitely keep this video in my head from now on. As for that reddit guy saying "only FlightChops can brag about doing something dumb/unsafe while flying and get upvoted for it." No. "(Only) FlightChops is brave enough to come forward with mistakes first." Though, I'd hope you're not the "only" one and I'd upvote someone that humble every time.

The only problem with these AWSOME things you can get to do, is that when they are over, you want to do them AGAIN. 19:02 nice flames from the exhaust pipe!

Prop/jet blast is no joke. I have operated out of large international airports in small GA aircraft. You defiantly need to caution prop/jet blast and assume that no one knows what to do with the Piper Arrow. One time I almost had a Cessna get flipped by a 737 nearly 500-1000 feet away just taxing! Of course, it is always nice when the controller has a sense of humor and tells the gigantic jet behind you to "caution prop wash!"

That shot at 8:23 of the procession of all the baby prop planes following behind the mama DC-3 is just incredible.

“Pretend its a piper cub” 😂 little bit of foreshadowing lol

Congrats on 8 DC-3 landings!!! 😁

EAA should definitely give better training to ground guys. I used to work for a major airline and can tell you by experience that it is a standard procedure not to allow any vehicle to move behind an airplane with an engine running. Glad there wasn't anything serious there!

Fun Flight Capt Chops! It was a pleasure flying on FlightChops Airways!

For some reason this appeared in my recommendations and I am pleased it did. The camera angles and editing are just amazing. Plus the bonus that is still one sexy looking aircraft. Praise where praise is due. Tony from England.

It's still amazing to me how in less than 35 years we went from the first fixed wing powered flight ever to something as refined as this aircraft is.

“Start of the art”. Just shows how “right” those guys got it back in the 30’s when a plane that old is still getting it done. Thanks for all the videos.

At least you get to log 4 Landings in a DC-3 now! 😜

Hey! Cool! Our Cessna 195 made it into the edit!

''You've heard of state of the art?'' ''This is start of the art''

The people who disliked the video were the marshals and the Pilot of the J3😂 Holy thank you 🙏 so much for the likes my most like comment is like 6 😂 cheers lads

I got to tell you Steve, I'm a retired senior and in my lifetime I've had a lot of wonderful experiences that others have only dreamed about and had some great unusual jobs like working aboard a nuclear submarine to driving a horse drawn carriage but I'd trade about half of them to experience what you just did. How amazing, if you ever hear anybody say there is no such thing as a time machine, you can tell them you got to fly one. I only get to fly SFX on my computer now and though it can be challenging sometimes and remarkably beautiful, I know it's not like doing the real thing and I have to tell you I get more enjoyment out of flying some of the older birds like the DC-3 then I do the Boeng767 Like your instructor said there is a big difference between state of the art and start of the art. I defenitly am going to subscribe to your channel and can't wait to share in your next adventure. Thanks for putting out such a great video.

The sound that DC-3 makes is hypnotic.

The fault lies with the pilot of the J3 Cub, who parked behind the DC-3. That much is plainly obvious. However, the ground marshals also need to accept blame, as they know full well that a run up is due, yet they allowed the Cub to park behind you. I suspect EAA will come up with a procedure and maybe even a specific signal for dealing with with this. It was bound to happen, at least there was lots of video to show how it happened, which makes it a very good learning experience for everyone involved and in the future. No one was injured, and no damages to any aircraft happened, so this learning experience truly was a freebee.

12:20 That is a LOT of aileron.

Truth is: when the wheels of the airplane are touching the ground, it's the marshallers responsibility to (fore)see and avoid these situations; the PIC's authority is limited when there are marshallers (I prefer ramp agents) on the ground. Besides, let's not forget that safety in aviation is everybody's business.

That DC3 pilot is as cool in real life as I am in my head

If we're putting people in line of fault, you should be solidly at the end. Who taxis a cub behind a running DC-3?!

We as pilots have been trained to be aware of large aircraft’s prop-blast and turbulence. Don’t blame the DC3 pilot.

Awesome video. It amazes me that these beauties are still in the air 80yrs later.

So you pushed a Piper Cub onto the grass. He's just lucky you didn't blow him all the way back to the hangar! Great vid!

"What are we about 40 feet? No, it's only 18 feet . . ." I burst out laughing! So glad to see the reality of the experience. Loved it. Keep it up.

