Icelandair out of Dulles does it that way. But Icelandair out of Kevlavik is absolute chaos, everyone for themselves.
If the C-47 was built in 2024? 
The C-47 (better known in itâs civilian version as DC-3) didnât have the problem:
PS> My first flight was in a DC-3 (In 1959, from Kr,sand to Râdam to join my first ship)
Since then I have flown in DC-3 many times, both in Indonesia, Philippines and in Africa. (Last time in the 1990s)
Some DC-3s are still flying:
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Yeah, flew a few of them, must have been mid to late 80âs.
They were, ahem, being polite here, a bit agricultural 
Pollution patrol and intervention,Air Altlantique.
Always heard the best planes ever built were the C-47/DC3 and the Ford Tri-Motor.
Best DC-3/C-47 example was the Cleveland Indians livery in the movie âMajor Leagueâ.?<
I donât know about âbestâ, the idea that the engineers didnât really know how strong aluminum was and massively overbuilt the airplane is kind of an urban legend, the plane wouldnât have had enough payload to make a profit if they really did that.
Certainly they are in the Top 10 and they were more or less what turned airlines from kind of a stunt to a practical transportation system.
What they look like with modern engines:
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Thanks for the info. I was just quoting what I had heard people in the past say, including my father, a WWII Army Air Corp veteran. I watched âOnly Angels Have Wingsâ starring Carey Grant not long ago. His tri-motor didnât work out to well trying to cross the Andes in a snowstorm. 
Have a goodern, and give me a boat, they might sink but they donât fall out of the sky.
DC-3 are great no doubt. Trimotors too were so good enough at getting loads out of rough jungle airports that many of them met their demise by either crashing or corroding doing work for mining companies in various 3rd world locales back in the day. Trimotors took kids to school from islands in Lake Erie into the mid-1980s IIRC.
A DC-3 was the very first prop plane I ever rode in, I think I was 12 and asked the stewardess to tell the pilot oil was leaking out of the engine. She told me that was fine, it was only a problem if it stopped! I still kick myself for not getting rated in one, a buddy was offering lessons in his for what seems like trivial money now but was more than I had back then.
The risk of some aircraft sitting on their butt is greater than most people realize. I was a USAF Crew Chief and then Boom Operator on KC-135âs (Boeing 707 type derivative) back in the 80âs. KC-135s (and some civilian acft, not sure which ones) actually have a tail stand that is inserted into a structural fitting (similar to a jacking point) on the bottom of the plane near the tail (just forward of the boom pod). The tail stand is painted safety yellow and is a long, two-section steel pole with a steel pin at the top and a round base on the bottom attached to the pole via a ball and socket joint. The mid-section of the stand has the upper half fitting into the lower half with screw threads and a strong, internal spring.
Each '135 has its own dedicated tail stand that is stored on a rack on the floor of the plane next to the aft hatch. When the aircraft lands, the tail stand is passed down from the hatch and installed.
To put the stand in place it is screwed to the approximate length required and the top pin is inserted into the fitting on the plane. At this point, the stand, which has been adjusted to be a little too long, is extending from the support point at an angle off of vertical. The Crew Chief installing the stand then pushes and kicks (whatever is necessary) the stand until it is upright, which also compresses the standâs internal spring. To complete the installation process, the stand is screwed to lengthen it and form a tightly compressed vertical stand. It will remain in place until the next time the aircraft flies, at which time the stand will be removed and stored back on the plane after all refueling and cargo loading ops are completed.
For those not familiar, the top half of the '135âs interior is configured for cargo and passengers (generally on troop seats) and can carry a complete spare engine or other cargo and/or 40-70 passengers, depending on fuel load. The fuel is carried in the wings and the lower half of the fuselage. And yes, the plane can use all of the fuel itself for very long transits or give nearly all of it away to receiver aircraft. I include this because it is the most common question I have been asked.
As yacht_sailor mentioned, an aft CG is more favorable in flight. We could move all of our fuel around between tanks with fuel pumps, so we would adjust CG as necessary in flight both for our performance and to facilitate offloading to our receiver(s).
Prior to landing, we would move fuel again for a forward CG. Occasionally, circumstances would force us to land with a more aft CG than we would like. Usually, there was no hurry installing the tail stand, although it was still done immediately after landing. However, in the case of landing with the CG too far aft, we would keep the engines running until the stand was installed. This would help transfer weight onto the nose gear.
Once though, after responding to a flight of F-4âs very low on fuel over the Gulf of Mexico, we were left rather low on fuel ourselves and had to land with a significantly aft CG. On final approach, I was moving anything I could find from the cargo compartment to the cockpit door. At that time, we still flew with a large toolbox and a full set of heavy wooden chocks tied down in the rear of the plane, although in later years, as fuel became more expensive, we stopped routinely carrying these heavy items and anything else we didnât absolutely need in order to lighten the load and save fuel. We never stopped carrying the tail stand, though!
Anyway, when we landed we had quite a stack of gear as far forward as I could get it. Once we taxied to our parking spot, the pilots kept the engines slightly pushed up and stood on the brakes while I gingerly went aft to pass down the tail stand to the waiting Crew Chief. We didnât relax until he signaled it was in place and keeping our ass off the ramp. I hadnât thought of that in years. thanks for the memory.
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Like I posted above, the movie âOnly Angels Have Wingsâ starring Carey Grant could be considered and example of the tri-motor. Jungle then over the mountains then crash.
This is more common than you may think! I have been in the aviation field for 28 years,
it could be one of several things or combined.
- the aircraft was "light " on fuel the baggage handlers stack the luggage from back to front like always, not knowing the center of gravity has shifted AFT due to the light fuel load, too much weight in the back and Wahla nose magically risesâŚ
- They loaded the baggege before getting fuelâŚsame result.
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Back in the day we loaded the front half of the front hold first, the front half of the aft hold second, the aft half of the front hold third, and the aft half of the aft hold last.
YMMV