Fairchild C-82 Packet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_C-82_Packet

The C-82 Packet was a twin-engined, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built
by Fairchild Aircraft. It was used briefly by the United States Army Air Forces
and the successor United States Air Force following World War II. The aircraft
was named as a tribute to the packet boats that hauled mail, passengers and
freight in Europe and its colonies, including North American rivers and canals,
for much of the 18th and 19th century.

Developed by Fairchild, the C-82 was intended as a heavy-lift cargo aircraft to
succeed prewar civilian designs like the Curtiss C-46 Commando and Douglas C-47
Dakota using non-critical materials in its construction, primarily plywood and
steel, so as not to compete with the production of combat aircraft. However, by
early 1943 changes in specifications resulted in plans for an all-metal
aircraft. The aircraft was designed for a number of roles, including cargo
carrier, troop transport, parachute drop, medical evacuation, and glider towing.
It featured a rear-loading ramp with wide doors and an empennage set 14 feet off
the ground that permitted trucks and trailers to back up to the doors without
obstruction. The single prototype first flew on 10 September 1944. The aircraft
were built at the Fairchild factory in Hagerstown, Maryland, with deliveries
beginning in 1945 and ending in September 1948.

Problems surfaced almost immediately as the aircraft was found to be
underpowered and its airframe inadequate for the heavy lifting it was intended
to perform. As a result, the Air Force turned to Fairchild for a solution to the
C-82's shortcomings. A redesign was quickly performed under the designation
XC-82B, which would overcome all of the C-82A's initial problems.


Role
Cargo and troop transport

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Fairchild Aircraft

First flight
10 September 1944

Primary user
United States Army Air Forces

Produced
1944–1948

Number built
223

Developed into
C-119 Flying Boxcar

First flown in 1944, the first delivery was not until June 1945 and only a few
entered service before the end of the war. In the end, only 223 C-82As would be
built, a small number for a wartime production cargo aircraft. Most were used
for cargo and troop transport, although a few were used for paratroop operations
or towing military gliders. During its brief operational life, several C-82
Packets were utilized during the Berlin Airlift, primarily bringing large
disassembled vehicles into the city. A redesign of the XC-82B would result in
the production of the C-119 Flying Boxcar.

In 1946, the United States Postal Service explored the concept of flying post
offices using highly modified C-82s which would operate similarly to those on
trains where mail would be sorted by clerks and put in bags and then transferred
to trucks on landing.

In 1948, a C-82 was fitted with track-gear landing gear, similar to the tracks
on a crawler tractor, that allowed landings on unpaved, primitive runways.

Though relatively unsuccessful, the C-82A is best considered as an early
development stage of the C-119B Flying Boxcar. The C-82A saw limited production
before being replaced by the Flying Boxcar.

The C-82 was retired from the US Air Force inventory in 1954

Specifications (C-82A)

General characteristics
Crew: three
Capacity: 42 troops or 34 stretchers
Length: 77 ft 1 in (23.50 m)
Wingspan: 106 ft 5½ in (32.46 m)
Height: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
Wing area: 1,400 ft² (130.1 m²)
Empty weight: 32,500 lb (14,773 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 54,000 lb (24,545 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-85 radials, 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 248 mph (216 knots, 399 km/h) at 17,500 ft (5,300 m)
Cruise speed: 218 mph (190 knots, 351 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
Range: 3,875 mi (3,370 nmi, 6,239 km)
Service ceiling: 21,200 ft (6,460 m)
Rate of climb: 950 ft/min (4.8 m/s)
Wing loading: 30 lb/ft² (146 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.10 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)

The C-82 is perhaps best known for its role in the 1964 novel, "The Flight of
the Phoenix", and Robert Aldrich's original 1965 film version. Based on the
novel by Elleston Trevor, the story centers around a C-82A Packet operated by
the fictional Arabco Oil Company. It crashes in a Libyan desert, and is rebuilt
by the passengers and crew, using one tail boom, and is then flown to safety.
The C-82, although with added amphibious ability, was the basis for the airplane
in Disney's TaleSpin cartoon.





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