Douglas DC-3 (N272R)

The nose cone..

My first thought too - look at the nose..!!

Funny nose??????

Possibly has weather radar installed now.

The streamlining got to be worth a couple knots.

DC-3.5

272R was once owned by a friend of mine in Louisville, KY. The reason for the extended nose is that it was once used as a flying test bed for radar testing. May have been Bendix but I forget now. Also if I recall correctly the nose was modified from another aircraft but I’m forgetting what it was now. At my friend’s flying service it operated alongside two Connies, a Martin 202, Beech 18 and a number of smaller aircraft.

Wouldnt it be a C-47? Look at the rear doors just aft of the wing. I could possibly be wrong. Its been known to happen. A LOT

C-47 is the military designation for the DC-3.

The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment, and strengthened floor, along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof.

Ergo, it is NOT a DC-3 but sure looks like it at first glance.

The nose is like the EC-47D that the Air Force Communications Service used at Randolph AFB in 1962-63.

Is this plane still in service/operation today? When was it built? Looks like it's taken its share of usage over the years.

Hard to believe that the DC-3 made its maiden flight on December 17, 1935. They remained in production until 1946. Truly a legendary aircraft.

This type aircraft was used in the USAF at Randolph AFB in 1960-63 with Air Force Communications Service, as an AC47-D, later changed to EC47-D (Checking flight approach equipment at many bases (US and Europe)