User Panel
Posted: 9/13/2016 8:42:44 PM EDT
Well?
These are the planes that actually won WW2. |
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C-47.
C-46s were used in Operation Varsity, the 1945 airborne operation into Germany, and took heavy casualties. Less resilient by far. C-47s were designed before there was a lot of knowledge about metal fatigue and they were very over-engineered. Explains their longevity. |
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Range and payload
C-46 Just like most stuff that served in Europe instead of the Pacific, C-47 gets all the press. |
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Whichever one bombed Pearl Harbor. That's the one that gets my vote.
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During WW2....Douglas CH-47 by a mile.
They had a TON of teething problems with the C-46. Something about pooling loose avgas in the wingroots and then igniting during flight. |
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Grandpa flew the C46 in the pacific and he liked it.
He transported wounded and used to say they would throw bolts and shit down the isle like it was falling apart while they were in the air. |
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The 47 had a huge reputation of durability, what ever it's other faults.
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So is the ugly ass C-46, surprisingly enough. http://www.buffaloairways.com/uploads/images/pages/avo-small.JPG http://www.michaelprophet.com/News_articles/imagesC-46/24.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The C-47 is still in use So is the ugly ass C-46, surprisingly enough. http://www.buffaloairways.com/uploads/images/pages/avo-small.JPG http://www.michaelprophet.com/News_articles/imagesC-46/24.jpg |
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One of my mentors retired with over 22,000 hours with about half of that in the 747 with Japan Air Lines. His first "airline" job was flying CAM air military contracts in the C-46, and although he spoke well of the airplane he always said it "seperated the men from the boys!"
Another friend of mine has tons of time in both the DC-3 and the C-46, but always talks about his experiences in the C-46. I've found pilots that fly difficult airplane are rabidly loyal to those airplanes even though they were hard to fly. |
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While not as mechanically reliable during the war, each C46 was capable of carrying three times the load at twice the range and at higher speed than each C47.
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There is an old saying in re the C-47, that being that if you could find a way to get air to the engines, you could fly one to the moon.
There was a instance in WWII where the Indian cargo workers loaded a C-47 in Kilos instead of pounds. The plane took two tries to get off the ground but did make the trip over the hump into China. As the story goes, they did not discover the error until the plane landed in China. I'll take the C-47. |
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One of my mentors retired with over 22,000 hours with about half of that in the 747 with Japan Air Lines. His first "airline" job was flying CAM air military contracts in the C-46, and although he spoke well of the airplane he always said it "seperated the men from the boys!" Another friend of mine has tons of time in both the DC-3 and the C-46, but always talks about his experiences in the C-46. I've found pilots that fly difficult airplane are rabidly loyal to those airplanes even though they were hard to fly. View Quote True. My current CP is a rabid Mu-2 diehard. I've flown some tired and underpowered pigs in my day but nothing professionally I thought was a bad airplane. I got to sit in the CAF C-46 at Camarillo. She's a big sonofabitch. Like the B-26, the C-46 was a modern airplane, with old airplane vices. That is a vicious combination. |
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I once had a patient that flew c 46's over the Himalayas to support the chinese against the japs. Apparently a fair number flew into the mountains.
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True. My current CP is a rabid Mu-2 diehard. I've flown some tired and underpowered pigs in my day but nothing professionally I thought was a bad airplane. I got to sit in the CAF C-46 at Camarillo. She's a big sonofabitch. Like the B-26, the C-46 was a modern airplane, with old airplane vices. That is a vicious combination. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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One of my mentors retired with over 22,000 hours with about half of that in the 747 with Japan Air Lines. His first "airline" job was flying CAM air military contracts in the C-46, and although he spoke well of the airplane he always said it "seperated the men from the boys!" Another friend of mine has tons of time in both the DC-3 and the C-46, but always talks about his experiences in the C-46. I've found pilots that fly difficult airplane are rabidly loyal to those airplanes even though they were hard to fly. True. My current CP is a rabid Mu-2 diehard. I've flown some tired and underpowered pigs in my day but nothing professionally I thought was a bad airplane. I got to sit in the CAF C-46 at Camarillo. She's a big sonofabitch. Like the B-26, the C-46 was a modern airplane, with old airplane vices. That is a vicious combination. Ive personally known 3 people that had MU2s. Two guys absolutely loved them, and one guy stalled it at pattern altitude. |
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C-47/R4D/DC-3 is the enduring giant, alongside the C-130 and C-17.
