A GoonyBird Douglas C-47A (aka DC-3) commercial airliner at Phnom Penh Airport, Cambodia – 1972. Part of the Khmer Akas - Khmer Airlines fleet. This was C-47 city – many of these old birds lined the ramp. No sign of jet engine commercial aircraft at all. This was becoming a dangerous place as the Khmer Rouge were advancing toward the city, and I suspect major airlines avoided this place. The ramp area was also pretty rugged with lots of FOD (foreign object debris) … not friendly to jet engine intakes. The facilities here were generally primitive. I know the old passenger terminal was nothing but a bombed out shell at one of our visits here although not certain of its state when this photo was taken.Personal photos/text taken in/out of Vietnam combat zone from perspective of copilot on USAF C-130 345th Tactical Airlift Crew. Not just about the war, but also about the people/places of the region during 1972. This is where I got my first Nikon film SLR which turned into lifelong passion albeit now Canon digital SLR. The photos are recent digital scans from old 35mm slides wasting away in hot/cold attic for 40 years. Extensive Photoshop editing has been used to make them somewhat presentable.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
DC-3 Phnom Penh
A GoonyBird Douglas C-47A (aka DC-3) commercial airliner at Phnom Penh Airport, Cambodia – 1972. Part of the Khmer Akas - Khmer Airlines fleet. This was C-47 city – many of these old birds lined the ramp. No sign of jet engine commercial aircraft at all. This was becoming a dangerous place as the Khmer Rouge were advancing toward the city, and I suspect major airlines avoided this place. The ramp area was also pretty rugged with lots of FOD (foreign object debris) … not friendly to jet engine intakes. The facilities here were generally primitive. I know the old passenger terminal was nothing but a bombed out shell at one of our visits here although not certain of its state when this photo was taken.
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