Flying back in time in a Breitling DC-3
Plane known as Dakota in military avatar, shows off its moves in Dubai as part of record world tour
Whoever said time travel was just science fiction has to take a flight onboard the Breitling DC-3 to actually experience the journey back in time — 1940 to be precise.
There are only around 150 aircraft of such vintage currently in the world and, of which, only a handful are still flying in their original state. To be on board a DC-3, which is also known as Dakota in its military avatar, is an opportunity that may be considered among the rarest of the rare.
In Dubai on a stopover enroute its record-breaking world tour, I was fortunate to be among the select few to fly on the Breitling DC-3, and experience how air travel felt like 80 years ago.
Restored to its original state, albeit with a few avionics upgrades, the legendary flying machine took me on a flight of imagination, bringing me back to senses with an occasional jolt.
“It could be a bit bumpy and noisy at times but this gives you the real taste of flying and how it was in the early days. You can feel the engine right under your feet. You can literally feel the wind and forces of nature against you. It gives a real insight into how aviation history shaped during those early decades of the 20th century,” said Francisco Agullo, captain Breitling DC-3, speaking to
as we boarded the flight. The 30-minute flight, though too short to provide a proper feel, was mostly smooth considering it was on board one of the world’s oldest functional aircraft, the take-off and landing at Al Maktoum International Airport’s Jetex VIP Terminal being picture perfect.
While the first DC-3 was built in 1935, the Breitling of DC-3 HB-IRJ that we were in had made its first flight in 1940 as part of an American Airlines fleet and was leased out to the US military between 1942 and 1944.
55 destinations
Among the earliest commercial passenger aircraft, Breitling DC-3 celebrated its 77th birthday on March 9 by embarking on a six-month world tour, a massive undertaking for such an old aircraft.
“The tour took off from Geneva and will take the flight through 55 destinations across 28 countries, flying 42,000 kilometres across the world. This tour is a celebration of this aircraft’s contribution to commercial aviation and we want to tell the world that it was the DC-3 that revolutionised passenger air transport,” said Agullo, who led the team that located this aircraft in Plattsburgh, New York, in 2008 and helped restore it.
One of 16,000 such 24-seater aircraft built between 1935 and 1945, this DC-3 acquired by Breitling in 2008 is indeed a living piece of history, having taken part in the Second World War.