There is something undeniably beautiful about the DC-3 that captivates me in a way that no other plane ever has. The closest second would probably have to be Concorde. Both are glorious feats of aeronautical engineering in their own respect.

the delta pilot seems like a nice guy

Blew a J3 off the runway... brought me to tears, really. Fantastic lesson.

Steveo, my introduction to general aviation and small plane flying, and I am still a frequent watcher of his videos. I am now stuck on wanting a TBM850, getting a simulator and license. Steve, I enjoy your really great FlightChops productions, your interaction with pilots such as Osama, here in the DC-3, and another wise. I also admire how many different aircraft that you can fly.

Awesome video again Flightchops!! What a beautiful plane, nice job.

This year was the first year in the past 20 Ive missed AirVenture. Thanks for the videos from there, and in general. I love them.

I'm glad I did my ground school through gold seal, I'm glad they did this for you

Love the Steveo/Chops production!

Great flight! Love watching your work, Sir Chops!! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Nice work Flightchops. Thanks to you and Steveo for sharing.

Awesome Steve! What a rush! I agree it was the Cub's pilot and the marshallers fault. Lessons learned.

Having volunteered as a ground marshal several years parking/directing aircraft at Oshkosh, I know that anything other than a light ga aircraft is a handful to deal with when there is no established and maintained comms with each pilot. That being said, the intersection departure adds an added measure of complication. Had the DC3 taxied to the south end of 36, the run up would probably not have been an issue. There wouldn't have been room for an errant aircraft to tuck in behind the old girl, or at least the DC3 could have stopped cocked to one side to send prop blast off centerline. No matter the size or type, I always taxi behind other a/c as if the leading aircraft can blow me or debris at me, especially flying my Champ. Champs and Cubs can start flying at anytime off the ground. That is what you learn flying a sub-800 pound tailwheel aircraft.

Got to sit in the cockpit of a C-47 the weekend before it made its last long trip up from Australia, up to Burma and over the Himalayas, along the same route they used to fly during the war. Came back on the Monday to watch her fly out. Awesome experience, one I won't forget soon.

Great vlog! About 50 years ago I took a ride with a bunch of good old boys in a DC-3. Took off from Long Beach in 100F+ temp and went to Big Bear (have you ever seen the airport at Big Bear?) Anyway we decided to leave much later when it was cooler and we were now at Big Bear elevation. Can you see what's coming? After 2 rejects the pilot a fighter pilot from WWII and completely nuts and had what I like to call the pilot twinkle in his eyes when he said "Everything will be ok" Went all the way to the the road, stood on the brakes and pushed the throttles. That aircraft was shaking, jumping, engines screaming. It thundered down the runway and finally lifted right before we would have run into the lake. One of my more memorable take-offs.

Wow Flight Chops ! What an honor to fly the DC-3 ! That plane is an American icon. Too bad about the J3 - glad it's ok. Great to see Steveo K. And I really like that debrief tool.

Very cool video! What an experience, huh? My advice to any aircraft departing the OSH during Airventure. Pull a marshal wearing an orange vest to you before departure and tell them exactly what you want and what you are going to do, before start up. You want that marshal to direct and tell other marshals your plan, so mishaps can be anticipated and avoided. Nice belch of fire on roll out from engine number 1!

Just wanted to comment on the fantastic job Dan did, coaching you through it, reassuring and relaxing you, doing all the hard work at crazy Oshkosh, giving very clear orders and information at the right time. No fuzz. What a guy!

Excellent video..! It´s so greatful to see Steve and FlightChops together..! Greeting from Venezuela..!

This is the best type of ad. I am so glad these guys allow you to do such amazing things. As a PPL student I know this is sadly never something I would get to do. But I'm proud that I get the opportunity to be a patreon supporter of yours.

I've got 25+ years experience at KOSH and have realized that the army of volunteer marshals come from a diverse background. They all deserve our gratitude for all the time they put in for us pilots. However, some of them are not pilots themselves. (I know this to be true in the HBC camping areas. Perhaps they need to be pilots out on the active taxiways?) I've personally seen more than a few incidences of prop strikes, airplanes stuck in a shallow ditch, etc. due to the PIC doing what the marshal was requesting, or believing the marshal was providing "clearance protection" to ground obstacles. I've even failed to exercise my PIC because it is so easy to totally trust the person outside the plane. To me, KOSH is like launching on a night IFR flight in my single engine plane. The risks our higher, and I do my best planning to mitigate those risks. However, there are some risks at KSOH that are outside of any single person's control. "Stuff" just happens in that high dynamic environment. I could have easily been that guy in the Cub and would have been grateful for the Marshals that came to my aid. The Cub pilot and Marshals have another flying experience to add to their decision making library. Thanks for sharing and keep those videos coming.

