A chronology of DC-3/C-47 operations in Region FOUR, USDA Forest Service 1963 thru 2012
- Stanley E. McGrew
- 4 days ago
- 12 min read
Stanley E. McGrew
Former Supervisory Pilot, Large Airplane Program
Region Four, USDA Forest Service
"It is Impossible, in practice, to plan for a “safe” life of exactly so many hours or years. We can only consider the problem in statistical terms and in light of the accumulated data and experience." ~ J. E. Gordon, Structures (325)
Much of the material appearing in this document has previously been captured in my PowerPoint slide show “Metamorphous,” the viewing of which requires access to a computer. This, then, is directed towards telling essentially the same story, but in a written “page turning” fashion, with perhaps a bit more embellishment of some of the finer details.
Commencing in July of 1978, “I was there” for the history herein documented, and everything herein chronicled after that date is therefore principally a reflection of my personal knowledge and experience. For those dates and events prior to July 1978, I have relied principally on two undated papers authored By Jim Larkin, a long-time Forest Service pilot who retired in 1979. Those papers have been appended to this document as Appendices A and B.
Half a century of service within Region Four! What a track record for the DC-3/C-47! And except for what I personally consider one of the most bone-headed decisions ever made in the upper echelons of Forest Service management, the last to go (142Z) could still be giving yeoman service for R-4 today. At the time I drafted this bit of text (October 2024) 142Z was still giving that kind of service as C-GKKB with Kenn Borek Air LTD, the Canadian operator that was highest bidder in the auction concluded on February 15, 2013. Oh, and what was the winning bid that enabled the addition of this marvelous airplane to Kenn Borek’s fleet? Right at $200,000 more than the $2,466.000 the Forest Service had paid Basler for the turboprop conversion in 1991, and that after 19 years of “wear and tear” on the airplane! For shame, Forest Service management, for shame!
As to the personalities involved and events that culminated in the decision to retire the DC-3 from Region Four operations I have no direct knowledge, as most of the action appears to have occurred “behind closed doors.” Also, I was by that time nearly 20-years retired from the Forest Service and thus denied direct access to both official and “back channels” of communication. But I did have my personal “mole” within the R-4 aviation department who was feeding me such related information as was passing through his hands. The knowledge that I was able to gain in this fashion led me to the conclusion that some very spurious arguments were being put forth to justify the retirement decision (unsuited to the principal job of dropping smokejumpers; too costly to maintain, and etc.) On that last note, I would welcome seeing a direct, honest, side by side maintenance cost comparison between the DC-3 and the Sherpa. One of the papers my mole was able to sneak into my hands was a document consisting of an entire page of dollar figures supposedly representing costs associated with operation of the DC3-TP67, but this paper was entirely devoid of any association of a particular cost figure line item with any information as to “what is this money being spent for.” And nothing was tied to any specific time frame (that is , annual, lifetime, one-time or periodic). So, just a list of “figures following dollar signs” entirely unsupported by any information that would enable a reader to evaluate the veracity of the information given.
Then, it has been suggested that the impetus toward retirement may well have kicked off right down at the Region Four aviation department level (new Maintenance Director who was “tired of having to move that airplane out every day to get other airplanes out;” A new Regional Aviation Officer who was a rotary wing guy with just “no use” for that old DC-3). Just speculation perhaps, but however the “get rid of” kernel was planted, it then sprouted and continued to grow until it bore fruit.
Perhaps this was inevitable as the general Forest Service mantra toward the DC-3, at least among the less knowledgeable and/or uninformed was “but we gotta get rid of those old, dangerous airplanes.” This attitude was not only generally prevalent throughout all levels of the organization but was even actively sanctioned by certain people who could be expected to know better (e.g., certain members of the aviation community itself). The question usually presented itself as “how can such an old airplane possibly be safe”? My response then and now would be “how do you suppose it got to be so old”?
But it appears that I am digressing from history and into philosophy a bit. So, time to get back on track and start digging into some history. The period to be covered is that found in the header to this document. That is, 1963 through 2012. The record reflects that at various times during this period Region Four had anywhere from one to six DC-3 or C-47 airplanes in the stable. The record also supports the understanding that two of these never saw regular operational service within R-4. Neither do either of Jim Larkin’s two papers suggest such. However, I will address all six airplanes in chronological order, from date and place of acquisition to date, place, and manner of final disposition.
Now, “on with the story.”
146Z was the first C-47 to be acquired by Region Four, although two different airplanes were involved in the transaction. On 18 November 1963, a Utah Air National Guard C-47 was transferred to the Region and was flown to Boise, Idaho, where an airframe inspection revealed several serious discrepancies. Meanwhile, a “spare parts” ship had been selected at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, which turned out to be in better shape. So, a switch was made, and the Tucson C-47 was modified, equipped, and placed in service in Region Four in May 1964, as 146Z. The airplane obtained from the Utah Air National Guard was “parted out,” with the whole nose section later being “grafted” onto 148Z.
