Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 13

Mid-Illinois Newspapers Wednesday, August 21, 1996 Loiros'SwO Abby C2 Comics C4 Entertainment C5 Help me Harlan Aviation history graces Bloomington skies -1 4 3 was converted into C-47 military cargo planes during World War II ri CD j. jr' 'V-- I fclMT I I i TT Hartan Cohen is not a licensed psychologist, therapist or physician, but he is a licensed driver No butts about it: Smoking is addictive Help Me Harlan, The first thing word that came to mind when I read the article "Nice Girls Dont Smoke or Do They" was ADDICTED. Nicotine is a drug. It doesn't matter if you re a nice girl or not, nicotine can control you. I a 23-year-old nice girl, and yes, a smoker.

I started smoking when I was about 15 years old. The reason I started was to fit in with my sister's friends. I guess you could say it was to be cool (she's two years older) and also because of peer pressure. I re ally didn't choose to get ad- dieted and since, fve tried numerous amounts of times to quit, all of which were unsuccessful I knew all the health risks when I started, but fitting in seemed to be more appeal ing. Now, I can feel the ef fects of smoking.

I agree with people that it a disgusting, nasty, ex pensive and smelly habit, but 1 not ready to quit. The guy that wrote in shouldn't not talk to a girl just because she smokes. She might have all the qualities he's looking for and he wouldn't even know it if he didn't give her a chance. Besides, if a person really wants to, they can quit smoking. Addicted by choice Dear Addicted, In your words, if this guy is looking for a disgusting, nasty and smelly woman with expensive habits, your point is well taken.

How are you not ready to quit? At age 23, peer pressure and the need to be cool must hardly still be a factor. The guy that wrote in has a valid point Smoking is an im portant factor that turn many guys off. Clearly, smoking increases wrinkles, stains your teeth and makes you smell bad and that doesn't even include the health risks. If you're going to smoke, get used to it Some men won't only refuse to give you a light they wont even give you the time of day. When you do finally decide to quit, don't hesitate to get help.

Smoking even as little as four cigarettes a day can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine. For information on support groups and how to quit smoking, contact the American Lung Association at: 1-800-584872 Help Me Harlan, I'm very interested in this girl "Jenny." It's just that she's my best friend. I dont know how she feels as some days I get good vibes and others I get bad ones, rm just afraid that a relationship, even the mention of one, may ruin the friendship. Do you understand? Should I go for it or let it pass untouched? Touched by a friend Dear Touched, Cant a man and woman be good friends without someone getting all aroused? rd say this is the one of the most common letters I receive. You know, the best answer would be to hear how successful or unsuccessful your (the readers) relationships have been in regards to choosing friendship or more? I thinking the consensus will be friendship, but you tell me.

Please send or e-mail your letters to the address below. How to write Harlan Hetp Me Hartan is a national column wetooming letters Irom young adults and college students everywhere. To write Marian, send letters via e-mail to or write trough tie Web at hBpwahogaoorrV-harlan SendtonsrsctoHeMeHanan. 1954 Rrst Street 196, MgNand Park 60035. The main cabin of the DC-3 By Stephen A.

Thompson Cultural Resources Manager Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The transportation industry is very prominent in the twin cities ofBloomington-Normal. An interstate hub, hundreds of thousands of commercial and recreational vehicles pass through and around this metropolis annually. The Mitsubishi automotive manufacturing plant on the western perimeter turns out passenger vehicles around the clock. While these entities contribute to Bloomington-Normal's economic stability and growth, the community is fortunate to possess a transportation artifact of national prominence'. Afully operational, 54-year-old DC-3A aircraft, owned and preserved by the Prairie Aviation Museum, calls the Bloomington-Nornial Airport home.

This plane, significant for its 1930s state-of-the-art design, has its own story to tell, and does so frequently at air shows throughout the Midwest. The DC-3 airframe design was produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company of Santa Monica, in 1935. It was the first domestic airliner to make passenger service a profitable business venture and a comfortable experience for those who chose this form of travel. The DC-3 was essentially a refinement of the DC-1 and DC-2 models manufactured by Douglas in the early 1930s. The DC-3 was the first passenger plane to be constructed almost entirely of high grade aircraft aluminum.

Initially, it was powered by two Pratt and Whitney 1050 horsepower engines and had a range of 2,000 miles. The responsiveness of the flight engineering controls made it a pilot favorite. The design was originally con tracted for by American Air lines executives, who desired a main cabin sleeper configuration for their transcontinental flights. This DC-3 variant, designated the DST, was similar to the Pullman railway car produced 60 years earlier for the same purpose. Other configurations allowed for the comfort of 14 VIPs or standard passenger layouts of 21 to 32 seat capacities.

The DC-3 also introduced such features as lavatories, a heated cabin and food service to passenger air travel. The first American DST flew from Chicago's Municipal, later Midway, Airport to New York on June 25, 1936. The DC-3 became the primary passenger carrier throughout the world for the next 15 years. Prior to Dec. 7, 1941, Douglas and licensed Japanese and Soviet manufacturers produced more than 900 DC-3's.

With the entry of the United States into World War II, Douglas shifted the production of the DC-3 airframe to military cargo and personnel transport applications. More than 9,000 C-47 cargo versions were produced during the war. The C-47 saw action in every theater of military operations and performed duties as an airborne and medical evacuation craft in addition to primary function as cargo carrier. After the war, many of the C-47s and other DC-3 variants continued to serve the military in operations such as the Berlin Airlift of 1947-48 and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Some decommissioned military DC-3's are still in use as weapons in the current drug wars raging in Central and South America.

