[V.Narayan]

C-119G Fairchild Flying Boxcar/Packet:: Indian Air Force IK457:: Model make ‘Rodden’ of Ukraine:: Scale 1:144

Length: 7.5 inches; Wingspan: 9 inches; Height: 2 inches.

The C-119 was the first attempt after World War 2 to build a dedicated military freighter custom designed for military use as opposed to civilian designs {C-54 Skymaster derived from the DC-4} or bombers converted to freighter use { Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter}. In this it went with the twin boom tail and humpy rear fitted with a clamshell door and an internal ramp. Other aircraft of the era also followed this design pattern – Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, Nord Nordatlas {our younger readers may not have heard of this one, a French lifter that served them well}.

The C- 119G served the American Forces in Vietnam, the US Forces in Korea and the IAF in 1962, 1965, 1971. Its one challenge was being underpowered in hot and high conditions a characteristic of most heavy aircraft of the era because a piston powerplant only has so much output to give and the payload-range demands were always at the extreme of the envelope. In 1962 the IAF lifted AMX 13 light tanks to Ladakh much to the surprise of the West. In the late 1960s we retrofitted Rolls Royce Orpheus turbojets in a neat dorsal pod in the centre of the fuselage that greatly enhanced take off at hot and high strips with a full load. We bought 79 of these lifters and they rendered yeoman service to us from 1953 to 1984.

We have one IAF pilot who has flown the C-119G, member@ Amukherjea. Sir, this scale model and this post is dedicated to you and your service to the nation.

This scale model has been assembled and skilfully hand painted by our member @BasuRoy. Thank you Basu for continuing to deliver such outstanding models and building my IAF collection.

Data

Crew: 5 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator and loadmaster)

Capacity: 67 troops or 35 stretchers or 12,500 kg cargo

Length: 86 ft 6 in Wingspan: 109 ft 3 in Wing area: 1,447 sq ft

Empty weight: 18,000 kg Max take-off weight: 33,500 kg

Fuel capacity: 11,000 litres

Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20W 28-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 3,500 hp each

Maximum speed: 452 kmph, 244 knots at 18,000 ft

Cruise speed: 320 kmph, 170 knots

Max. Range: 2,850 km, 1,540 nmi with a 2,500 kg cargo

Service ceiling: 24,000 feet

Rate of climb: 1,010 feet/min

Take-off run to 50 feet: 2,300 feet

Landing run from 50 feet: 1,890 feet

India's first real military lifter. It was the first and last procurement from USA till the C-17's 6 decades later!


Depicting all its main features - the boxcar payload fuselage, the twin boom tail, twin engines, long stroke gears and good view cockpit.




The high aspect wing screaming lift, lift and lift. That's what you need.


The mighty Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major air cooled, supercharged, radials turning out 3500 hp each. These engines along with its competitor the Wright Cyclone represented the acme of piston engine technology.

In 1953 a 12.5 tonne lifter was a medium lifter. Today's CN-235 at 9 tonnes is a light lifter. Categorization of aircraft is an ever evolving matter.

The clam shell doors

It was popularly called Packet in IAF service. The official UASF name was Flying Boxcar. Packet was actually the name of its predecessor! But we liked the name :-). I saw a Packet only twice ever. One was at age 5/6 when my father & his team arrived from somewhere in a IAF Packet and my mother & I went to receive them. As a small child I wasn't allowed onto the tarmac but what a sight to see this big machine with its throbbing engines turn into the parking slot. The second and last occasion was at Vizag in May 1981 where I watched one take off with its turbojet auxiliary pack at full throttle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAvvhDF943Q

A video of the C-119G engine starting. To my ears the piston-prop sounds had a certain power and romance to them missing in the high pitched scream of a jet engine.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

[b]C-119G Fairchild Flying Boxcar/Packet:: Indian Air Force IK457:: Model make ‘Rodden’ of Ukraine:: Scale 1:144
[/h3]

Congratulations on another wonderful addition to your IAF fleet. Another masterpiece by Basu too.

The C-119 was the centerpiece of the story plot in the novel (and later movie) - Flight of the Phoenix. It was about a C-119 on a flight to transport oil rig workers back home, that crashes in a desert. How the survivors , out of desperation, manage to build an aircraft from the wreck and fly away to safety forms the story of the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BRSm6jP8io

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

C-119G Fairchild Flying Boxcar/Packet:: Indian Air Force IK457:: Model make ‘Rodden’ of Ukraine:: Scale 1:144

Another great addition to your IAF collection
I found the after market addition of the jet engine fascinating, I initially though it was for experimental purposes only.

I have seen one of these at the IAF museum in Palam but didn't realise that till today.

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The C-119 was the centerpiece of the story plot in the novel (and later movie) - Flight of the Phoenix. It was about a C-119 on a flight to transport oil rig workers back home, that crashes in a desert. How the survivors , out of desperation, manage to build an aircraft from the wreck and fly away to safety forms the story of the movie.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=-BRSm6jP8io

Thats an interesting fact, I watched the movie decades ago and thought it was a fictional aircraft model.