Cockpit Door Reg More Than Tiny Service Can Support
Sure, a DC-3 weighs
over 12,500 pounds [double --ed]. One of the problems with that
wonderful 'liner, though, is that the working fleet is small, so
the costs of STCs get spread over a tiny base. When the government
mandates things that cost a lot of money, the little guys get hurt
the worst.
Era Aviation, though it's the largest regional airline in
Alaska, is still a 'little guy,' and its DC-3s are now out of
business -- and not because they can't still earn a living. They're
simply regulated out of business, by a rule that was designed to
combat a completely different problem, and on a completely
different scale. You see, after 65 years of service, DC-3s are
suddenly unsafe, and need to have the new, bulletproof,
terrorist-resistant cockpit doors. They're too expensive, so the
airliners need to be removed from service.
ANN News-Spy Bill Pearce told us, "Something
that I find sad and interesting: Era Classic Airlines is retiring
their 2 DC-3s. I think these are the last DC-3s to fly under part
121, scheduled air carrier operations. They are both at Stead (4SD)
in NV. Why the retirement? Because the FAA is requiring them to be
fitted with bulletproof cockpit doors. What’s right?
What’s wrong? I don’t know anymore; I only know my
opinions. But I think it would make a neat story. For the record,
they are N1944H and N1944M."
The first airplane came
to Era from its parent company, an oil-drilling company in Houston
(TX); the second one was most-recently a Basler machine. The 1942
and 1945 [-Hotel is the newer of the two] machines have been
delighting tourists and sightseers for five or six years, flying
over Alaska and the gorgeous terrain near Lake Tahoe (CA).
Lynn, at Era Aviation at Reno Stead, where the airplanes are
wintering, told us, "It's really a shame. Since [these machines are
really] used for private charter, [the rule change is] really a
pain." The planes, which seat as many as 28, are used for nostalgic
and sightseeing charter work. "They play the classic '40s music;
the stewardesses are in the uniforms of the day... it's really
neat," she said. Now, though, she thinks, "They're going to be
sold."
Tom Deal, in fixed-wing maintenance in Anchorage, the machines'
home base, said, "Imagine sitting in these airplanes, sipping
champagne from gold-rimmed glasses, listening to big band music,
and looking out at that big white rock [Alaska]. It's a wonderful
experience." Not any more, Tom, thanks to the showmanship in
DC.