Also flew the DC-3 in command for about 500 hours...quite frankly I was not especially impressed.
I've talked to pilots who have flown it. They described it as "sluggish," but that is compared to what? By today's standards, there is no comparison.
Still, the DC-3 is the airplane that "taught the world to fly," helped liberate Europe, was a fairly reliable workhorse for some cargo carriers, and spewed some formidable fire-power in Vietnam.