My dad had several hundred hours in these machines. He (and others, I'm told) had low opinions of them because of the R-4360's that they had. He went on to add that you could count on losing an engine about every 2 months while flying over the Pacific and that made for a busy trip. Valves were a major cause. My dad's log books have many entires titled " R.E. M." (Return, Mechanical)
After initial engine problems were pretty much solved, it was propellors built by one manufacturer that were the cause of several catastrophic failures. They had gotten so large and were no longer solid, but hollow & filled with a plastic substance to stiffen them. The props were lighter and more efficient than the ones made the old way, but troubles soon surfaced and there was more than one incident involving an engine being ripped from its mount during flight.
One other bad feature of the airplane was the lack of weather radar.
The Double Bubble or Covered Wagon also had its lower level given the nickname "Bar in the Basement".
One other quirk of this aircraft is that it was landed nosewheel first.
Last edited by
Tom Moungovan on Sun Feb 15, 2009 10:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.