The Douglas DC-3 Changed Aviation Forever

The first flight of the Douglas DC-3 series turned modern air transport into reality.

Friday, December 17, 2021 at 12:48 PM ET

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The first DST, NX14988, took flight on December 17, 1935—though no image was captured of the airplane’s initial test run. Courtesy: Douglas Aircraft Company

Key Takeaways:

In a 1935 lecture, Donald Wills Douglas, whose DC-2 aircraft was establishing viable commercial air service, predicted future aviation advancements like autopilots and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Building on the DC-1, the Douglas DC-2 featured improved capacity and set a transcontinental speed record, making it a competitive and successful commercial passenger aircraft.
An order from American Airlines for Douglas Sleeper Transports (DSTs) provided the impetus for developing the next evolutionary aircraft, a larger version of the DC-2.
The first Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST), the direct precursor to the famous DC-3, made its inaugural flight on December 17, 1935, coincidentally 32 years to the day after the Wright Flyer's first flight.

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In the shadow of the original Wright Flyer, at 9:15 p.m. on May 30, 1935, in London, England, Donald Wills Douglas delivered the 23rd Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture—so named for one of the brothers who had successfully launched powered, controlled, piloted flight nearly 32 years earlier.

How the Flyer came to hang in what is now the Science Museum for 20 years is a fascinating story all its own—it was placed there by Orville Wright in 1928 during his ongoing feud with the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S. The Flyer was only given to the Smithsonian in 1948 following Orville’s death.