The C-46 cross section is larger and carries more than twice the useful load, and also cool. The old McDonnell Aircraft plant across from the terminal at Lambert Field was used by Curtiss for C-46 manufacture. Quoted:
C47, one of the nicest birds still in the sky. View Quote LOL, you wouldn't say that if you had flown one. Not nice, but classic and cool. Slow, heavy controls, noisy, and a cockpit that is hot, cold, and wet, sometimes all at the same time. |
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C-47/R4D/DC-3 is the enduring giant, alongside the C-130 and C-17. The C-46 cross section is larger and carries more than twice the useful load, and also cool. The old McDonnell Aircraft plant across from the terminal at Lambert Field was used by Curtiss for C-46 manufacture. LOL, you wouldn't say that if you had flown one. Not nice, but classic and cool. Slow, heavy controls, noisy, and a cockpit that is hot, cold, and wet, sometimes all at the same time. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
C-47/R4D/DC-3 is the enduring giant, alongside the C-130 and C-17. The C-46 cross section is larger and carries more than twice the useful load, and also cool. The old McDonnell Aircraft plant across from the terminal at Lambert Field was used by Curtiss for C-46 manufacture. Quoted:
C47, one of the nicest birds still in the sky. LOL, you wouldn't say that if you had flown one. Not nice, but classic and cool. Slow, heavy controls, noisy, and a cockpit that is hot, cold, and wet, sometimes all at the same time. I have never flown one, but I have flown in one. Its an interesting ride for certain. |
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I have a bunch of pictures of a C-46 from about 2 years ago on my camera from the airport near where I grew up , They were maintaining it . It was way bigger than a 47 and cool but .....
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<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Iron_Airship/media/BaslerDc-3.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Iron_Airship/BaslerDc-3.jpg</a> <a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Iron_Airship/media/lowpass.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Iron_Airship/lowpass.jpg</a> Want. View Quote Thats a Basler Turbo Conversion I can tell by the engines... If I ever get my own fuck you money I will have a Basler DC3 |
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The old McDonnell Aircraft plant across from the terminal at Lambert Field was used by Curtiss for C-46 manufacture. Did not know that...thanks! Also made in Buffalo and Louisville. The plant had a twin, I want to say in Cincinnatti, a sort of "standardized" facility for government production. While Building 2 in St. Louis was still in operation, someone came up with a straight edge with Curtiss-Wright markings that was still in use in the factory. Since it had not been "calibrated" in a while, naturally the fussy quality people had to send it through the lab, after which it returned to service where it belongs, making airplanes. |
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C-47/R4D/DC-3 is the enduring giant, alongside the C-130 and C-17. The C-46 cross section is larger and carries more than twice the useful load, and also cool. The old McDonnell Aircraft plant across from the terminal at Lambert Field was used by Curtiss for C-46 manufacture. LOL, you wouldn't say that if you had flown one. Not nice, but classic and cool. Slow, heavy controls, noisy, and a cockpit that is hot, cold, and wet, sometimes all at the same time. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
C-47/R4D/DC-3 is the enduring giant, alongside the C-130 and C-17. The C-46 cross section is larger and carries more than twice the useful load, and also cool. The old McDonnell Aircraft plant across from the terminal at Lambert Field was used by Curtiss for C-46 manufacture. Quoted:
C47, one of the nicest birds still in the sky. LOL, you wouldn't say that if you had flown one. Not nice, but classic and cool. Slow, heavy controls, noisy, and a cockpit that is hot, cold, and wet, sometimes all at the same time. You forgot the smell of gas and oil |
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Well, I worked on AC47s in Vietnam. Never saw an AC46. For longevity, C47.