I love your channel! I am 16 years old and from PA and this summer was my first ever experience with planes and flying! I am friend with the owner of a local airport and me and a buddy worked their this summer. And one of the guys heard I had never flew before and my first airplane ride was in a 1946 Piper Cub! And it was magic as soon as I took off! I watch you channel nonstop and it inspires me to get my PPL and get my own light sport aircraft! (Either a Piper Cub or Super Cub) You teach me a lot in your videos as i pay VERY close attention to what is going on at all times! Keep up the good videos and keep your flight chops sharp!

"Oh turning now" I love it. Nice job on the video.

Wow, flying this must be like flying a mothership! SOOOOOOOO freaking COOL!

"This airplane was built in 1938, way, way, way before WWII" Someone needs a history lesson... Or did he mean 'before the US involvement in WWII'?

Steve, I am always amazed at the quality and genuinely enjoyable flight videos. Cheers

I absolutely love the DC-3! I get goosebumps watching it it slowly climb away climb away from the runway.

"Relax, let this airplane land itself." Not so sure if that's how it works.

Awesome video! The contribution your channel is making to the aviation industry is extraordinary. Keep up the great work! If you're ever in Hong Kong one day yell out! Can show you around our DC3 and wide-bodies.

Dan is the best instructor on the planet. He’s been a good friend since our college days and I’ve always enjoyed watching him in his element. Thank you for the very excellent video of the flight and debrief. Just signed up as a subscriber and will spread the good word!

Unreal. Great video mr FlightChops!

2:40 Your Joy in your smile XD Awesome You lucky. ...... XD

To fly a DC-3 would be a dream come true.

just freaking awesome! this was a great experience... vicariously through you. thanks for sharing.

Back in the late '70's and early 80's my folks made me fly from sleepaway camp in Maine to join them in Truro, Cape Cod. So I'd fly from Boston to Provincetown on PBA Airlines (now defunct) on their fleet of DC-3's. As a fan of WW2 aircraft even as a tween, I loved flying the DC-3. We'd fly with only a net over the door, unpressurized cabin at a low altitude. It was just really fun, bouncy, loud and cool. I miss that ol' flight.

Lmao the dc3 literally blew the cub away😂. Imagine the taxi in that thing when a big gust of wind hits lol.

When planes were first a thing yokes looked like steering wheels

Great to see Steveo joining in! Huge fan of both of you! Brilliant vlogs

Fantastic video Steve. I have been to the airshow Wings over Camarillo this past weekend and they did an old fashioned parachute drop with the static line out of the DC3 with full WWII gear with the round chutes it was quite a sight .

"Oh hey why don't I just taxi behind this giant powerful DC-3 about to take off in my lightweight little J3 cub in his blind spot?"

Who else saw the flame at 19:03

The DC3 really is a gorgeous plane, had one fly over me a some years ago whilst I was doing a news paper round, flying with no particular place to go and not really in any hurry to be there, and the sound from those twin engines was just heavenly. Flightchops, you are on seriously lucky guy to take the helm of a truly graceful bird!

Love the DC3, it's my all time favorite along with the Grumman Goose. Thanks for sharing Steve!

