I moved a Dc3 from a muddy field just 2 weeks ago. Lifted the tail wheel onto a flat trailer and tied it in place then attached tow straps from the trailer back to the main gear. Hooked the biggest tractor I could find to the trailer and drove it out. Good times .

I am not sure what was more fun: watching the video and reading the comments from all of the Nervous Nellie’s who have obviously never done anything of significance in their lives. I worked as a logger for many years and we did stuff more dangerous than this 8 hours every day 5-6 days a week. The main thing I would have done differently is to have stopped when the tailwheel broke and blocked up the tail and sent the crane crew home. Then I would have fabricated a wheeled dolly that the tailwheel could be cradled in and to which a tow bar could be attached and then lower the tailwheel into the cradle and tow it that way so it could be controlled in both directions.

Thanks Mr. Weeks for what you do to preserve American aviation history!

How can you not like Kermit as a person? He will be 71 years old next month and he is the one climbing all over (and under) that DC-3 and basically risking injury or death! The guy has done so much to preserve aviation history for us and future generations, you have to be a “very special person” (in your own mind) to type out a comment critical of how he chooses to do something.

@dukeallen432

Ай бұрын

Lots of jealousy.

@new.handle

Ай бұрын

That is when you do something you like more than anything, you focus on things getting done.

Let the pros do their job, they know how their equipment and what it will do.

@kenp6200

24 күн бұрын

I agree. Who appointed Kermit crane expert?

I was wondering where the DC3 went....now I know!

The MOST important thing is that Kermit didn't get Hurt , 👍 and fortunately Nobody else was under the DC 3 when it made the unscheduled forced landing either, Goodness Me ! Moooo ! 🐂 MOOOO ! 🐂 Mooooh 🐂 indeed

I liked when you dressed the pilot like Santa.

Hat’s off to Kermit. Say what you will about the operation, but anyone else would have scrapped an airplane that corroded. Kermit’s keeping it in one piece and that’s admirable.

Great coverage of a seldom seen operation. I have made airworthy and moved quite a few historic aircraft from difficult places 15 years ago before the FAA, OSHA and the EPA were an obstacle. Its a tremendous responsibility to supervise this kind of operation and there are few textbook solutions. As a result you need a lot of planning and brainstorming before you begin. It usually happens that somebody has already done a similar move and can provide important lessons learned so you don't have to discover them. While I don't know what part of the structure failed while the forklift was in service, I remember that the Main Landing Gear of the DC-3 was the folding door latch type and I did not see any pins installed. The gear was probably secured another way on this derelict but that could have been a weak link. Anyway, great job Kevin and you have not made any mistakes that I had not already done at least once. Planning is vital but on the scene problem solving is still a very necessary skill.

DC 3 as built 16,785 empty weight. 25,000 Gross weight. Not really that heavy but awkward. Extremely nose heavy with engines installed. Good Luck, And thank you for saving this long abused piece of history.

@DavidBostock-ti2fv

Ай бұрын

8 tons is about 8 tons more than I want to drop on my foot. Good point about unloaded balance of cargo plane, I never thought of it.

@barrysimmons5489

Ай бұрын

Couple of years back Buffalo Air did a whole series on restoring a DC 3. It flew in a D Day memorial flight.... Boss man, before retiring back when I was a NCCO, we'd take a strain on each separate point before lifting anything that sat around forever, to ensure everything was freed up. No springing surprises like a sealed down in ashphalt rooftop HVAC unit sat for years. That saves one a lot of anxiety. Thanks for having the motivation for preserving an aviation icon. 👍🇺🇲👍

Kermit, check out what the DDAY Experience museum in Normandy did with their C-47. Right down your alley... or runway.

@DavidBostock-ti2fv

Ай бұрын

A pretty Canadian paint job with KZread restoration and plane specific history, title: Plane Savers D-Day Douglas DC-3 flies again By Kenneth I. Swartz June 7, 2019

Sure gonna miss her when on I-4. Been an icon for many many years !

@mp6756

Ай бұрын

I'll miss that. I always use that as a landmark when I'm driving on I-4. Now I'll have to pay attention to the mile markers to know where I am.

Welcome to this Week's edition of Kermit's Kliffhangers! In this episode of Aircraft Archeology, we witness the end of an era and the moving of an icon. Clusterfun at its best... and worst! Featuring excellent drone shots and background trees lending the impression that the artifact has moss growing down off the belly. Thanks for another great one, Kermit. You have DC-3 cuts; I have B-17 gashes on my left leg from Bomber Camp last month (Ye Olde Pub!). Stay Tuned... and may we all have dreams of cows eating popcorn.

I'm just glad Kermit finally got a better camera/mic. The audio sounded so much better!

