SAN (legally Servicios Aéreos Nacionales S.A. ) was an airline which was based in Guayaquil , Ecuador that was the domestic branch of the airline SAETA . It was founded in 1964, and ceased operations in 1999.
25-498: SAN was founded on January 21, 1964, providing commercial services within Ecuador with two Douglas C-47As . the first routes directly connected Cuenca with Guayaquil in passenger transport operations in 1966, these operations were daily. In 1970, the company signed an alliance with Ecuatoriana de Aviación . That same year, SAN acquired two Vickers Viscount from All Nippon Airways . Its arrival in Ecuador and entry into service marked
50-417: A Guayaquil businessman. By 1981, two Boeing 727-100s were incorporated, which one maintained its fleet and the other one was sold to TAME . In the early 1990s, SAN was absorbed by Ecuadorian airline SAETA , increasing its frequencies and fleet for national and international flights. But the next years were of absolute decline until in 1999, when the company definitively ceased operations. SAN had operated
75-425: A decided modernization of the flight equipment, which allowed the company to continue operating its usual routes and inaugurate direct flights from Cuenca to Quito and for the routes to Guayaquil to be operated with its own teams. In 1975, three Sud Aviation Caravelle were acquired from TAP Air Portugal , two of them are put into service on the frequencies assigned between the cities of Quito and Guayaquil and one
100-468: A partially retractable tailwheel, flush rivets, and low-drag antenna. These all contributed to an increased top speed of 250 mph (400 km/h; 220 kn). With over 75% of the original DC-3/C-47 configuration changed, the modified design was virtually a new aircraft. The first DC-3S made its maiden flight on 23 June 1949. The changes fully met the new FAR 4B airworthiness requirements, with significantly improved performance. However, little interest
125-473: A variety of missions. EC-47s were also operated by the Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian Air Forces. A gunship variation, using three 7.62 mm miniguns, designated AC-47 "Spooky" , often nicknamed " Puff the magic dragon ", also was deployed. Large numbers of C-47s, C-117s and other variants survive, on display in museums or as monuments; operated as warbirds ; or remaining in service. As part of
150-684: Is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright , widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V , and in the Soviet Union as the Shvetsov M-25 . The R-1820 Cyclone 9 represented a further development of the Wright P-2 engine dating back to 1925. Featuring a greater displacement and a host of improvements,
175-662: The M-25 , with the R-1820's general design features used by the Shvetsov design bureau for many of their future radials for the Soviet air forces through the 1940s and onwards. In Spain the R-1820 was license-built as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V . The R-1820 was at the heart of many famous aircraft including early Douglas airliners (the prototype DC-1 , the DC-2 , the first civil versions of
200-724: The DC-3 , and the limited-production DC-5 ), every wartime example of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Douglas SBD Dauntless bombers, the early versions of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter (as the M-25), and the Piasecki H-21 helicopter. The R-1820 also found limited use in armoured vehicles. The G-200 variant developed 900 hp (670 kW ) at 2,300 rpm and powered the strictly experimental M6 Heavy Tank . The Wright R-1820
225-621: The Indo-Pakistan War of 1947 . After World War II, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civilian airline use, some remaining in operation in 2012 , as well as being used as private aircraft. Several C-47 variants were used in the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force, including three advanced electronic-warfare variations, which sometimes were called "electric gooneys" designated EC-47N, EC-47P, or EC-47Q depending on
250-767: The 75th-anniversary commemoration in June 2019, 14 American C-47s and another group of 'Daks' from Europe retraced the route across the English Channel to Normandy taken by roughly 850 of these aircraft on D-Day . Among them were That's All, Brother , Betsy's Biscuit Bomber , Miss Montana , Spirit of Benovia , D-Day Doll , Boogie Baby , N47E Miss Virginia , and Whiskey 7 . Data from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Wright R-1820 The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9
275-620: The C-47. Only 380 aircraft were produced in all because the C-47 was found to be more versatile. Large numbers of DC-3s and surplus C-47s were in commercial use in the United States in the 1940s. In response to proposed changes to the Civil Air Regulations airworthiness requirements that would limit the continuing use of these aircraft, Douglas offered a late-1940s DC-3 conversion to improve takeoff and single-engine performance. This new model,
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#1733085918895300-653: The DC-3S or "Super DC-3", was 39 in (0.99 m) longer. It allowed 30 passengers to be carried, with increased speed to compete with newer airliners. The rearward shift in the center of gravity led to larger tail surfaces and new outer, swept-back wings. More powerful engines were installed along with shorter, jet ejection-type exhaust stacks. These were either 1,475 hp (1,100 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclones or 1,450 hp (1,081 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps in larger engine nacelles. Minor changes included wheel-well doors,
