American Airlines   Douglas DC-2-120      NC14278                    (c/n  1311)

                                       

                                           Clearly the Douglas DC-2 was, to the 1930s, what the Boeing 707 was to the 1960s.  It literally
                                           changed the whole aspect of air travel.  Although the original DC-1, developed in conjunction with
                                           TWA, was revolutionary, the DC-2 was a vast improvement.   It wasn't long before all the major
                                           airlines, American included, realized they just had to have this new, 14 passenger airliner.  Just as
                                           they were touting the luxuries of the sleeper version of the Curtiss Condor, along came an aircraft
                                           which immediately obsoleted the likes of these earlier machines.   It was at that time (1935) that
                                           American Airlines began painting the control surfaces of their Douglas aircraft in the orangey-red
                                           hue which was to become their trademark color.   On the above shot (acquired from American
                                           Airlines in the 1940s) the effect isn't too bad, but on some photographic images I have seen, these
                                           red ailerons can blend in with the background giving the wing what appears to be a cut-out on the
                                           trailing edge, imparting a very odd impression.