Gooney Bird

**d2dave** · 7th January 2010, 11:44 PM

I was with a group of younger people the other day and the topic switched to the Goony Bird Restaurant.

For those of you who are now wondering what I am talking about the Goony Bird is a DC3 airplane which has been converted to a restaurant which does a scenic flight around Melbourne.

I happened to mention that it had a crash landing a few years back.

I tried googling this but found nothing. Does any one here remember this and any details?

Dave.

**p38arover** · 7th January 2010, 11:58 PM

Gooney Bird.

Much easier it get a Google hit when you spell it correctly!

**3toes** · 8th January 2010, 06:33 AM

Does anyone know of the origin of the name 'Gooney Bird'? Am hopeing there is someone on here who may have some knowledge of this and the name Biscuit Bomber.

When this name for the DC3 started appearing in the media in the eighties remember my grand father saying he had never heard it before. To him and his mates in New Guinea they had been called 'Biscuit Bombers'. Was Biscuit Bomber a term that was something in local use where he was rather than the general term he thought it was?

**loanrangie** · 8th January 2010, 06:50 AM

I have always know a Gooney bird to be some kind of prop powered aircraft but cant remember why, never been on the restaurant so maybe it was just a known Melbourne attraction ?

**Disco44** · 8th January 2010, 07:52 AM

The old DC3 was the supply plane for the Pacific Campaign (WW2).It could fly low and parachute in supplies..from ammo to tucker..hence the name " biscuit Bomber " After the war they did stirling service with TAA and Ansett on outback runs...commonly known as the "milk Runs" They were not pressurised and flew around 7000 feet.The name "gooney" was given to them by the yanks..I do not know its origin
John.

**StephenF10** · 8th January 2010, 07:52 AM

The flying restaurant is VH-OVM, operated by Shortstop Jet Charter. Here is a history of the aircraft taken from the Aussie Airliners site:

Construction completed at the Oaklahoma City plant - April 1945
Built as a Douglas C-47B-30-DK
Delivered to the USAAF - April 21, 1945
Allocated U.S. serial number 44-76770
Arrived Brisbane for use by 5th Air Force - April 1945
Assigned to R.A.A.F. under 'lend-lease' agreement, becoming A65-98
Operated under radio callsign 'VHRFO'
Operated extensively from Butterworth, Malaysia between 1964 and 1975
Operated under radio callsign 'VMHJZ'
Transferred to the RAAF Apprentice Training School at Wagga Wagga
Transferred to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook
Entered onto the Australian Aircraft Register as VH-JXD - July 3, 1989
Registered to RAAF Museum, Point Cook, Victoria
Registered to G. Milne, Bright, Victoria - November 1, 1989
Sold to Shortstop Aviation
Registered to Shortstop Jet Charter - November 1, 1989
Reregistered as VH-OVM - June 20, 1990
Registered to Shortstop Jet Charter Pty Ltd - December 20, 2005

No mention of a crash.

Stephen.

**d2dave** · 8th January 2010, 07:59 AM

Stephen,
I am sure it had some sort of crash landing or it could have been an emergency landing which at the time sparked another call for Essendon airport to be closed.

Dave.

**Disco44** · 8th January 2010, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by Disco44

The old DC3 was the supply plane for the Pacific Campaign (WW2).It could fly low and parachute in supplies..from ammo to tucker..hence the name " biscuit Bomber " After the war they did stirling service with TAA and Ansett on outback runs...commonly known as the "milk Runs" They were not pressurised and flew around 7000 feet.The name "gooney" was given to them by the yanks..I do not know its origin
John.

Further to this post of mine up at Cape York is the wreck of one that crashed there killing all the crew , this one went down in 1945.Of the 1000's that flew very few crashes happened..they had a very good record.They were also used by the yanks for the one and only parachute drop in New Guinea I think it was to link up with the Aussie troops re-taking Rabual.
John.

**p38arover** · 8th January 2010, 08:33 AM

A gooney bird is an albatross and the name was applied during WW2. The name Dakota was the British name for the military DC3, i.e., the C47.

**JDNSW** · 8th January 2010, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Disco44

The old DC3 was the supply plane for the Pacific Campaign (WW2).It could fly low and parachute in supplies..from ammo to tucker..hence the name " biscuit Bomber " After the war they did stirling service with TAA and Ansett on outback runs...commonly known as the "milk Runs" They were not pressurised and flew around 7000 feet.The name "gooney" was given to them by the yanks..I do not know its origin
John.

Not exactly "old" during the war -they remained in production until 1945. Gooney Bird (American name for a type of gull, I think) was a term used to refer to them by the American servicemen during the war, and copied widely after that.

Originally designed as the DST for overnight transcontinental sleeper services in the USA, it entered service in 1936. The DC-3 for seated passengers soon followed into service. It was widely adopted in the service of virtually all combatant nations in WW2, being manufactured in the USA, in the Soviet Union under licence, and Japan without the benefit of a licence. Total production exceeded 13,000, probably still more than any airliner ever.

In military service it received various designations depending on exact configuration, the most common being C-47 in US service and Dakota in British and Commonwealth (including Australian) service.

As late as the mid seventies the majority of scheduled airline services round the world were operated by DC-3s.

The DC-3 was not only reliable and safe, but was the first airliner that could reasonably be operated at a profit without a subsidy.

Seated up to 36 passengers, although I don't remember Australian operators running more than about 25. Despite its excellent safety record, it did not meet safety requirements even at its introduction for engine out climb rate nor for passenger evacuation, and operates under a dispensation.

Still in military service in a number of countries into the 1990s, what drove it out of airline service was its extensive use as a gunship in Vietnam, which severely depleted the world stock of (cheap disposals) spare parts. The relatively poor availability of avgas in recent years has added to difficulties in operating them.

John

Thread: Gooney Bird

Thread Tools

Gooney Bird

Biscuit Bombers

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions