What kinda plane is this?
[img]www.members.aol.com/ericsorenson/woldNWA.jpg[/img]

Douglas DC-3

Looks like a good old DC-3 to me.  could be a DC-2 also. its hard to be precise with an illustration.  

Ben.

What they said.

Mmm, the shape of the cockpit, the age of the illustration and the general "feel" of the drawing leads me to believe it isnt a gooney bird but a DC-2. Just a gut hunch.

DC-2, Note the short engine cowlings and pointier nose.

Had the unique pleasure of flying in a DC-3 when they were in regular service.  My first plane ride was a Braniff hop from Dallas Love to San Antonio where my father was serving at Ft. Sam.  Also have a couple rides on a Super Constellation under my belt.  Crossing the Rockies at night watching the exhaust pipes glowing was memorable.

When I was a kid growing up in Venezuela, the plane used by Aeropostal-a domestic airline-had a large fleet of DC-3s.  Took many a flight on them to get from where I lived to Caracas.

[b]llanero[/b]

I went to Venizuela on vacation when I was 14 and I believe I remember seeing the DC3 of which you speak. I spend two weeks with my mother, kid brother, and step dad, out at this beautiful little beach town near the Guiana boarder.

Even for a shy kind of awkward kid who didnt speak too much Spanish, the local girls were all very friendly and very beautiful. I think I saw my family four days out of the time I was there, and I'm happy to say I lost that which every young man is hoping to lose on that trip. Such wonderful memories of that country :)
So sad to see the hardships the people are going through right now.

I've jumped from several of 'em. They were pretty popular for skydiving in the eighties.[img]http://www.lastrefuge.co.uk/images/html/aerials/balloon2/preview_data/aerialballoon15.jpg[/img]

Agreeing with you. The NWA on the underside of the wing would suggest Northwest Airlines... but then again, it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong either. [:)]

Now, who can identify the dirigible in the background?

Hey Reb!
Glad to hear that you've visited the nation of my birth--Venezuela is a living museum of natural wonders, not the least of which is our women!  
As far as the present BS going on--we've been through worse, though it's easy saying that from over here in Missouri....

llanero-
 Mmm, yes, natural wonders. Every time I go someplace warm I end up comparing it to that beach and nothing ever stacks up.

As for constant troubles- it seems the warmer the climate you live in, the more predestine for unrest you are. At least Venizuela is no worse off than any of its neighbors, with the possible exception of Brazil.

So as a former resident and an interested party, what do you think needs to happen down there in order for things to come back to rights?

For the life of me, I will swear that it is JUST the wind sock attached to the mast on top of the control tower. Where is the gondola, engines and a significant set of control surfaces (Rudder & Elevator)?

Of course, this is just an illustration.

The DC-3/C47 belongs right up there next to the B17 for planes that just didn't know when to quit flying.  Rugged workhorses.

NWA stands for "Northwest Airlines"  According to Northwest, they flew the following aircraft

Lockheed Orion in 1933
Lockheed Electra in 1934
Lockheed Zephyr in 1937
and the New Douglas DC-3 in 1939

No mention of the Douglas DC-2

I'm betting on the DC-3

Trans Texas Airlines.  TTA.  At the time also known as Tree Top Airlines for their penchant for flying into every small town.  Didn't TTA morph into Southwest with the stews in hotpants?

You guys are an incredible wealth of knowledge!

Thank You!

DC-2
[img]http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/photos/dc-2.jpg[/img]

DC-2
[img]http://www.microworks.net/pacific/aviation/r2d-1.jpg[/img]

B-18
[img]http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/photos/b-18.jpg[/img]

The DC-2 was a twin-engined, all-metal, low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. The crew of two, pilot and copilot, sat side-by-side in the cockpit. The main landing gear retracted into the nacelles but about one-third of the tire was left exposed as a precaution in the event of a wheels up landing; the tail wheel was full swivelling but did not retract. The wing extended beneath the fuselage and served as a mounting for both engine nacelles. The entire aircraft, except for the control surfaces, was made of high-tension strength aluminum alloy known as Alclad; the control surfaces, i.e., ailerons, rudder and elevators, were metal framed covered with fabric. Since these were transports, the aircraft had a standard passenger door on the port (left) side of the fuselage aft of the wing. All of the DC-2's were built at the Douglas plant in Santa Monica, California.

The Navy ordered five DC-2's in two different series. All five aircraft were designated R2D-1's. The first three aircraft were DC-2-125's that were delivered in November and December 1934; two aircraft went to the USN and one to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). The fourth and fifth aircraft were DC-2-142's that were delivered in September 1935, one to the USN and one to the USMC. The two suffixes, -125 and -142, indicated the interior fittings and other variations between groups of DC-2's. All five aircraft were powered by two 750 hp (559.3 kW) Wright R-1820-12 nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled, radial engines driving Hamilton Standard variable pitch three-bladed propellers.

The USAAC also purchased 58 DC-2's and designated them XC-32, C-33, C-34, C-39, C-41 and C-42.  During World War II, another 24 DC-2's were impressed by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) which superseded the USAAC on 20 June 1941.

Wing Span: 85 feet (25.9 meters)
Length: 61 feet 9 inches (18.8 meters)
Height: 16 feet 3.75 inches (5.0 meters)
Wing Area: 939 square feet (87.2 square meters)
Fuel Capacity: 510 U.S. gallons (1,931 liters)
Empty Weight: 12,408 pounds (5,620 kg)
Gross Weight: 18,200 pounds (8,255 kg)
Maximum Speed: 210 mph (338 km/h)
Cruising Speed: 190 mph at 8,000 feet (306 km/h at 2,438 meters)
Initial Rate of Climb: 1,000 feet (305 meters) per minute
Service ceiling: 22,450 feet (6,840 meters)

Douglas B-18 Bolo
Developed from the DC-2 civil transport, the Douglas DB-1 was designed in 1934 as a replacement for the USAAC's standard bomber, the B-10. The DB-1 was the losing contender in the USAAC contest, which was won by the Boeing B-17. Despite this, the DB-1 entered production as the B-18, with most of the USAAC's bomber squadrons being equipped by B-18s or B-18A's in 1940. The majority of the 33 B-18A's stationed with the USAAC in Hawaii in 1941 were destroyed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. When the B-1 8 was replaced in first-line service by the B-17 in 1942, some 122 B-18s were equipped magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment for deployment in the Caribbean on anti-submarine patrol. Some B-18s were used for transport duty, with a portion of these designated C-58s.

kpel308, it could be a C-117!

US Navy VX-6 R4D-5L flying over Queen Maud Land 1957.
[img]http://www.vaq34.com/vxe6/speed.jpg[/img]

US Navy VX-6 LC-117D at Byrd Camp 1961.
[img]http://www.vaq34.com/vxe6/r4d17188.jpg[/img]

US Navy VX-6 R4D-8L using JATO bottles to assist leaving the South Pole 1959.
[img]http://www.vaq34.com/vxe6/dc323.jpg[/img]

This R4D-5L "Charlene" waited at the Beardmore Glacier Station as a back-up / rescue aircraft for R4D-5L "Que Sera Sera" to be the first R4D to land at the South Pole.
[img]http://www.vaq34.com/vxe6/charlene.jpg[/img]

ummmm by process of elimination i determin the aircraft to be a Douglas DC-3   [:D]

DC-3 by whatever name.

Always did like those things; eventually want to own one, restore it and fly it to the various local airshows for display [:D]

FOTBR

Gooney Bird....many varients.....still in commercial use as we read this.......[:)]