Interesting video, thanks for posting. Someone forwarded this to me via my “unofficial” Flight Line Op’s (FLO) twitter account, so I’m going to comment on behalf of the marshallers and FLO. First off because the video was directed to FLO I want to add FLO does not control Papa taxiway, that’s controlled by Vintage and Homebuilt. So I can’t speak to the their procedures. FLO controls the 18 threshold and north around 9/27. Next remember the marshallers are volunteers not professionals, with vastly different levels of experience. We've had everyone from 747 Capt. ,air traffic controllers, private pilots to volunteers who never flown in a small aircraft. I bet some may not know what a run-up is. Same goes for the varying experience of the pilots at Oshkosh. I’ll add at this point very very few aircraft at Oshkosh do their run-ups while in line or at the runway for takeoff. So here’s my problem with the last part of the video were the DC-3 pilot explanation of the incident. The marshaller and cub pilot “should have known” not to taxi behind the DC-3. After 30+ years volunteering at Oshkosh and 20+ years at FLO there are somethings I know. I know a T-28 will never taxi in the grass, I know an EZ prefers not to taxi in the grass, I know not to cross an aircraft at the threshold of 18 when one is on short final or one is about to take off full length from 18, I know a P-51 is going to get pissed if I hold him to long and I know the Ford Tri-motor is going to get out of line and cut across the grass and take off from an intersection.. One thing I don’t know is why a DC-3 gets out of line and is doing something different from everybody else. “Oshkosh” works because of procedures in place, if you’re going there you go that way, if you’re going here you go this way and if you’re doing that you go here. Problems arises when someone, for whatever reason, does something different. The problem started when the pilot said “I’m going to try and negotiate an intersection take-off.” Why? I can see no reason other then he didn’t want to wait in line like everybody else. Even though it was approved by FAA this becomes extremely dangerous for everyone else. First, is the marshaller out of the way, he’s not expecting this large aircraft to all of a sudden turn and go a different direction from the last 100 aircraft. Second, this is what’s going through his mind. Where’s he going? (I didn’t see their VFR sign in the window???). Is he talking to someone? Is he crossing to 36R to taxi to the FBO? Is he crossing to Basler Turbo Conversion? Do I stop him? Does he think I’m FAA and will let him on the runway? Should I let him go? Does he know where he’s going or just thinks he does? Volunteers do not have 2-way radios, some monitor the controllers but not all, if he didn’t he has no idea what’s going on. Let's say, to be safe, the controller wants marshallers to know what’s going on. The MOOCOW (departure controllers) would have to call tower and tell them we going to let out a P4 departure. Tower would call FLO, FLO would call Vintage, Vintage would tell someone to jump on a scooter and tell the volunteer marshaller. How smooth do you think Oshkosh would run if all 10,000 aircraft got to do whatever they wanted? True story. My first ever shift volunteering at FLO. I was positioned at Bravo 1 and 27. (now Bravo 3) My briefing, camping goes that way, departures that way, runway crossers down to Alfa and don’t let anybody onto the runway or cross here. Halfway through my shift the EAA B-17 comes out of Weeks, I direct him toward Alfa to cross, he shakes his head and points to 27, I shake my head and point to Alfa, he turns and starts heading toward me and the runway. I stood in front of him and put up the stop sign. He angrily points across the runway and I shake my head no. OK what do I do, I was told no one crosses here, but this is the EAA B-17 he should know what he’s doing? If I hold him will my supervise come out and say “what are you doing? EAA HQ called and said one of your guys is holding B-17 and burning up fuel.” If I let him go will I get yelled at “I said no one crosses here” or worse yet a departing aircraft crashes into him and he says “the guy waved me across.” Finally as he continued to inch forward I pointed to my scanner, pointed to the tower and hand signaled the ground frequency. This is what I heard… Pilot: Oshkosh tower this is the B-17 at Bravo one, I need to cross over to the warbirtds and this guy wouldn’t get out of my way. Tower: Where you at sir? Pilot: B1 and 27 to cross. Tower: Sir you need to go to Alfa and 27 to cross. Pilot: Well I can’t turn around now. Tower: Not really my problem. The problem is sometimes the tower does cross them, but our volunteers don’t know about and once it happens others think they can do it too. So what’s the best way to avoid this situation in the video? Yes additional training of volunteers and pilots true. But ultimately EVERYONE following proper procedures would have solved this. Had the DC-3 taxied to Papa 5 as per NOTAMs and briefings he would have been near the MOOCOW told the controllers “I need to do a run up” (notice he called the controllers from P4 and said he was ready to go, he wasn’t he still had to do a run up). If he had been were he was supposed to be, the controllers could have seen and told him wait there’s a Cub behind you. Well this got longer then expected but when I first viewed the video nothing bothered me, however the more I thought about it and replayed parts the more it got under my skin. The pilot in the last segment tried his hardest not to “blame” anyone but in the end blamed everyone but himself. About the Cub he said “I don’t know what he was thinking” I guess he was thinking “every plane I saw this morning took off from P5 he just turned onto P4, guess he’s going somewhere else”. If you engines were already running you don’t think the marshaller wouldn’t know you meant? “Big lesson to be learned” is follow procedures and the flagmen and don’t assume because you’re bigger or faster or you’re airplane costs more you should have special privileges, like cutting in-line for take off.