Restoring such an aircraft as a monument is already an ambitious project; dreaming about more is not serious.

I’ve loved looking over off the interstate and seeing the old bird. Who could not resist looking at her?

As long as nobody got hurt its a big relief. Thats the problem of not having a method statement how too move it .The crane driver had one for lifting operation. This is where accidents happen as your making it up as you go along. Take care be safe 👍💨💨

First airtime in years Looking good Thanks for sharing Regards Norway

Jesus Christ, Kermit, let people do their jobs. You take micromanaging to an entirely new level.

Micro managing Kermit. Let the guy do his thing

I think the only one who should learn from ( his) mistakes is Kermit himself, !

DANG IT!!! You were almost there. Sometimes Murphy is Stronger than Kilroy. Thankfully, No One was Hurt. Time to take a Break and Regroup. 🤯🙏👍

i love the dc-3 !!! this is a civilian version!! hope it flies again soon!! congrats!!!!

Thanks from England.

Good good good! Yeah yeah yeah!

I knew that was gonna happen,,,,,Love,,,,DUBS

I like old Kermie. He has a Piper L-4 Grasshopper like my dad flew in WWII.

Very brave for Kermit and his guys to be putting that wheel on while the airplane was up in the air

I hear the cows cheering you on!

Hey Dave Moo; Dave Moo;Moo, Dave! 😄when Kermit calls out hay Dave; the cows calls out Dave...can you hear the cow saying Dave..

Finally was in Florida and got to see some of the collection. Wish was able to see the only better and wish the b29 was there but was great to view what could

I would like to commend the heros that walked anywhere underneath this during video. Goodspeed kermit

I didn't see what happened at the end, but it seemed the crane crew had little or no feel for what was needed to restrain the plane from rolling. But maybe the musical mooing of the cows induced a reverie.

I saw that coming a mile away lol, but honestly not the crane guys fault, how were they supposed to know the gear would fold up if they pulled on it that way, Kermit should have caught that one.

All those crazy adventures and you almost got taken out by the DC3

I wondered when this disappeared. I see it all the time now in front of the hangar. It's keeping the Catalina company.

It frustrate me not seeing what happened, and having to wait for part 2. Also for big moves like this with a number of people involved, clear communication (which wasn't here) is a must. Similar to at an airshow, disaster strikes when communication isn't clear and people don't know what is going on

Hi Kermit and friends 🙂 10:57 Good to see the professionals at work! Either that guy is a automaton or he's reasonable actor. Apparently getting whacked by that thing doesn't hurt at all. Hahahahahaha. Now, this is no joke, I absolutely love your professionalism Kermit. I'm sure you're a human man and make mistakes every now and then. But when it comes to aviation, airplanes and their management, you're a top notch profession. And I will fight any man who says otherwise 🙂 There might be something wrong with your audio, I think someone left it on mooooote.

"Stay on the deals!"

The suspense is killin me.

Well, RIP the DC-3. I will miss riding in the car past it.

"Kinda clips on the deals here." A group of real technical experts operating here.

Dear Kermit, the only one what did you should been make with this douglas dc3 - it’s washing his! Sorry, this will been hell repair

i dont need to see the video to imterpret those crunching noises. im just glad no one got hurt.

All Hail The Man, The Myth, The Legend ,Mr Weeks ! A Big Thank You, For All You do for Historic Aircraft

Even the cows said to move away... 😂

Good "manure-ing" with your shadow & plane lift. Love your humor; really adds to an already entertaining video.

I would have just used a bottle jack to open up the tow bar enough to fit. Just spread the ends a little bit and it would have worked.

Did the tail wheel fold or did the mains fold?? Also how long do we have to wait for part 2 ?? The suspense is killing me!😕😟😯😲🥺

@DavidBostock-ti2fv

Ай бұрын

He points out ropes attached at pivot point that goes forward as gear goes up. I don't think gear down locks could ever take such force. I think mains collapsed.

Kermit this is considered Kluster Fun and a half.

Dear Kermit... Sometimes legends end up as a part of history and in the legend's cemetery as a memory for posterity. The last date of this aircraft was years ago...

@DblIre

Ай бұрын

Basler Aero Conversions takes C-47s in worse shape than this and zero-times them after stretching them and adding turboprops.

The bovine cheerleaders were a nice touch. I think they were saying, "This is some funny Bravo Sierra right here!"

this was is a icon, i always look when driving by, and I got to land my BE35 there with the Florida pilots A may be 25 30 yrs ago

I wonder if this DC3 was originally flown in or trucked in?

As a long time crane and hoisting guy, you must always plan the heck out of a pick well before bringing men and equipment to the site. Should use a chain fall for that third point, that way, you can adjust the load.

lol 1:36 at some point means 20 years to Kermit

I think the cows where trying to tell you something.

