CAF's C-46

[phil65]

Looks like the CAF's C-46 has been dropped from Reading World War II weekend show, does anybody know why ?

Phil

[Matt Gunsch]

Looks like the CAF's C-46 has been dropped from Reading World War II weekend show, does anybody know why ?

Phil

Because it is not the CAFs C-46, hasn't been for a while. Other than that, no idea

[phil65]

OK, thanks for the info..

Phil

[Warbird Kid]

Of all groups, the City of Monroe, NC owns Tinker Bell and has successfully operated the aircraft for some years now, with even giving the aircraft a fresh repaint a few years back. Went to their annual airshow one year. definitely a decent amount of irons on the field! My guess the drop from the schedulable is due to maintenance issues of some kind.

[phil65]

Chris, are you going to Reading ?

Phil

[Warbird Kid]

Negative. Not in the plan for this year. But my dad and I are talking about Oshkosh...

[Pat Carry]

What is the status of the CAF's C-46 in California? My memory fails me but I seem to remember it was a long term project by the So. Cal Wing.

[kalamazookid]

What is the status of the CAF's C-46 in California? My memory fails me but I seem to remember it was a long term project by the So. Cal Wing.

It was listed as being in storage in a CAF Year in Review publication:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9da ... da9fc6a/14

I think the plan at one time was to get it airworthy again, but I don't know the current status of those efforts.

I saw "Tinker Belle" at Warbirds Over Monroe in November. She didn't fly at their home show, though I don't know if that's unusual. It looked like she was in need of new tires.

[OD/NG]

What is the status of the CAF's C-46 in California? My memory fails me but I seem to remember it was a long term project by the So. Cal Wing.

It was listed as being in storage in a CAF Year in Review publication:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9da ... da9fc6a/14

I think the plan at one time was to get it airworthy again, but I don't know the current status of those efforts.

I saw "Tinker Belle" at Warbirds Over Monroe in November. She didn't fly at their home show, though I don't know if that's unusual. It looked like she was in need of new tires.

My friends at the CAF told me that yes, the plan was to eventually put the C-46 back in the air. They apparently did some initial maintenance surveys on the aircraft and determined that it had a healthy amount of corrosion. Remember, that aircraft has been sitting outside in the saltwater air for some 15 to 20 years, exposed to the corrosive effects of the nearby ocean. The figure I heard to bring it to airworthy was pretty shocking and for the amount, it would be much cheaper to acquire a brand new restored airworthy C-46 which could be used immediately as a "turn-key" operation. In addition to that, the two power-hungry R-2800's make it about the least economical aircraft in the fleet, especially since there is almost no interest in the aircraft for airshows and/or rides. Think operating two Corsairs or two P-47's, but with virtually no interest from the public - that is what they are facing here.

Currently, the aircraft is not economically feasible to put back in the air, but if some big sponsor were to write a substantial check that is way more than what the aircraft is worth, I'm sure the CAF would be happy to put it back in the air. Realistically, I don't think we'll ever see that aircraft back in the air under CAF ownership, imo. It will likely sit until they can find some buyer for it, perhaps Buffalo, perhaps some cargo operator in South America, Alaska, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if a new owner is found for the aircraft who would only use it for parts.

[JohnH]

That post made me finally understand why that airplane never flew at any of the many shows it was at I went to in the 80’s and 90’s and beyond. Out of the tons I went to I saw it fly twice . Once at a show in 88 in Holtville where it dropped skydivers , subbing for a broken C130 that was there , and landing on arriving at the 93 Tracy airshow. I guess none of the shows cared to give it fuel to fly and it wasn’t selling rides either. The C46 is cool so that’s a shame.

[phil65]

The C-46 was supposed to drop skydivers at Reading as well.
I was watching an old episode of Ice Pilots and they did a tribute fly over with their C-54, C-46 and C-47.
I thought that was pretty cool and could possibly see it at Reading, but I guess not...

Phil

[marine air]

Whatever happened to the C-46A in North Carolina? It would have been much cheaper to hire that one for the show. If the old CAF C-46 is still on the west coast, fuel alone would have been tens of thousands of dollars to get it there.

[OD/NG]

Whatever happened to the C-46A in North Carolina? It would have been much cheaper to hire that one for the show. If the old CAF C-46 is still on the west coast, fuel alone would have been tens of thousands of dollars to get it there.

You have to keep up with this thread, lol. You are several years behind with old, outdated information.