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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The C-47 adapted the DC-3 airliner to military work, retaining the low wing, two radial engines and tailwheel configuration. Cargo handling and military equipment changed the aircraft's role. It became one of the major Allied transport types of the Second World War. The Dakota name is familiar in British and Commonwealth service. A Waco cargo glider was often its partner, but remains a separate aircraft with its own controls.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗The son becomes captain and invites his father along
Alred had introduced his son Jason to flying in a Cessna two decades earlier. Now Jason was the captain of a working freight transport, inviting his father to join a day carrying automotive parts. The reversed roles gave the flight its emotional centre: the father was learning a much larger aircraft from the child he had once taught.
Civil freight flight in N12907, a converted military transport operated as a DC-3C. Alred flew under his son Jason’s supervision; the professional crew handled the loaded leg.
DouglasDC3.com · Read more ↗Cockpit shortcuts prepare the aircraft and reveal its controls
The overhead panel provides Quick Start, Cold Dark Start and Ground Power selections. Clicking the red warning panel toggles the yokes. The manual separately labels the jump control for parachutists on the lead ship, keeping its purpose distinct from general cockpit setup.
C-47D Skytrain · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Military Aviation History · 24 min ·
Inside The Cockpit - C-47 Skytrain/ Dakota/ DC-3 | D-Day Airborne
A museum cockpit visit explores the C-47 and its transport history.
Real aircraft · Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Douglas C-47 Skytrain
The C-47 adapted the DC-3 airliner to military work, retaining the low wing, two radial engines and tailwheel configuration. Cargo handling and military equipment changed the aircraft's role. It became one of the major Allied transport types of the Second World War.
The Dakota name is familiar in British and Commonwealth service. A Waco cargo glider was often its partner, but remains a separate aircraft with its own controls. Some simulator packages include both the C-47 tug and Waco glider, each represented as a separate aircraft.
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Glider operations also depended on the transport’s crew chief
Roland Rogers describes glider-towing training at Sedalia Army Air Base from his position as a C-47 crew chief. He stood between the pilots rather than occupying a dedicated flight-engineer seat. His recollection adds the supporting crew’s experience to the better-known pilots’ view of transport operations.
DouglasDC3.com · Stories from a C-47 crew chief ↗Wartime recollection; Rogers is not counted as a pilot account
Transport work continued beyond the fighting
Daniels’s recollection links wartime troop-carrier work in Italy with postwar flying and his eventual return to the United States. It offers one pilot’s view of how C-47 employment extended from military supply tasks into the movement of people after the war.
U.S. Air Force · WWII veteran reunites with former aircraft ↗Veteran’s attributed recollection, published in 2015
Development milestones
First flight: 23 December 1941 ( 1941-12-23 )
Developed from: Douglas DC-3
Wikipedia contributors · Douglas C-47 Skytrain ↗Douglas C-47 Skytrain · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1373925007
Pilot accounts
The son becomes captain and invites his father along
Alred had introduced his son Jason to flying in a Cessna two decades earlier. Now Jason was the captain of a working freight transport, inviting his father to join a day carrying automotive parts. The reversed roles gave the flight its emotional centre: the father was learning a much larger aircraft from the child he had once taught.
The DC-3’s controls and trim required attention, and copilot Sam supplied a memorable joke by walking aft and changing the aircraft’s balance. When the cargo went aboard, Alred watched the professional crew from behind their seats. On the empty return at night he again flew under Jason’s guidance.
Civil freight flight in N12907, a converted military transport operated as a DC-3C. Alred flew under his son Jason’s supervision; the professional crew handled the loaded leg.
Read the full account · DouglasDC3.com ↗A night freight flight interrupted by lightning
Wright recalls carrying urgent aircraft parts from Mobile towards Indianapolis at night. The urgency of the freight set the background, but the most vivid memories came from the weather: visible storms, glowing propellers and an electrical display around the cockpit. A lightning strike then left both pilots temporarily unable to see clearly.
At first they thought the cockpit lights had failed. Flashlights did not resolve the problem, and they had to wait for their vision to recover before the instruments became properly visible again. Wright describes another strike later in the flight and an eventual arrival at Indianapolis. It is his recollection of the crew’s experience, without an independent technical investigation of the lightning or its effects.
Published personal account of DC-3/C-47 family freight flying. The registration and exact variant for this particular flight are not stated; Sam Wright is the page’s author.
Read the full account · DouglasDC3.com ↗A family wish brings a veteran back to the cockpit
A family card game gave Daniels the chance to mention a wish: he wanted to sit in a C-47 again. His son-in-law helped arrange a visit to Fairchild, where staff welcomed the veteran into the cockpit. The return brought back memories of an aircraft he had particularly enjoyed among the types he had flown during his career.
Daniels recalled troop-carrier training and wartime transport work in Italy, including moving supplies and fuel. He also described postwar flying before returning to the United States. These memories gave the static aircraft a personal connection beyond its museum role. His family made the cockpit reunion possible.
U.S. Air Force interview, April 2015. Daniels visited a static C-47D at Fairchild on 7 April; this was not a new flight or proof that the displayed airframe was his wartime aircraft.
