88829
I flew this Hiper 3 back in 1977 when it was operated by Career Aviation in Hayward, CA. I was informed it had crashed in the Caribbean. I have flown many DC-3’s in various configurations, the R-2000 modification made this a pleasure to fly, 1,100 HP cruise produced a TAS of 174 kts. And you noticed a big improvement in performance at a MTOW of 26,900# Getting rid of the expander tube brakes and replacing them with disc was also a big improvement. Other than it being a bit nose heavy, (the R-2,000’s are heavier and protrude forward a bit) the flight characteristics were no different than a standard version of the DC-3/C-47. 88829 was a former Avianca aircraft, and in exceptional condition having been operated on a Part 121 certificate. (135.2)