Yeah. My first "BIG AIRPlANE". 600 hours as a very green co-pilot with RIDDLE AIRLINES out of MIami in 1960. Flew a LOGAIR contract with very seasoned "HUMP" pilots. Flew well in the sky but could bite you leaving or alighting the ground!
Bob Thrasher, e-mail, 23.09.2009 15:46
Flew them as copilot, worked on them as a mechanic for years including stint in Germany with Capitol Airways hauling Lufthansa cargo around Europe and into Berlin during the 1960's through the air routs the Russians set up. Great tough airplane, nasty in a crosswind, and could handle heavy ice.
Steve, e-mail, 11.09.2009 19:43
The mythical 4-engine version would seem to be based on a misidentification of the rare Boeing 307 Stratoliner, which had a very similar silhouette.
Robert H Douglas, e-mail, 07.09.2009 20:14
As a member of the 505 Prch Inf I made a familarization jump from this a/craft (March 1945 at Laon France..Great airplane except for te hydraulic tanks in her belly.I am now 85 years old.
Groucho Marx, 03.08.2009 07:37
That's the most ridiculous thing I ever hoyd!
Russ, e-mail, 03.08.2009 06:02
An acquaintence insists, there was a 4 engine version. If so what was it's model designation?
George, e-mail, 13.05.2009 07:20
Wow! After 65 years I finally learn about what my mother was making back during WW2, she worked at the CW plant in St. Louis, she was one of the original "Rosie the Riveters", that were a big part of the war effort. Often wondered about the planes, I always assumed it was the p-40 that they were building, never asked my mother. Sorry that I couldn't contribute more to this effort.
Hernan Villamil, e-mail, 29.04.2009 02:52
I believe one of them was bought by the then-new Austral airline. Such was its fate it crashed at sea at night after an attempted landing in Mar Del Plata in horrible weather in Jan 1959. Only one survivor managed to swim back to shore. From what I read it was a difficult plane to fly in bad weather...
Bob Kuberski, e-mail, 15.01.2009 06:10
I'm building a 1/72 scale model of the C-46 and need to know what the large "hole" in the nose was for. I assume it was an air intake for ventilation of some sort , but you know what they say about assuming...Please advise & Thanksc in advance. Bob Kuberski
P.C. McILwain, e-mail, 26.12.2008 08:42
As a member of the 446 Troop Carrier Wing in the late 50's, I flew from Houston to Long Beach, Ca and back, from Houston to Memphis, from Memphis to Florida and back to Houston via Memphis. From Houston to Miami and back and several insignificant flights. The plane was air worthy but un-pressurized. Great glide angle.
Perry H. Rainey, Jr., e-mail, 31.08.2008 00:55
I worked on C-46 aircraft as an aircraft sheetmetal technician in 1957/1958 for RANSA Airlines in Miami, FL. RANSA purchased WWII US surplus C-46 aircraft sold to India from the government of India. The C-46 would have large fuel tanks mounted in the cargo compartment and then be flown to the stateside location for RANSA at Miami International Airport. Upon arrival the C-46's would undergo what was then called a 13,000 hour overhaul. Once completed they were sold to US cargo carriers. Supposedly, US companys were prohibited from buying the WWII surplus aircraft from India so RANSA, a Venezuelan Company, provided a conduit for moving the aircraft into the US airlines transport industry. Great airplane and great experience for me as a teenager!
James B Bertero, e-mail, 28.06.2008 02:15
Cordova Airlines in Alaska had two of these birds in the early '60s and used them to fly men and cargo in and out of many DEW line radar sites. One had a tail # ending in "45M". I've wondered what became of her.
Jack Lamberty, e-mail, 25.05.2008 03:09
In the 1959-60 era, our reserve squadron used the C-46 to transition from F-84s to C-119s. I guess the logic was if you could land a C-46, the C-119 would be a piece of cake. Because of the large vertical stabilizer, the C-46 was grounded in a 30 knot crosswind.
Lawrence Varick, e-mail, 19.05.2008 18:51
Flew them between Japan and Korea during the Korean ?. Big Piper Cub. Nasty in gusty crosswinds ,but manageable. Great airplane to fly.
Ronald E Ciura, e-mail, 17.05.2008 07:15
Zantop Air Transport operated a large number of these through the 1960's. Used extensively to move automobile parts.
Yoash Tsiddon-Chatto, e-mail, 21.02.2008 10:53
Interested to purchase for museum in Israel. Flyable condition may offset surface transport costs. Any propodal? Thanks- Yoash Tsiddon-Chatto
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