The DC-3 is a rugged, durable, proven airframe that is especially well suited to harsh environments. It is straightforward and simple to maintain for a reasonab

The DC-3 is a rugged, durable, proven airframe that is especially well suited to harsh environments. It is straightforward and simple to maintain for a reasonably knowledgeable aviation mechanic and there are lots of spare parts, even today, because they were produced in such a massive quantity during the war. Probably only the Antonov An-2 [0] would rival or beat it in these areas. When I was a kid growing up in Tennessee there was an organization called Remote Area Medical [1] that would fly in and set up temporary clinics in rural or otherwise hard-to-reach areas, especially in and around Appalachia. I would occasionally see their DC-3 [2] at the Knoxville airport. I just checked and it looks like they still use the DC-3. If you go to an airshow there's almost guaranteed to be a DC-3 or C-47 (the military version of the DC-3) there and most museums have one because they are so ubiquitous. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2 [1] https://www.ramusa.org/ https://www.ramusa.org/ [2] https://www.ramusa.org/ram-airborne/ https://www.ramusa.org/ram-airborne/