News items

Sept. 21 was finally here: the winning class of the Veterans Day Kids Contest 2023 got to take a sightseeing flight in the historic DC-3 Dakota. Group 6B of the Good Shepherd was lucky with the weather. The view from the plane was stunning. In two rounds, the children flew from Schiphol Airport a circuit…

August 19 and 20, our DC-3 Dakota was a guest at Ostend Airport for sightseeing flights over Eernegem, Veldegem, Oostkamp, Bruges, Zeebrugge and Blankenberge. There were also longer routes. One via Aalter, Eeklo, Maldegem, Moerkerke, and Knokke to Zeebrugge and Blankenberge. The other route went via Drongen, Ghent, Terneuzen, Breskens and Zeebrugge back to Ostend.…

Sail Den Helder, from June 29 to July 2, is a large-scale maritime event featuring 40 majestic Tall Ships and 180 vessels of the Sailing Heritage. And what could be better than seeing all the extraordinary ships from the air. Over the weekend, our DC-3 Dakota made several flights “north” to visit this spectacular event…

DDA Classic Airlines congratulates Stephan and welcomes him as a new first officer! (3rd from left). After several hours in the DC-3 simulator, it was time for the real test in the Dakota. June 29, Stephan was “put through the wringer” by two of our instructors, passed the exam and received his DC-3 type rating.…

From June 3 through June 7, our royal DC-3 Dakota, designated Dakota C-47, flew sightseeing flights over the invasion beaches of Normandy. The princess took off from Carpiquet Airport, flew over Sainte Mère-Eglise, Pointe du Hoc, the invasion beaches and turned around over the Merville Battery. Very special because our Dakota, with the current registration…

May 1, Airport Weeze, just across the border from Nijmegen, celebrated its 20th anniversary. Our Royal DC-3 Dakota provided six sightseeing flights at the festivities. It is a special experience to hear our Eastern neighbors speak fondly of “die Rosienenbomber. This has its origin in the dropping of boxes of currants, among other things, immediately…

April 8 was finally here again. The first DC-3 Dakota round-trip flight of the 2023 season. Eighteen eager passengers flew along. Their 30-minute sightseeing flight went from Schiphol East past Keukenhof and the surrounding colorful flower fields. With radiant weather, the view from the Dakota was phenomenal and provided fantastic photos. The above photo of…

The Dutch Dakota Association (DDA) was founded 41 years ago on March 10, 1982, after an idea by Anne Cor Groeneveld and Gerrit van Gelder. Both pilots at Transavia wanted to build support for bringing a DC-3 Dakota to the Netherlands. After a long search for a suitable DC-3, more than 30 aircraft were inspected,…

Our royal DC-3 Dakota, named Princess Amalia, did a test run on Tuesday, March 7. This concludes (almost) four long months of major winter maintenance. This is the so-called E-inspection that must be performed every six years. Watch the video, turn up the volume and enjoy the wonderful sound of our PBH!

In April, the Royal DC-3 Dakota “Princess Amalia” will start sightseeing flights again on weekends. Through the financial help of a number of supporters and enthusiasts of the Dakota, the PB-PBA will take to the skies for at least the first three months of the flying season. During the winter months the periodic major maintenance…

Whether the only airworthy Dakota can still fly in 2023 is uncertain. Because the sponsorship contract with Jumbo Supermarkets BV will expire after 6 years, without a new sponsor it seems almost impossible to offer round trips again next year. This also means that the DDA Classic Airlines Foundation, the volunteer organization that keeps the…

The 2022 racing season will start in April with a series of scenic flights over the bulb region. Enjoy the beautiful view over the colored fields! A unique experience! In addition to the 30-minute scenic flights over the bulb fields, the Floriade and Tulip Route in Flevoland, There are also a number of longer flights…

On October 31, the PBA made the last sightseeing flight of the short season 2021 with a full occupancy. The planned route over parts of North and South Holland could be completed just before the rain showers that afternoon. The lunch afterwards with all volunteers on duty was reason to look back on a successful…

On Saturday afternoon, October 16, our Royal DC-3 Dakota visited Lelystad Airport for two sightseeing flights. One towards Hanseatic cities and the other via Harderwijk. Pampus and the Marker Wadden back to Lelystad airport. Omroep Flevoland made a nice report of it. Enthusiastic passengers enjoyed the breathtaking views and illustrious history of our PH-PBA. Due…

Because there is still so much interest in our sightseeing flights, we have planned extra flights for 30 and 31 October. October 31, our very last sightseeing flight of this year will depart from Schiphol East. There are still a few places available on October 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31. Be quick because…

ottum, Schiermonnikoog and Ameland On Sunday 19 September, the PH-PBA departed from Groningen airport for a special flight over the islands of Rottum, Schiermonnikoog and Ameland. This sightseeing flight has been enjoying more than average interest for years. Also this time all seats in the ‘Princess Amalia’ were occupied. Due to the favorable weather conditions,…

The fuel on which the DC-3 flies, so-called Avgas, has been out of stock at Schiphol for a long time. Our supplier, De Ruiter, delivered this to Schiphol with a large tanker that was sometimes parked at Schiphol. This season we have a special ‘DDA tanker’ with 3000 liters of fuel available in collaboration with…

We still have some flights available. Your seat on a unique Royal DC-3 is waiting for you… A selection of available flights: ‘The Green Heart’: Scenic flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. ‘Rivers Noord Brabant’: Scenic flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. ‘Plassenroute’: The Lakes route: We fly over the Lakes of Vinkeveen, Loosdrecht and Ankeveen. ‘North…