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At my first trip to Colombia in 2006, right after the travel ban to that Country was lifted, there were many traces left of that War on Drugs and against FARC.
It was impossible for a foreigner at that time to travel south from Villavicencio into the Amazon Jungle , as no aircarrier was willing to take me onboard.
Grim faces from the omnipresent Military, no pics or film allowed nowhere, roadblocks and controls everywhere, with sniffing dogs, luggage searches etc.
The situation was somewhat uncomfortable, with strict requirements to stay at evening in your hotel, not to go outside Bogota, no Taxi stop etc.
It was very clear, that the country was not a tourist's favorite choice, as I was in Villavicencio (and beyond) the only traveller from abroad since many years.
In may 2009, I returned there with my friends Javier from Bogota and Axel, the film maker, and honestly, things have changed for the good in this beautiful country.
Still no tourists from abroad outside Bogota, but the atmosphere is way more relaxed now, most roadblocks are gone, and the Military smile, and talk friendly.
It looks that in the war against FARC , they are at the winning hand, due to the massive military support from USA, that now finally pays off after so many years.
Due to that ( virtual) peace, or relative calmness in the war operations, the jungle opens up for new business and the air supply lines from Villavicencio into the Colombian Amazon Basin get busier than ever, as it seems. The local Dakota /C-47 fleet of some 12 operational planes will soon be having a marked extension.
Most transport has to go by air in that immense territory with no roads and limited river transport options, but the airstrips in the jungle are mostly sand or mud strips.
Lots of debris, sand, loaf, the usual rubbish that flies around, with huge bumps on the strip, as a Buckel Ski Piste, as no earth removal grader ever made it out there.
This is the nightmare strip for every Turbo Prop engined Aircraft, that comes in at high speed and a small nose wheel in front, engine fed by a deep throat in front, that swallows unfiltered air by the tons, If one single woodchip that flies around, comes into that hi-tech machine, it can ruin the rotor blades, terminating flight operations, with an engine damage of over US $ 250.000. Also, those bumps are giving no safe feeling when approaching at 160 km per hour , with small wheels doing the bump hopping on a remote airstrip, no good deal, so exit all Antonovs and other Turbo Props, that they have tried to operate out there , and that can handle 3 tons of cargo and with some volume, as Jeeps or generators to store inside.
Enter the Dakota, you believe it or not, that old lady has flown there for 60 years and is a proven succes, well designed for those basic and now obsolete conditions, it comes in low and slow, at 100 km per hour, it is a taildragger with big Balloon type front tires, that handle the bumps way easier than a modern plane can do, and at landing and manoeuvring, it hangs low at the tail, with the engines high up in the air. Also, it has piston engines with normal carburettors with airfilters on top, that can handle all debris and flying sand, so, much less vulnerable for engine damage and bumpy landings.Also, the whole Dakota in top-condition with 2 zero time engines cost less than the US $ 250.000 , and the plane is low-tech, can be maintained by an upgraded car-mechanic in a shed or in open field.
This plane can take 3 tons of cargo and with the reinforced floor of the C-47 military version , it can handle a Jeep and a partly disassembled small truck or diesel generator.
There is a set-back, evidently, the Dakota takes a huge load of maintenance, every 2 hours of flight means one hour of wrenching, cleaning and check-ups.
For western wage levels, it makes the type no longer fit for economical operations, but in the low salary countries of South America, this is still affordable, also when regarding the relatively low purchase price of the Dakota, as compared to other turbo prop aircraft that can carry 3 tons or 28 passengers as payload.
Another set-back is the critical flight on one engine: with 2 times 1200 HP engines running, the Dakota is flying OK when fully loaded.
But if one engine quits, the flight becomes more marginal and most of the time, the type cannot keep its altitude for long and if that happens during the take off run, there is imminent danger for a crash landing.
The sticky sand and mud strips of the Jungle never create ideal conditions for a smooth take off. When you sit/stand just behind the pilots at take off, you surely will feel that strange 'White Knuckle Experience", as I had many times, also in Bolivia , Honduras and in Venezuela, when taking off from remote jungle strips in those vintage planes.
The Dakota, big time overload as usual, starts its take off run over the strip with full throttle applied, the acceleration is slow but gets better, the plane gains speed and the tail comes up, but than, a long run has to be made for more speed, engines scream it out, they count every second at full speed throttle.'
