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DC-6 Takes Flight
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DC-6 Takes Flight

On this day, February 15, in 1946, the Douglas DC-6 took its first flight. We wrote in our 2009 story, The Six:

The aircraft got its first major assignment in 1959 with Eagle Airways (later changed to British Eagle), which needed a fuel-efficient workhorse. Working for the airline, the DC-6 had an adventurous youth: It shuttled military personnel home from British H-bomb tests on Christmas Island; it carried men and equipment to Australia as part of the United Kingdom’s first rocket programs; and it flew some of the first holiday-package air routes, taking skiers to Innsbruck and sunbathers to Nice.

Above is an interior shot of the DC-6 from the National Air and Space Museum's America by Air exhibit. 

Credit: NASM


 

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Comments (1)

I like this shot. This was back in the good old days before political correctness corrupted society. Note the ash trays on the seats.

Posted by on April 5,2013 | 11:38 PM



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Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has been delighting aerospace enthusiasts with the best writing about their favorite subject since April 1986. As an adjunct of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Air & Space matches the grand scope of the Museum, encompassing every era of aviation and space exploration. With stories that range from the Wright Brothers to the design of NASA's next lunar lander, Air & Space emphasizes the human stories as well as the technology of aviation and spaceflight.

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