I Flew For MMA (MacRobertson Miller Airlines): DC 3 Data

The Douglas DC-3
in MMA Service

**Specifications**
In MMA Service:	1945 - Jan 1970 (8 aircraft total)
Wingspan:	95ft (29m)
Length:	64ft 5.5 inches (19.6m)
Height:	16ft 11inches (5.2m)
Cruising Speed:	145knots, 167mph, 270kmph
Max takeoff weight:	26,200lb, 11,900kg
Max Fuel	668 gallons, 3039litres
Engines	2 Pratt and Whitney R1830 "Wasp" twin row piston radials producing 1200HP each
Seating capacity:	2 pilots, 1 Hostess, 28 passengers

DC-3 with Air-Beef loading gantry at Glenroy station, NW WA The DC-3 was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company and was used extensively in World War Two by the Allies, then called the C-47 "Dakota". When the author commenced flying with MMA, the company had 5 DC-3s. The DC-3 was used all over Western Australia and also across the top end of the Northern Territory.

Pilots would fly up to 13 sectors a day in the unpressurised DC-3 (affectionately known to the author's children as the "Thumper"), being subjected to the hot, rough air of the tropical north of Australia for hours on end, as well as the bumpy frontal weather of the South West, all without a weather radar and very few navigation aids.

Into the bargain, crews would be at the mercy of the company rostering staff, sometimes given a day's notice to go away on a 2 month stint in the North-West of WA, straining families and friends alike. Reg flew 7,100 hours in the mighty DC-3; read all about his experiences in "I Flew For MMA"!