146Z continued to serve in Region Four (and as a C-47, rather than a DC-3) until conversion to turboprop configuration in early 1991. It then became a DC-3C and was re-identified as N115Z and transferred to Region One, where it continued to serve until it too was taken out of service to be sold as surplus in December 2015. Thus, its service in Region Four effectively ended when it was transferred to Region One following conversion, but its performance within the Forest Service saw a 52-year run from 1964 thru 2015, making it by far the most “senior” C-47/DC-3 and undoubtedly the most “senior” airplane of any type ever having served under USDA Forest Service ownership.
148Z was the second C-47 to be acquired and placed in service by Region Four. It was transferred from the U.S. Border Patrol in early 1968 and ferried to Boise for repairs and rework. It was online by the beginning of the 1968 fire season, although engine problems limited its use to 66 hours that year. This airplane was lost on 11 June 1979 when it crashed into the Selway River in Montana after a precautionary shutdown of the left engine had been made, followed almost immediately by failure, and separation from the wing of the right engine. Of the twelve people on board (crew and passengers) there were but two survivors. The loss of this airplane held particular significance for me, as my Forest Service career essentially began in this airplane during the 1978 fire season.
As this is being written in October 2024, some 45+ years have passed since this accident, and there remains considerable mystery, speculation, and conjecture as to what exactly was the sequence of events in the cockpit immediately preceding loss of the airplane. It appears likely that some of the pieces of that puzzle will never be known. For about the last 7 years, I have been in regular communication with Richard Holm, a published author of back-country aviation books currently residing in McCall, Idaho, who has for some years been researching and working on a book covering the Selway incident. That book has yet to be published, and it is not anticipated that it will clear up all the mystery. But it is intended to paint a picture that will hopefully put to rest some of the unfounded and uninformed speculation that has been circulating throughout parts of the aviation community since the date of the accident.
N100Z was obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1970. It had not been one of the FAA’s numerous Flight Facilities Check Aircraft, rather, it was one of their “General Purpose” DC-3s, and had seen considerable service in Alaska. This airplane was delivered to Basler Turbo Conversions, Inc. on 13 September 1990 for conversion to a turboprop configuration. The conversion process involved much more than an engine and propeller change. Rather, the airframe itself underwent significant modification, as did the fuel, hydraulic, electrical, avionics, and instrumentation systems . The airplane was also re-identified as 142Z during the conversion process to get it in sync with the “Regional Identification Code Scheme” in effect at that time. The airplane was formally accepted back from Basler Turbo Conversions, Inc. on 10 April 1991.
Following conversion, 142Z then served continually and well in Region Four aerial operations through 2012, when that most misguided and unfortunate management decision spoken of earlier forced it into retirement. N100Z/142Z had thus served continuously with the Forest Service for 42 years, rendering it “second only” to 146Z/N115Z in terms of seniority and longevity!
A second Twin Otter, which became 143Z, was acquired from The Air Force in late 1991 shortly before my retirement. At the time of this writing (October 2024) both airplanes were still performing smokejumper and other duties in Region Four.
The last C-47 to be placed in an operational status by Region Four (143Z) was a VC-47D obtained from the Military Storage and Disposition Center at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona, and flown away from that facility on 21 February 1975. The rework necessary to get this airplane “online” as a smokejumper airplane included removal of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 engines of 1,200 horsepower, and the installation of R-1830-94 engines of 1,350 horsepower. As a VC-47D, the airplane had been equipped with an air-stair door (no cargo door), and this was never changed. While in no way degrading the airplane’s capabilities as a smokejumper airplane, this somewhat limited its out-sized cargo hauling capabilities. It was principally for this reason that it was selected as the airplane to “turn over” to the Hill AFB Museum as a precondition to the acquisition of a new DHC-6-300 Twin Otter (the first such to be owned/operated by the Forest Service) in February 1984.
I flew 143Z into Hill AFB on 27 February 1984 (arguably the last time the airplane will ever have flown), where it has since been on display all “dolled up” as a C-47 once again.
A recent visit with 143Z, just a bit over 40 years since I flew it into the Hill AFB Museum
on 27 February 1984, some 3 years before the museum was opened to the public.
The preceding section essentially addressed the four different DC-3/C-47 airplanes Region Four ever possessed that were employed on an operational basis. What follows will be an accounting of the two other C-47s once owned by R-4 but, at least as far as available records reveal, were never placed in an operational status.
The first of these (145Z) was obtained from the Air Force, but the year of acquisition has been “lost to history.” Neither of Jim Larkin’s papers (Appendices A and B) speak definitively on this subject, but from context it would appear to have been sometime in the late 1960s. Neither do either of these papers clearly indicate whether this airplane was ever placed on-line and operated. One of Jim’s papers states that this airplane was “scrapped and used as a jumper mockup” at the Boise International Interagency Fire Center (BIFC). This would of course have been in support of the R-4 smokejumper base, also at BIFC. What is known for sure is that this airplane (known widely as “The Pedestal Doug”) was on-site when I was hired in 1978 and was still there when I retired in 1992. The only picture I have of this airplane is one taken later within the Basler Turbo Conversions facility. The displayed Registration Number (145ZA) would suggest that the airplane was declared surplus by the Forest Service, sold, probably then briefly operated as 145ZA, and then taken to Basler’s for conversion. Clearly the same airplane, as one may still discern the weathered ”Miss Boise” painted near the nose.