Ohh Kermy😱

I'm glad the DC-3 came down, one way or another. It was sad watching it deteriorate over the past decade. Florida weather is not kind to static aircraft displays. It was a pretty plane when it was first displayed and it had a dummy paratrooper next to it. My kids loved to drive by it on the way to my parents' house.

Whenever I see one of these projects there's a lot of let's try this & see what happens going on. Instead of pulling a corroded plane from were it has been sitting for 30 years they could have cut the brackets free from the base once the plane was under tension from the crane. As the DC-3 was lifted the brackets would have fallen off if loose or been cut off as needed.

Kermit, That wasn’t a cluster fun,,,it was a real shet show.

Cows clearly not thrilled with this process. Glad everyone was ok.

Saudações, vai restaurado ou revitalizado.

Any idea what the SN is on this aircraft? I'm looking for my Dad's D-Day C-47.

I just passed by where the plane used to be. You forgot one of the wheels

I will miss the old Lady.

13:46 …hawk tuah, and spit on that thing!

Cows are the nosiest Critter God EVER created. Ive worked with them all my Life 🤠

The cows are giving advice

All you can do is your best. I’m assuming the strap pulling back to potential keep it from rolling down hill folded the gear as the pick up truck pulled. Kermit only wanted it strapped at the gear and have the forklift stay “loose” on the straps for safety. Hindsight it would have collapsed if it did start to roll anyway. Yeah strap was to high on the gear leg. Push that beast into the woods and make it a display like a belly landing wreck in the Amazon. Let nature consume it. Maybe it didn’t fall to the ground, and I’m just assuming. Till part two!

Part two we'll see it patched up with duck tape. That outta do it. Moo, Moo, MOOooooo

Mistake 6.5, "Gear UP"!!!

Why couldn't this have been rolled back down the ramp? I'm sure there's a good reason this needed lifted, what is it? Thanks!

@blueboats

Ай бұрын

The way the main wheels were held on the stands it had to be lifted to roll it regardless. Then rolling backwards down the ramps with only the tail wheel leading on the ground while trying to control the weight would have not worked, the whole tail wheel would have collapsed (as it did) and best case the plane would still be on the ramps.

@ercando11

Ай бұрын

@@blueboats Makes sense. Thank you!

👍👍👍👍👍👍👌👌✌️🙏🛫

What's up with all the moo-ing?

👍

All I could do was grimace when I heard the crackling.

Dave's not here man!!! 🤣

I sure am going to miss seeing that old girl when I go down I-4.

You should have just hook the Lull to the back lifting strap lifted the tail a little and drove or pulled it anywhere you wanted it to go. Better luck next time.

Real dc3 are really rare, most are ex c47 or c53

What matters the most is that in the end, no body got hurt, including the cows. Thanks Kermit. Looking forward to part 2. Time for some rum!🍷🥃

I think Kermit and his crew should have been wearing the t-shirt that says" What could possibly go wrong"....Wait a minute that's somebody else's KZread channel lol

I'm always sad when I see an old bird that has its flying days behind it but unfortunately like cars and us humans, airplanes have a limited life

Ride past that all the time. Wondered what happened to it....

Doesn't a DC-3 have factory lift points? The DC-2 and DC-3 were sold to customers all over the world. Those going to the Western Pacific or Asia would have been delivered by ship or fly a very long way around. The lifting straps should have been much wider to distribute the load. Guess the poor old thing is treated as a writeoff now anyway so it didn't matter. If they broke a main landing gear that would be some trick. The DC-2/DC-3 MLG are so good that Avro copied the design with some adjustments for the Manchester bomber and its derivatives.

25346 grtw......without engines and other equipment my recall is dry weight with all was around 19000lbs

Should have just used the lull to lift the tail by the strap, and safely moved it anwhere,,,DUBS

If it's on your property who cares if it's an eye sore!🙄 Jman

Why not hook the cows up to it to tow it.

its a shame this DC-3 has been abandoned to deteriorate.

U should of fix the tow bar problem instead of rushing

Any history of that

This is the most fascinating and suspensful crane-lift I've yet watched! 😀

Micro-management at its finest.

I have only respect for what all of you are doing, but there's something about those cattle mooing that's hilarious. It's like the cows are telling you that you're all doing it wrong....

All i got to say is the Cow's were right......Thanks Kermit..... Old Flying nasty Shoe🇺🇸

Mistakes were made... It is now all about the recovery and the dismount.

@slowery43

Ай бұрын

thank you Cpt Obvious

When hiring a professional, make sure to gather up 2 or 3 guys to tell them how to do their job.

@pat36a

Ай бұрын

The professional knows his job and his equipment. He doesn't know what he's hooking to. But I get your drift.