325-605: The R-1820 entered production in 1931. The engine remained in production well into the 1950s. The R-1820 was built under license by Lycoming , Pratt & Whitney Canada , and also, during World War II , by the Studebaker Corporation . The Soviet Union had purchased a license for the design, and the Shvetsov OKB was formed to metricate the American specification powerplant for Soviet government-factory production as
350-504: The acronym "DACoTA" for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft. The C-47 also earned the informal nickname " gooney bird " in the European theatre of operations. Other sources attribute this name to the first aircraft, a USMC R2D—the military version of the DC-2—being the first aircraft to land on Midway Island, previously home to the long-winged albatross known as the gooney bird which
375-405: The civilian DC-3 by way of numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment and strengthened floor - along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof. During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The U.S. naval designation
400-636: The engine used. In addition, HC-47s were used by the 9th Special Operations Squadron to conduct psychological warfare operations over South Vietnam and Laos. Miami Air International, Miami International Airport was a USAF military depot used to convert the commercial DC-3s/C-47s into military use. They came in as commercial aircraft purchased from third-world airlines and were completely stripped, rebuilt, and reconditioned. Long-range fuel tanks were installed, along with upgraded avionics and gun mounts. They left as first-rate military aircraft headed for combat in Vietnam in
425-682: The first few days of the D-Day campaign also known as the invasion of Normandy , France, in June 1944. In the Pacific War , with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean, C-47s were used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the United States. About 2,000 C-47s (received under Lend-Lease ) in British and Commonwealth service took the name "Dakota" , possibly inspired by
450-541: The following aircraft: Douglas C-47A The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II . During the war the C-47 was used for troop transport , cargo , paratrooper , for towing gliders and military cargo parachute drops. The C-47 remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years. It
475-593: The jungles of New Guinea and Burma , where the C-47 and its naval version, the R4D, made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-traveling Japanese Army. C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the encircled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne in Belgium. Possibly its most influential role in military aviation, however, was flying " The Hump " from India into China. The expertise gained flying "The Hump"
500-566: Was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California , and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma . Between March 1943 and August 1945, the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s. The specialized C-53 Skytrooper troop transport started production in October 1941 at Douglas Aircraft's Santa Monica plant. It lacked the cargo door, hoist attachment, and reinforced floor of
525-518: Was expressed by commercial operators in the DC-3S. It was too expensive for the smaller operators that were its main target; only three were sold to Capital Airlines . The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps had 100 of their R4D aircraft modified to Super DC-3 standards as the R4D-8, later redesignated the C-117D. The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular, those at Guadalcanal and in
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#1733085918895550-635: Was later used in the Berlin Airlift , in which the C-47 played a major role until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters . In Europe, the C-47 and a specialized paratroop variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, were used in vast numbers in the later stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders and drop paratroops. During the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, C-47s dropped 4,381 Allied paratroops. More than 50,000 paratroops were dropped by C-47s during
575-545: Was native to Midway. The United States Air Force 's Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 to 1967. The US Air Force's 6th Special Operations Squadron was flying the C-47 until 2008. With all of their aircraft and pilots having been part of the Indian Air Force prior to independence, both the Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force used C-47s to transport supplies to their soldiers fighting in
600-420: Was produced in approximately triple the numbers as the larger, much heavier payload Curtiss C-46 Commando , which filled a similar role for the U.S. military. Approximately 100 countries' armed forces have operated the C-47 with over 60 variants of the aircraft produced. As with the civilian DC-3, the C-47 remains in service in the present day, over 80 years after the type's introduction. The C-47 differed from
625-510: Was stored in Cuenca for to serve as a source of spare parts. SAN's intention was to operate with the Caravelles to and from Cuenca, but this was not authorized by the aeronautical authorities of that time. In 1979, SAN purchased two Sud Caravelles from Luxair , one was used in service and the other for spare parts. In this period, the Cuenca investors who had a majority decided to sell their shares to
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