RAM's DC-3

The Remote Area Medical® DC-3 landed at Knoxville's Island Home Airport on Saturday, August 24, 2002. The 1944 plane, which belonged to the USA's 9th Air Force Division during World War II, participated in the Normandy Landing on June 6, 1944--D-Day.
The aircraft had been in the St. Louis area undergoing extensive repairs provided at no cost to RAM by Missouri-based WINGS OF HOPE. It is now used to carry all manner of supplies, equipment, patients, pets, and skydivers to remote and not-so-remote parts of the Western Hemisphere.

N982Z was used to place personnel in strategic areas and in her new career she has a similar task. Instead of military troop and equipment transport, she now hauls thousands of pounds of medicine, hospital supplies, and relief volunteers. In her early days, she droned through perilous skies for the sake of a free world. After a half century of service, she now takes to peace-time skies in another unique contribution to freedom: freedom from the suffering created by isolation from medical care.

The 120 foot x 100 foot World War II hangar that is now home for the aircraft is provided courtesy of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport
Authority.

The hangar is also home to the other RAM aircraft, including the Beech 18, and the Cessnas (a 206, a 337, and a 150). Much of the maintenance is done in this hangar also.

RAM's annual Salute to Service Ball is held in this hanger each June the weekend after D-day.

Ground handling a DC3 is no small task. With its 100-foot wingspan, it takes three people to safely move it into and out of the hangar. To make this task possible, a tug was donated by Stevens Aviation.

RAM also has a good collection of ground service equipment that is used to service the aircraft. A plane this large requires a great deal of maintenance, most of which is done by a mechanic supported through RAM Foundation along with help from volunteer mechanics.

Not only does the DC3 provide a stable and strong platform for moving people and cargo, it also has a great deal of area under the wings for camping in the remote places it is flown into.

There has even been talk of designing and building a portable surgical tent

that could be used for performing surgical procedures in remote areas. This exciting idea is still in its infancy. There are a number of directions this may be taken, but adding the capability of major surgery in remote locations is a dream RAM is pursuing. As plans evolve, we hope to add information on this site. If you have experience that may be useful in developing this, please call!