Read the full account · U.S. Air Force ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024C-47D Skytrain
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
C-47D Skytrain
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020C-47D Skytrain
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
C-47D Skytrain
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
X-Plane 12C-47B Skytrain
VSKYLABS · Released
C-47B Skytrain
VSKYLABS · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m) |
| Wingspan | 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m) |
| Height | 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) |
| Wing area | 987 sq ft (91.7 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 18,135 lb (8,226 kg) |
| Gross weight | 26,000 lb (11,793 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 31,000 lb (14,061 kg) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines 1,200 hp (890 kW) takeoff rating 1,000 hp (750 kW) normal rating at 14,500 ft (4,400 m) |
| Propellers | 3-bladed constant-speed propellers |
| Maximum speed | 224 mph (360 km/h, 195 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) |
| Cruise speed | 160 mph (260 km/h, 140 kn) |
| Range | 1,600 mi (2,600 km, 1,400 nmi) normal range |
| Service ceiling | 26,400 ft (8,000 m) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Cockpit shortcuts prepare the aircraft and reveal its controlsC-47D Skytrain · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The overhead panel provides Quick Start, Cold Dark Start and Ground Power selections. Clicking the red warning panel toggles the yokes. The manual separately labels the jump control for parachutists on the lead ship, keeping its purpose distinct from general cockpit setup.
Gathered C-47 manual · PDF pp.7–8
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗A period Gyropilot and hydraulic systemC-47D Skytrain · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The C-47 has separate trim controls and a Sperry Gyropilot for maintaining a selected attitude and direction. Its hydraulic system also serves landing gear, flaps and other auxiliaries. The manual explains the pump and selector arrangement, providing context for a cockpit that predates modern route-following autopilots.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.5,10,28
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The manual identifies its chosen engine and fuel installationC-47D Skytrain · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The simulated installation uses the twin-blower engine arrangement described in the manual. Additional cabin ferry-fuel tanks are excluded. These details apply to the package's twin-blower configuration.
Gathered C-47 manual · PDF p.4
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The original MSFS 2020 releaseC-47D Skytrain · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Famous Flyer 09 was released as a combined C-47D and Waco CG-4A package in June 2024. The C-47D has U.S. Navy and fictional Olive Drab “M5” liveries.
2024-06-06 · release and package scope
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Released product and variantsC-47B Skytrain · VSKYLABS · X-Plane 12
The C-47B product represents the wartime military aircraft, with passenger/cargo configuration, optional GNS530 navigation and skis. It is a separate product from the modernised DC-3C.
Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14
VSKYLABS · Read the source ↗Pilot account
The son becomes captain and invites his father alongCivil freight flight in N12907, a converted military transport operated as a DC-3C. Alred flew under his son Jason’s supervision; the professional crew handled the loaded leg.
Alred had introduced his son Jason to flying in a Cessna two decades earlier. Now Jason was the captain of a working freight transport, inviting his father to join a day carrying automotive parts. The reversed roles gave the flight its emotional centre: the father was learning a much larger aircraft from the child he had once taught. The DC-3’s controls and trim required attention, and copilot Sam supplied a memorable joke by walking aft and changing the aircraft’s balance.
Steve Alred
DouglasDC3.com · Read the source ↗A night freight flight interrupted by lightningPublished personal account of DC-3/C-47 family freight flying. The registration and exact variant for this particular flight are not stated; Sam Wright is the page’s author.
Wright recalls carrying urgent aircraft parts from Mobile towards Indianapolis at night. The urgency of the freight set the background, but the most vivid memories came from the weather: visible storms, glowing propellers and an electrical display around the cockpit. A lightning strike then left both pilots temporarily unable to see clearly. At first they thought the cockpit lights had failed.
Sam Wright
DouglasDC3.com · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Douglas C-47D ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Douglas C-47 SkytrainWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1373925007 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Stories from a C-47 crew chiefDouglasDC3.com · Roland Rogers · wartime crew accountResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases Famous Flyer 09: Douglas C-47D Skytrain & Waco CG-4AMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 2024-06-06 · release and package scope VSKYLABS C-47B Skytrain. Highly-Engineered C-47B simulation add-on for X-Plane.VSKYLABS · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14 VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS C-47B Skytrain Flying LabVSKYLABS · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 4 profile choices
VSKYLABS C-47 Skytrain NXG
VSKYLABS · Free and Pro · Revision 5 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS C-47 Skytrain NXG: Manual primary controls motivate airspeed-dependent yoke resistance.
VSKYLABS XC-47C Amphibian
VSKYLABS · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS XC-47C Amphibian: Manual primary controls motivate airspeed-dependent yoke resistance.
VSKYLABS C-47 Skytrain NXG Skis
VSKYLABS · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS C-47 Skytrain NXG Skis: Manual primary controls motivate airspeed-dependent yoke resistance.
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020 · X-Plane 12
Douglas C-47 Skytrain: Manual primary controls motivate airspeed-dependent yoke resistance.
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