Published: September 09, 2007 11:07 pm         

Historic DC-3 will land at Enid Woodring Regional Airport for Saturday display

A historic aircraft will be featured as part of a fly-in Saturday at Enid Woodring Regional Airport.

A restored DC-3 will be open for tours by about 9:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. Guided tours will explain the history of the airplane, which is the Federal Aviation Administration’s last DC-3. The plane turned 62 years old in May and has about 25,000 flight hours on its airframe. It was built at Tinker Air Force Base, accepted by the Navy and flown to Norfolk (Va.) Naval Air Station for its first official duty as a Navy transport. During its time with the Navy, it served in Rome, Naples, Paris, Algiers, Frankfurt, Brussels, Oslo, Stockholm, Dublin, Cairo, Kuwait, Baghdad and other locations around the world.

It was loaned to Civil Aeronautics Administration, predecessor of the FAA, in 1956 and modified with new equipment to flight check the latest navigational aids in the National Airspace System. It was assigned the number N34 in 1958 and began its service with the FAA.

The classic aircraft cruises at 130 knots, or about 150 mph. It weighs 26,900 pounds and is powered by two Pratt & Whitney radial engines rated at 1,350 horsepower each. In an average flight, it will use 50 gallons of fuel per hour, per engine, or about 100 gallons per hour, and the fuel tank holds 800 gallons.

The plane will be here as part of the Enid airport’s Centennial celebration. The airport also will host a fly-in of aircraft from around the area and the country. The fly-in breakfast will be 8:30 to 10 a.m. Sept. 15 at the airport diner. The event is part of the citywide Centennial celebration, said Michele Moritz, of Wood-ring.

Moritz did not know how many planes were expected for the fly-in, saying it could be a small number to “a ton.”

“We’re hoping for quite a bit, since it’s part of the Centennial and people will want to look at the DC-3,” she said.

Woodring houses general aviation, corporate flights and military daily. Moritz said a busy day will see 200 general aviation and corporate aircraft use the airport, in addition to Vance flights.

Woodring has begun a program to give youths interested in pursuing an aviation career their first airplane ride. Moritz said anyone considering an aviation career should call the airport and a ride may be scheduled. The number is 234-5476.