Going through the conversion line at Basler Turbo Conversion, LLC in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The other C-47 that was never put on the line (we will call it “The Army Doug”) was acquired from Ft. Huachuca in Arizona, principally to enable the “cannibalization” of some “high tech” instrumentation and avionics, along with other useable and useful parts and pieces. I do not know when it may have been acquired, but it was parked on the Boise Airport when I was hired in 1978. At the end of the ’78 fire season I was tasked by the Supervisory Pilot for Large Airplanes (Chris Hayne) to “put just enough stuff back on it to make one last flight to McCall.” So, I did. J -- U – S -- T barely enough to make the flight.
On the way to McCall. Note the total absence of anything other than engine instruments on the panel! As Chris said: “In a C-47, when you can get full travel of the control yoke without appreciably effecting the pitch attitude, you are probably getting a mite slow.”
In the fall of 1978 Chris Hayne and I flew “The Army Doug” to McCall to turn it into a smokejumper training aid for teaching exit procedures. It served in this role for many years until finally declared surplus and sold. It was purchased by a former smokejumper (Scott Anderson), whose intent was to build an art center around it. This never happened, but as shown above the bird still sits today on a piece of land Scott owns near the airport. During smokejumper reunions one will generally find a gaggle of beer drinking, story telling former smokejumpers lounging beneath it.
So, It seems clear that I have crewed the last ever flights of two Forest Service C-47s, the one above to McCall in 1978, and in 1984, 143 Z into the Hill AFB Museum.
New Section:
As I began this paper, my intent was to talk just about DC-3s and C-47s. But before closing out, I want to say a bit about two other smokejumper airplane types that were in use in Region Four during my 14 years service in that organization. Those would be the single Beechcraft B-99, and the two deHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otters. These airplanes were registered and operated as 140Z, 141Z and 143Z respectively.
140Z, the Beech 99, was operating as a smokejumper airplane the year I hired on (1978). Towards the end of my time, it was transferred to Region Eight to do god-only- knows-what other than drop jumpers. The airplane would carry six jumpers, although not in great comfort as the cabin was too small to stand and walk fully erect. Also, the jumpers greatly prefered an exit speed not exceeding 90 knots, whereas the flight characteristics of the B-99 would be getting a bit mushy at 90 knots. What the B-99 did have going for it was speed. It would get out to a fire more rapidly than either the DC-3 or Twin Otter. While crewing the B-99 at West Yellowstone one year I was dispatched directly to a fire in Region Six near Wenatchee Washington. Had to land in Spokan for fuel on the way, but then flew directly to the fire and dropped jumpers. Possibly the furthest dispatch from a jump base directly to a fire in the history of the smokejumper program!
One year back in the 1980s, Beech Aircraft company sent a Beech B-58TC Baron with a pilot and photographer to McCall to get some imagery of the 99 dropping Jumpers. It was explained to me that Beech wanted to start running some ads showing their airplanes as “working airplanes,” and not just “people haulers.” I was reluctant to allow a pilot with formation flying skills unknown to me to chase the 99 around, so I insisted on performing as chase plane pilot in the Baron. This was met with no resistance, and that is what I did. I do not think Beach ever went ahead with that advertising idea, as I never say any such Ads.
In February 1984, Region Four took delivery of a brand new deHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter at the factory in Toronto, Canada, and flew it home to Ogden, Utah.
The acquisition of this airplane was instigated by the Washington Office as a first step towards replacing the DC-3s as smokejumper airplanes. To the best of my knowledge, this purchase was only the second purchase of a new airplane as a smokejumper airplane, the first having been a Beech Super 18 purchased and used at the Idaho City smokejumper base in the Late 1950s. As the project to purchase a Twin Otter was going forward, I was tasked by the Washington Office to draft the Technical Specifications portion of the purchase contract. I was more than willing to do this as I very much “knew what I wanted” in the airplane when it showed up on the smokejumper ramp. All the writing associated with this was done on tablet paper and given to my wife for typing because no clerical support whatever was available to me at the airport office! This same situation was also the case in 1989 when I was similarly tasked with writing the Technical Specifications section of the contract for the DC-3 turboprop conversion. To meet that requirement (since again having no clerical support) I went out and purchased my very first computer, a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80. Not very long thereafter, I purchased a second, one for home and one for the office, as I was doing most of my writing at home in the evenings, and then just carrying floppy disks back and forth between home and office.
141Z on the smokejumper base in Redding, California in support of preseason training. Those were the first jumps made from the airplane following acquisition.
A second Twin Otter, which became 143Z, was acquired from The Air Force in late 1991 shortly before my retirement. At the time of this writing (October 2024) both airplanes were still performing smokejumper and other duties in Region Four.
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