Boeing 307 Stratoliner

August 7, 2003 6:26 AM

Flying Cloud flies for the last time On Wednesday, August 6, the last Boeing 307 Stratoliner landed at Dulles [WaPo; may require registration]. [more] [more] [more] This was the plane that ditched off Seattle in March, 2002 after being fully restored. Now, re-restored, it has arrived at its final destination, the Smithsonian's new Hazy Center. Dry eyes were a rare commodity.
posted by SealWyf (9 comments total)

It sure is pretty, isn't it? Googallery here
posted by planetkyoto at 7:25 AM on August 7, 2003

oh man, I can't wait for the Hazy Center to open! Thanks, I didn't know about it. I've never been to the Mall in DC without going into the Air and Space museum, so I guess a road trip is in order.
posted by tss at 8:17 AM on August 7, 2003

This plane... it floats?
posted by cedar at 9:25 AM on August 7, 2003

[this is good]

What a beautiful machine.
posted by Vidiot at 10:01 AM on August 7, 2003

Can any plane buff out there tell me what the most commonly used cargo/transport plane in WWII was? I have pictures of it in my head, from watching far too many old movies and History Channel specials, but for the life of me I can't remember its designation.
posted by pjgulliver at 10:04 AM on August 7, 2003

The Smithsonian's Boeing 307 page.

on preview: pjgulliver, is the DC-3 (aka "Gooney Bird") what you're thinking of?
posted by Vidiot at 10:09 AM on August 7, 2003

In military use, the DC-3 was the C-47. There were some modifications, like a cargo door big enough to get a Jeep through, and the necessary beefing-up around it.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:37 AM on August 7, 2003

From Vidiot's link:

After the aircraft was damaged by a hurricane, it was scrapped and its fuselage converted into a posh houseboat known as the "Cosmic Muffin."

The article doesn't say when this occurred but I bet I could guess within a decade.
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:14 PM on August 7, 2003

Thanks Vidiot and ROU, that's exactly what I was thinking of. Ok, now I have to go home and watch the air armada scene from "A Bridge Too Far" again.....
posted by pjgulliver at 1:16 PM on August 7, 2003