Two pictures of the machine that revolutionised the airline business. The first, a United Airlines publicity shot taken in 1935 when the DC-3 was entering service in America, shows Douglas Sleeper Transport “City of Portland” preparing for take-off.

The second picture, taken just days ago (in mid-December 2010), is of C-47 A3-AWP “Tangaloa” which has just begun scheduled service with Chatham Pacific on an inter-island operation in the Kingdom of Tonga. Marvellous.

Tonga’s position on the globe meant that “Tangaloa” was the first DC-3 in the world to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the first flight of the type.

Read my South African Dakota story HERE, and check the TimesLIVE slideshow HERE.

Photo credits: Hilton Archive/Getty Images, top, and courtesy Brendan Odell, below