Dan Gryder's Herpa DC-3

Dan Gryder may just be the luckiest guy in aviation... as he gets paid to fly a spotless, pristinely-maintained Douglas DC-3 throughout the country, and even offers interested pilots the chance to earn the ONLY DC-3 type rating available today. ANN's Paul Plack talked with Dan, who brought the Herpa DC-3 to Florida this past spring, about the plane's history, and what it can do.

When Dan Gryder isn't flying passengers around the world in 757s and 767s for a major airline, he can be found providing DC-3 flight instruction at his training center or shaking hands and offering DC-3 tours at air shows. He has over 11,000 flight hours and type ratings in numerous large aircraft. He's been a flight instructor for more than 25 years and holds the FAA designations of GOLD SEAL CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP and AGI.

Dan and his team of DC-3 experts operate what appears to be the only remaining DC-3 flight training schools, based near Atlanta. If you're looking for more than just an introductory lesson or two, Dan and his team provide complete pilot in command and second in command training -- all the way through the actual type rating.

The 'Gooney' is no stranger to World War II veterans and historians who will remember the DC-3 as the C-47 Skytrain. The military version of this remarkable flying machine aircraft was used by Allied Forces to transport troops and supplies around the world. The plane was nicknamed "the Gooney Bird" as it swiftly earned a rep as a sturdy (even forgiving) and reliable workhorse -- capable of flying nearly anywhere in almost any weather. The US Navy referred to a modified version of the plane as the R4D and the British called her the Dakota. Still others called her the Skytrooper. No matter what you call her, she's a piece of aviation history to be treasured.

Come Along With Aero-TV and Take A Trip Through History Aboard The Herpa DC-3

About Aero-TV: It's DEFINITELY Show Time!!!!

OK, folks, so far, so good... earlier this year we initiated the first feature programming series for Aero-TV... we decided to take it slow, but we also tried a steady approach to building the aviation world's most innovative news and information service. We hope you understand that this is the most complex media program we've ever undertaken and what you're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg... but from here on out, we will be doing our best to educate, inform, and entertain YOU about all aspects of the exciting worlds of aviation and aerospace. 

And yes, there is MUCH MORE to come... and soon.

If you've been an observer of the media and associated media industries over the last few years, it's not hard to mistake the fact that a massive revolution is taking place. Old sources for news and information are falling by the wayside, having to change their modus operandi or risk obsolescence (or extinction). Electronic media and print media are both under the assault of progress, and the online world has been a cornerstone for revolutionary change.

Part of this amazing process is the fact that we're been building and planning a massive new organization within ANN. That said, we're hiring talented new people as fast as we can find them (a far more difficult task than we had imagined -- REALLY good people are hard to find), and we're brainstorming at speeds that would make a deorbiting Space Shuttle feel like a slug. Suffice it to say that we wanted to do this right, rather than right-now, and that the development of this program has been the most carefully pursued undertaking we've ever undertaken. 

E-I-C Note: The complete feature shown above is embedded in this story, with most of the slick and useful functionality otherwise available on the main Aero-TV site (which will be upgraded aggressively over the next few weeks). The ability to embed a video on another web page is but one of the hundreds of amazing little features that we've worked hard on, for many months now, to implement in different phases of the initial release of Aero-TV. It is, BY NO MEANS, the only way to enjoy unaltered Aero-TV programming on other parts of the web... as we have extensive plans for future functionality, but this feature allows those with an interest in a specific Aero-TV News or Feature program to embed it on a different web site, though we must note that we reserve the right to forbid such use for those sites or purposes that we do not feel fit in with the proper mission of the Aero-News Network, Inc.  

Webmasters or Administrators of well-trafficked aviation or aerospace related sites, are welcome to contact the Publisher to start conversations on how they may be able to leverage some of the immense power of Aero-TV programming for their sites and constituency by clicking the I Want Aero-TV For MY Website! link.

Coming Soon!

Aero-TV Sees What It Takes to "Compete" As An AMT, Looks At The FAA FAASTeam Program, Updates On The Garmin 495, Flying The Piper Matrix, Gets Some GREAT Rotax Lessons, Gets Updated On ALL Things Lopresti, Has A FUN Chat With Corkey Fornof, Checks Out The Latest in Life-Raft Technologies, Checks Out More "HIGH" Tech at I/ITSEC 2007, Hears From AOPA On Critical Aviation Issues, Spills Some Juicy (and HIGHLY Detailed) Cirrus G3 Info, Scores A BUNCH of LSA Reports, and SO MUCH MORE!!!!! Do NOT Miss Them!

FMI:  www.thedc-3network.com, www.herpa.de, I Want Aero-TV For MY Website!, I'd Like To Join The ANN/Aero-TV Team!!!, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork