(September 2011) _The recently released _Together We Fly, Voices from the DC-3 by Julie Boatman Filucci is a collection of stories from a variety of people who were touched by Donald Douglas’ hugely successful design. The focus of the book is “why the DC-3 meant so much to so many and why it changed the world, ” Boatman Filucci says.
Together We Fly, Voices from the DC-3, published by ASA,__ is based on the author’s extensive research, which spanned more than six years and included interviews with Douglas’ son, former Douglas Aircraft Co. employees, pilots, stewardesses and others closely associated with the airplane.
The book is chronologically divided into 30 chapters, each beginning with a short story, followed by a segment that dives deeper into each era, from Douglas’ first exposure to the Wright Flyer in 1909 to the 75th anniversary of the DC-3 on Dec. 16, 2010. The concluding chapter, called “Roll Call,” details the historical background of nearly 30 DC-3s, all in flying condition, that attended The Last Time event in Rock Falls, Illinois, in July 2010. One of the airplanes at the event had flown more than 90,000 hours — a great testament to the bulletproof design of the DC-3.
While Together We Fly, Voices from the DC-3 includes technical information about the airplane, the book was written primarily for the enjoyment of aviation enthusiasts. Its stories are compelling, and the book is interspersed with images, letters and cutouts from scrapbooks and articles written by Douglas.
Boatman Filucci, who manages the Cessna Pilot Center network for Cessna Aircraft Co., is a former aviation journalist and technical writer. She is a CFI and ATP with a type rating in, you guessed it, the Douglas DC-3.
Together We Fly, Voices from the DC-3_, ASA Publishing Co., hardcover, ISBN 978-1-56027-795-8, $24.95_
