CAF also selling their C-131

[RNDMTRS4EVR]

My dad used to fly one of those for the Nevada Air Guard! Really liked flying the Convair, he said "it was a pilots airplane" just a real nice airplane to fly, not too bad on the maintenance side of things either.
Scott.......

[retroaviation]

Another one that nobody wanted to have assigned to them. I agree that it's a shame, but it should go somewhere that it's going to be utilized. That goes for the other airplanes we currently have for sale. I just ran the little Ercoupe up today and it seems strange to me that nobody has wanted it in their Squadron or Unit, but that's just how it goes sometimes. It, the C-131, the O-2, the C-46, and the Mig 17 are all nice airplanes, but for whatever reason don't get requested by our Units. So, the right thing to do (at least in my opinion) is just what the CAF decided to do...sell them.

My $.02 worth.

Gary

[Mr Widgeon]

UH Gary,does that mean you're not going to need this thing then ?



(And after all the work I put into it.......... )

[Ryan Keough]

I just ran the little Ercoupe up today and it seems strange to me that nobody has wanted it in their Squadron or Unit...

Is there a WIX-member discount available? Might be a good first plane for me

[LadyO2Pilot]

I just ran the little Ercoupe up today and it seems strange to me that nobody has wanted it in their Squadron or Unit...

Is there a WIX-member discount available? Might be a good first plane for me

Ryan......if you want any info on that particular one, contact me back channel. I flew it for the CAF for many years. Fortunately or unfortunately , I bought the O-2 and moved away from the area and the Wing to which it was assigned sent it back to Midland after about a year or so. I wish I could buy it and may make an offer but I do not need two planes .

[Shay]

What are (if any) the pre-requisites for a CAF squadron to take on an aircraft like this?

Seems like there are a couple squadrons out there that could take on this bird.

I know the Wright Stuff Squadron here in Dayton supports one aircraft, a Cessna T-50 Bobcat.

Also the Old Dominion Squadron is without a "Big" flyer now.

I'm sure there are others aswell, but these squadrons turned down the chance to take on the C-131 or what?


Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

[P51Mstg]

Now that is a real deal...... Price is good, engine times are low and you can bringa lot of friends with you in relative comfort.........

So who bought? The Little Horse P-51, the Cobra, the red Hawker Hunter , etc? A lot of stuff seems to be trading hands......


Mark H

[Eric Friedebach]

The short answer is it comes down to a Wing being able to $upport these aircraft that have been up for assignment.

Having a C-131 would be a blast, but how many airshows would put up the necessary appearance fees and fuel?

[Shay]

The short answer is it comes down to a Wing being able to $upport these aircraft that have been up for assignment.

Having a C-131 would be a blast, but how many airshows would put up the necessary appearance fees and fuel?

C'mon the Sam is a born money-maker. Pop in a Dorsal and Ball turret, a couple waist positions and blow on a few drums of O.D. paint.....

.....the crowds would buy it


Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

[CAPFlyer]

Realistically, you're looking at $2500/hr to fly assuming your putting at LEAST 15 hours a month on it. If you're not, figure $3000+/hr. The Convairs, like most pistons are quite a bit more reliable if you put hours on there regularly. If you don't, your costs go up substantially because you end up wearing out the engines faster and you're spreading out the cost of the annual and overhaul over a shorter period of time.

Remember that like the C-46, the C-131 has a pair of 2400HP R2800 radials. These engines are quite complex and while typically reliable, unless you take some steps, they are maintenance intensive because of the dual speed blowers they're equipped with among some other issues. I don't know if the 2nd speed on the blowers was disabled on the C-131, but unless they're actually pressurizing the airplane, there's not much need for the high blower speed and the commercial operators almost all have theirs disabled. It does save a little maintenance cost (probably less than $1000 a year total for both engines), but it all depends on how you're going to fly it.

I do hope someone picks it up and keeps it flying, but unfortunately because it wasn't a combat aircraft and none really got any "feature" in the media, it has limited appeal and thus it would be very expensive to make it a feasible display operation. Thus, it will probably need to go to a private individual who has the means to support it or a static museum. With it's unique General's VIP interior, I would think that the aircraft would be great for static display if no one can find a flying home because it's the only one left with such an interior.

[N3Njeff]

I wish the airline industry was more stable.....................I like that O-2!!!

[retroaviation]

UH Gary,does that mean you're not going to need this thing then ?



(And after all the work I put into it.......... )

Well, Widgeon...the 131 isn't gone yet. I would love to still have that model of yours here. I have been bragging on it to folks here at HQ. I thought it was awesome how you came up with that 131 model out of the Douglas stuff. You da man!!!

Gary

[b17engineer]

The simple fact is that generally speaking none of these aircraft are equipped with guns. Airshows won't pay for this kind of stuff so it becomes impossible to make money with them. The one example the flies in the face of my statement is China Doll, but I believe that is because the So. Cal. Wing has been very aggressive in marketing her to work in non-standard places. I wish I were wrong, but if I was there would still be several wings and squadrons around that were forced out of the airplane business.

RICK

[b17engineer]

Don't get me wrong, each of these planes deserves a good home, but in today's environment it may not be with the CAF. Our loss.

RICK

[CAPFlyer]

I think with China Doll there are other selling points for it that help. The R4D is in demand as are most of the C-47s, but as always, our biggest problem is coming to a fair agreement on cost. With China Doll, cost is still an issue, but location has some offset because of the short distance to major airshows and easy access to movie and TV work. There are a lot of fairly large airshows in the Southwest that China Doll can attend (and be the only C-46) whereas many other areas the major airshows are spread out and in many cases, this spreading out causes multiple aircraft to be within reasonable range of the airshow and thus they are all competing for the limited budget available (and even more limited in recent years).

As such, most airshow organizers are spending their money on the fighters and bombers (stuff that makes things go boom) instead of the transports because they're often in the situation of being able to afford one or the other and not both, so the transport looses out.