This is my first time watching a FlightChops video. I thought it was awesome. I'm not a pilot, but I sure love to fly and I'm fascinated with the mechanics any kind of aircraft. You seem to do a great job with these clips. I'm definitely going to check out more of them. Honestly, I felt like I was getting a backstage tour and I learned a lot of little things about the nuances of flight that I didn't know. And trip to Oshkosh is definitely on my bucket list!

what an amazing aircraft, great video flightchops

Simply awesome. My love for the Daisy has just gone up

Def. Not your fault, marshals are there for a reason, and a real learning lesson for that cub too

Seems like the focus is on the "run-up". There could have been the same result if there were no run-up, but just a good bump of the throttle to taxi on to the runway. For me, crossing behind him even at idle would give me pause.

the dc3 fascinates me. thanks for sharing!

I love that shot at 8:25 with all those little GA aircraft on the taxiway and that lumbering great monster of a DC3 in the distance. Awesome !

what I've always heard is that the larger the plane is the bigger the priority, so the cub can shove off

absolutely wow man!

7:20 "Pretend it's a Piper Cub", becomes prophetic before it's over. Enjoyed the video Steve. Thanks for sharing.

Flying with you vicariously. Thanks.

I met you at oskosh 2017 at a dinner I was that little kid . You gave me flight chops stickers

19:01 look at the engine on the right (from your perspective) fire shoots out the exhaust

Exhilarating video. Enjoyed this very much. The DC-3 is a beauty with those massive wings. I also loved the debrief at the end about the run up trouble. Dan seems like a very serious and experienced pilot.

Chops, this was a great video. First, it gave me that excitement of living through you a dang DC-3 left seat adventure. Secondly, there was a great reminder that there are no better ways to wrinkle fabric, bend tubing or crinkle aluminum than sitting behind any aircraft doing a run-up. It was a ground crew error but the responsibility mainly lay with the pilot of that beautiful tube and fabric Cub.

Very cool video! And being one of those ground marshals (5 year veteran volunteer at Flight Line Operations) I just want to say the safety of you and your planes is only second to our personal safety. But just remember we are all volunteers with varying levels of aviation experience. But every single one of us it out there for one reason, WE ALL LOVE AIRPLANES! And we hate it when something unfortunate happens to an aircraft, but we are all human and we can’t avoid it all in the insanity that is Oshkosh. While incidences like the Cub in this video are rare, it is the risk every pilot runs when they fly into Oshkosh. So I guess the point is, the flagmen need to be treat like the word God at Oshkosh. So many incidents involving aircrafts taxing at Oshkosh can easily be prevented by following the directions of the flagmen. It’s sad to see 1/3 of the pilots I personally see and handle blatantly disregard our instruction. So finally, we are all out there for one reason, to see awesome airplanes! If we could all be a little more understanding and diligent, incidents like DC-3s pushing Cubs off taxi ways can be prevented! Hope to see you at Osh2018!!

i see steveo in the back haha

FlightChops your living the High Life. Great Video...enjoyed it much. Cheers to ya Start Safe, Stay Safe

It is 40 years ago I flew the last time a DC-3, a really great Airplane, love it.

Human factors lesson here , everybody learned something.

Easy to spot it sitting here at my desk after the fact, but perhaps worth a look over the shoulder during the turn and noting who was behind you at that point? Then when the one behind at the start of the run-up's a different colour... Awesome vid, I'm so jealous. :)

Best three landings I have seen. I fly a Cub and would never follow a large aircraft like that. The marshals definately need more training. I flew my Cub into Sun n Fun two times this year and the second time a marshal wouldn't let me go where I knew to go to park, instead he got all bent out of shape and directed me back out to the departure. I circled around and came up to the intersection I needed to turn left on not right like last time and fortunately he was sitting on a golf cart and I just waved to him, like it's me again and parked where I needed to.Good videos...keep them going.

I've always had a soft-spot for the DC3 - I enjoyed that video. Thanks for posting.

is that steveo1kinevo on the back?

Stevo1kinevo there in the background!

What an opportunity! Good job. U are very humble and willing to learn. Very good.

That's awesome, I should watch more of your videos!

Eh, the captain seemed a little cocky about the runup situation in his debrief. No one was completely in the right or wrong there, but I'm always VERY aware of who's behind me when I push the throttles up in the T-38, and it didn't seem like that was even discussed before doing so in this case. Mr Chops had the appropriate reaction to the situation

That's the cubs fault for being to close

Steve, I thoroughly enjoy watching you debriefs! As a pilot I thirst for improvement and seeing how dedicated you are to debriefing is a big motivation, even in the helicopter side of things.

Watching this was a sensory overload for even the viewers. Love the DC-3 so much and getting to watch you fly this for the first time had even my heart racing. Great video as always!