The Royal Australian Air Force was flying the DHC4 Caribou aa a light airlifter until the early 2000's. It was an amazing piece of engineering and was first flown in the late 50s. You could literally fly backwards in a headeind and land on a dime. It was really useful for tiny dirt strips in places like Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, there's not much out there that can match it's capability for what it was.