DC-3 Airways
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Happy 70th birthday

Santa Monica and return

On December 17, 1935 the Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST), made its first flight with pilot Carl Cover at the controls and Frank Collbohm as co-pilot. The aircraft lifted off from Clover field, Santa Monica and was airborne for an hour and a half. The flight was described as "very routine,"" so routine in fact, that no Douglas executives took the time to watch it and no photographs of the event were taken. Further test flights followed and apart from the addition of a small dorsal fin to the tail to improve directional stability, no major problems arose.

An Approved Type Certificate, ATC No. 607, was issued on 21 May 1936 and the DC-3 was born.