Many of the World War II surplus DC-3 airframes were converted to civilian use as passenger and cargo carriers in the late 1940s. These craft continued to serve many domestic and foreign aviation companies on a large scale into the 1960s. Manufacture of the DC-3 design was terminated shortly after the conclusion of World War II. More than 13,000 DC-3 variants were produced between 1935 and 1946. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft of St Louis, which employed a technical support section for the DC-3 until the 1980s, attributes the longevity of the DC-3 to the solid engineering fundamentals implemented by Donald Douglas and his 1930s design team.

The ease in which this aircraft The DC DC-3 on display This historic DC-3 can be inspected at the Prairie Aviation Museum from 1 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and from 12 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Arrangements for large groups or special viewing times can be made by contacting the museum at (309) 663-7632 during the weekend hours.

It is advisable to call for an appointment due to the plane's busy appearance schedule. The DC-3 will be on special display during the Blooming-ton Normal Air Show this weekend. This year's theme is airliners. Aircraft dating from a 19208 Ford Tri-motor to a contemporary Federal Ex- Eress DC-10 are scheduled to eon display. was modified for a variety of uses and relatively simple maintenance requirements must also be considered factors of the design's extended use.

In 1985, McDonnell Douglas undertook the mission of verifying the number of DC-3 airframes still in use throughout the world. After intensive investigation, it was determined that about 1,200 of the craft were still being flown every day by various military, law enforcement and commercial aviation concerns. The DC-3 located at the Bloom-ington-Normal Airport is a first-class example of our aviation heritage. When the Prairie Aviation Museum was established in 1983, the membership set as a primary objective the acquisition of a DC-3 for exhibition. The museum was well aware of the DC-3's historical significance and many members held a sentimental attachment for the design having served as air, ground and maintenance crew for these craft both in the military and commercially.

A nationwide search led the museum's acquisition committee to Rockdale, Texas, in February 1984. The plane they had traveled to inspect was a DC-3 variant, a C-53 U.S. Army transport version. The story of how it ended up in Rockdale is quite fascinating. U.S.

Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124, which was designed to carry 28 passengers in 14 aluminum bench seats on each side of the main cabin's interior fuselage, taxied off Douglas Aircraft's Santa Monica production line on March 11, 1942. This C-53 was built under a Department of the Army contract and was accepted by this military branch on March 18, 1942. Two days later, the Army transferred this craft to the U.S. Navy at the Norfolk, Virginia Naval Air Station, where it was given the Navy designation of R4D-3. Only 20 R4D-3s were ever manufactured.

This R4D-3 was subsequently transferred to Meacham Field near Ft. Worth, Texas, where it served as a naval pilot and navigator training school conducted by American Airlines personnel. The plane assisted in the training of naval aviators at Meacham until September 1945, when it was transferred to the Jacksonville, be viewed at the Bloomington-Normal The DC-3 can NAS. It was later stationed at New York NAS and Norfolk NAS, and concluded its military career with U.S. Marine Air Wing 2 at Hedron Field, Cherry Point, N.C., in August 1946.

The plane was then turned over to the War Assets Administration at Bush Field in Augusta, where it was sold as war surplus to Continental Airlines in March 1947. Continental flew their new purchase to Stapleton Field in Denver, where the main cabin was modified in accordance with Douglas Aircraft's conversion plans to a 26-passen-ger commercial carrier. As a result of the main cabin conversion and the installation of upgraded Pratt and Whitney engines, the airframe was redesignated a DC-3A. The newly converted DC-3A flew with Continental for two years and then was sold to Southern Airways of Birmingham, Ala The plane serviced Southern's southeastern and East Coast markets until 1966, when it was purchased by a used aircraft dealer in Dallas, Texas. This military and commercial veteran was next purchased by H.H.

Coffield's Rockdale Flying Service in 1968. H.H. Coffield was a Texas oil businessman who used his aircraft to transport personnel and equipment to oil field sites and other business locations. The sub Airport. Wingler confirms that DC-3 continues to be the primary focus of the museum's efforts.

The museum endeavors to preserve this aircraft in an operational state so it can be a historic exhibit easily accessible to people throughout the state and the Midwest." This strategy has proved successful, as the plane's presence is continuously requested at regional air shows. "Public response to the DC-3 at the 1996 Rantoul and St. Charles, air shows was phenomenal," according to Wingler. To attain formal historic recognition, the museum has recently completed and submitted a National Register of Historic Places nomination for this aircraft. The nomination addresses the significance of the DC-3's engineering design and the role it played in U.S.

military and commercial aviation history. No other DC-3 is currently included within the National Register listing of historic properties. The nomination was approved in June by the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council and the museum expects a positive opinion from the National Park Service's keeper of the National Register by Labor Day. Stephen A Thompson is a Mat-toon native. ject DC-3A preformed basic carrier functions for Coffield.

Special missions included carrying a load of baby chicks to Nicaragua and acting as the campaign aircraft for former Texas Governor Preston Smith. The plane was even used to transport former actress Grace Kelly to a special event at Coffield's south Texas ranch. After Coffield's death in 1983, the plane was placed on the sale block once again. When the Prairie Aviation Museum's acquisition committee arrived in Rockdale, the plane was "up on blocks and far from flying order. Texas-based aircraft restoration experts were contracted to place the new purchase in operational condition.

After completion of the basic restoration work in Rockdale, the plane was flown by museum members to its present home at the Bloomington-Normal Airport in November 1984. Restoration work was continued by the museum's staff during early 1985. During that summer, Ozark Airlines of St Louis, requested the loan of the aircraft fordisplayatits35thAnniversary Exhibition at Lambert Field. It was during this loan period that the plane received its 1950s Ozark Paint scheme. Although the Prairie Aviation Museum has a variety of aircraft on exhibit, President Norm Hrtmi ml.