There you see the end of that tiny strip, huge 100 feet high Jungle trees that have to be cleared, they come closer and closer. The big Wheels seems stickier than ever, the Captain keeps his hands tightly on the throttles, he sweats, you start wondering, will it ever happen??, so in no time, you sweat too , believe me ..The engine's screaming is now so loud, it seems as if they will explode right away.. What old engine can sustain such torture for 60 years ??, a couple of times per day, ?? Don't try to do this with your 30 year old Jaguar, you will ruin the engine within 4 weeks or less, but here in Colombia they do it for over 60 years. OK, The Dak has a major engine overhaul every 1400 hours or so, but even with that, your vintage Jag engine would not accept the full throttle run of almost 2 minutes every day a few times.
Finally, the plane is airborne, the screaming is on for well over a minute now, but the climb out rate is still abominable, and yes, we barely make it over the trees out there at the end of the strip. Finally, the captain takes back some throttle, he has to save the engines., as he will do this horror trick a few more times today and tomorrow and after tomorrow.
Welcome onboard of the Dakota and to this wonderful land of vintage air transports.
Than, you look at your own hands, holding tightly the co-pilot chair during this take off run, you notice all of a sudden White Knuckles on your both hands....
Now , this is what they call PURA VIDA, pure life, you should come over with me and try such flight, never a dull day out there in the Jungle, I guarantee.
After all those years, the Dakota has in those peculiar conditions no real substitute, when it comes to landings on remote and basic airstrips on river banks ( as in Alaska and Canada), on Tundra or Jungle strips. All faraway from the slick airports, that are ruled now by the Turbo Prop and Turbo Jet engines, but the Dakota has its own domain in which it rules, and this is a small miracle for an aircraft that was designed in 1935, and flew ever since 1938 for major Air Carriers, that is now 70 years ago!!
With the opening up of air traffic into the Amazon Jungle, all Dakota/C-47/ DC-3 Operators of Villavicencio, now work on their derelict Dakota's , in order to have them soonest operational again, as the work load and the need for transport grows with the population and the business in that Basin. The Dakota's Cargo has an endless variety:Fish, Goldmine's equipment, but also at new settlements that pop up at river junctions, they all need food and fuel, basic materials as construction equipment, cement, drainage pipes, household goods and furniture, generators, lighting, but also PC's and Flatscreens, loads of DVD's and Beer and cars.
Finally, there is the need for the Military, also to be flown in to their Jungle Camps by Dakota's.
The war is not yet fully over, at San Jose we saw a huge helicopter base camp, that was forbidden zone until last year, now we stood there, overlooking the area and yes, still interrogated over our intentions, but friendly and the filming never caused a problem anywhere.
From the conversations with pilots, it seems clear that Farc's power and manforce is being decimated over the past years, also due to the lack of support of the Colombian People, maybe sick and tired of that war, raging for almost 10 years.
The Helicopters switched from Day Operations attacks to Night Operations, now equiped with hi-tech night vision goggles and infrared detection equipment, they seem to have turned the tide, and "shoot them up like rabbits in the field", as one of the pilots said , "Now, we see them, they dont see us, while it was the other way around in Daytime Operations".
The operations need lots of fuel and food, much of that comes also by Dakota now, and the operators of the type all take their benefits from the new era.
Derelict Dakota's in the corrosion corners to be refurbished again, made ready for a new episode in their long life cycle, you can hardly believe this is happening.
While 3 years ago, an American DEA Officer declared all Dakota flights in Colombia to be doomed soon, for reasons of Narco flight involvement, it seems that history has taken another surprise move for this flying legend; They now fly also for the Military, the once seized Narco Dakota's are to be overhauled again for a new life at the last frontier of Colombia, the booming Amazon region.
According to the Aliansa director, one of the Dakota operators that was almost defunct some 2 years ago, the type will have now at least a future of another 10 years, as there is really no replacement to be foreseen for this war veteran from WWII, Korea and Vietnam ..They have 2 C-47 's operational and 2 more in the refurbishment.
The legend lives on, in museums all over the world, but also still in a commercial role, as flying icons from the past, this is an awesome story, worth to be filmed.
And that is what we did now, for a year, Axel filmed all of my exploits and is making a final edit of the Dakota Hunter , with 4 episodes from Madagascar, Thailand, Florida and Colombia.
More news will follow soon.
Best regards,
Hans Wiesman