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Thats a Basler Turbo Conversion I can tell by the engines... If I ever get my own fuck you money I will have a Basler DC3 View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Iron_Airship/media/BaslerDc-3.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Iron_Airship/BaslerDc-3.jpg</a> <a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Iron_Airship/media/lowpass.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Iron_Airship/lowpass.jpg</a> Want. Thats a Basler Turbo Conversion I can tell by the engines... If I ever get my own fuck you money I will have a Basler DC3 Its actually a Dodson. I know that because I uploaded a video of it taking off to youtube and incorrectly identified it as a Basler and a Dodson representative left me a message to correct in video info |
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Its actually a Dodson. I know that because I uploaded a video of it taking off to youtube and incorrectly identified it as a Basler and a Dodson representative left me a message to correct in video info View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Iron_Airship/media/BaslerDc-3.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Iron_Airship/BaslerDc-3.jpg</a> <a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Iron_Airship/media/lowpass.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Iron_Airship/lowpass.jpg</a> Want. Thats a Basler Turbo Conversion I can tell by the engines... If I ever get my own fuck you money I will have a Basler DC3 Its actually a Dodson. I know that because I uploaded a video of it taking off to youtube and incorrectly identified it as a Basler and a Dodson representative left me a message to correct in video info I stand corrected. |
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My grandfather, who flew the Hump at the end of WW2 with the 1305th AAFBU, would've said the C-46. http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc426/jlheard3/headshot_zpsa595324a.jpg View Quote My grandfather also flew C46's over the hump. After the war he sold machine tools in California then became a test engineer for Chrysler. He never flew again. |
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Back in the olden days when I lived in Oshkosh I got to see all kinds of interesting aircraft...Basler Aviation was a fun place to cruise by once they started up retrofitting C-47 with turbos.
Here is a historical piece they've started on... for you interest... In an Oshkosh aircraft boneyard, the first plane of D-Day was found |
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Well, I worked on AC47s in Vietnam. Never saw an AC46. For longevity, C47. View Quote I think the fact that the USAF mothballed all the C-46s almost immediately after the end of WWII while keeping the C-47 in service says a lot about the issue. Much the same as how the B-24s were mothballed while the B-17s stayed around and the B-25s stayed in service while the B-26s were scrapped. The war service records gave the maintenance and logistics costs of the competing aircraft and the lower costs of operation won out in all three cases. |
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Back in the olden days when I lived in Oshkosh I got to see all kinds of interesting aircraft...Basler Aviation was a fun place to cruise by once they started up retrofitting C-47 with turbos. Here is a historical piece they've started on... for you interest... In an Oshkosh aircraft boneyard, the first plane of D-Day was found View Quote awesome |
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A late friend of mine earned airborne wings for an unscheduled combat jump from a C-46 en route to occupation duty just after Japan surrendered. It caught on fire about 100 miles before their destination, and the Japs on the ground honored the armistice.
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Quoted: Quoted: Back in the olden days when I lived in Oshkosh I got to see all kinds of interesting aircraft...Basler Aviation was a fun place to cruise by once they started up retrofitting C-47 with turbos. Here is a historical piece they've started on... for you interest... In an Oshkosh aircraft boneyard, the first plane of D-Day was found awesome |
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They put guns on the C-47 and killed shit with them.
That makes it the winner to me. |
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Back in the olden days when I lived in Oshkosh I got to see all kinds of interesting aircraft...Basler Aviation was a fun place to cruise by once they started up retrofitting C-47 with turbos. Here is a historical piece they've started on... for you interest... In an Oshkosh aircraft boneyard, the first plane of D-Day was found View Quote Awesome 9divdoc Awesome |
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My dad flew the C-46 for Delta Airlines. He did not like it very much...he said you flew it all the way to the ramp and then backed away from it slowly.
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