When I was a kid, I was known to disassemble toys (occasionally my own) to get an idea of how they were put together. Once in awhile, I would take great pride in reassembling one to its original condition. If that didn’t happen, then under the bed it would go. The dog was responsible if the subject came up in later conversation. We had a pact. But he was a cute beagle named Popeye. He could get away with way more than me anyday, so it was an easy out.

Fast forward a few decades, and I’m still fascinated by how things work. So you can imagine how excited I was to see this rendition of the birth of a Delta 777–from concept to wheels up–in under 4 minutes. You gotta see this!

For all the loyal customers who keep Delta strong. And for Popeye.

Enjoy!

Rick

delta.com & self-service

This December 17^th came and went without notice, but it was a special day. That day in 1935 marked the first flight of the venerable Douglas DC-3.

Five years later, on Christmas Eve 1940, Delta flew its first revenue DC-3 flight with “Ship 41.”

Since I’ve been lucky enough to fly this fully restored, original in every detail, DC-3, I thought I’d write a little about the “Ship 41” in Delta’s Heritage Museum.

“Ship 41” was actually the second of five DC-3s purchased by Delta. The first arrived November 29, 1940 and was used to train pilots for the next DC-3s to arrive. “Ship 41” arrived on December 23, 1940 and carried passengers the next day. Three more planes were delivered in the next 10 days. These and the additional DC-3s Delta purchased flew in revenue service until the early 1960s.

Here are a few pictures of Delta’s award winning, 1940 DC-3 known as “Ship 41.” I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Tailwinds, Robin