DC-3 Reunion Set For Next Weekend

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More than 30 DC-3s are expected to be on the field at Whiteside County Airport in Rock Falls, Ill., July 24-26 as The Last Time gathering of the iconic airliners gets under way. There are 42 aircraft registered but some won’t make it because of mechanical issues. The event is being held to mark the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the DC-3, considered one of the most important aircraft ever developed. There is parking for 34 of the big taildraggers and it’s anticipated every spot will be filled. Organizers are expecting about 10,000 people a day to turn out for the event, which is free of admission charge. It’s anticipated many of those will be people who have a connection with the aircraft as pilots, flight crew, ground crew or as passengers in peacetime and during war. The event will be capped with a large formation flight over Rock Falls. There will not be a mass formation arrival at AirVenture Oshkosh as had been originally planned.

Last-minute discussions between AirVenture and Last Time officials failed to yield an agreement on the form and nature of an organized mass arrival and display of the aircraft at Oshkosh. It’s expected that many of the planes taking part in the Rock Falls event will go to Oshkosh. AirVenture has several special events planned to mark the aircraft’s anniversary.

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