C46 CP973

[Mick G]

Been for sale for a looooong time. It would be neat to see Redbull buy it. Pricing I'd think is too high for Everts or Buffalo otherwise who else is going to buy it.? Museums would have to reconfigure back to military at a significant cost. The engines are new, but im not sure they are certifiable from that country if imported.

[menards]

Been for sale for a looooong time. It would be neat to see Redbull buy it. Pricing I'd think is too high for Everts or Buffalo otherwise who else is going to buy it.? Museums would have to reconfigure back to military at a significant cost. The engines are new, but im not sure they are certifiable from that country if imported.

That's the thing...it would need to be imported into the US...the red tape associated with that... then it would need to be torn down and FAA certified airworthy. Which means all the field repairs and mods that are ok in Columbia would need to be changed over to make it legal in the US in accordance with the US LTC. probably why its been for sale for awhile.... That said.. Those C-46s are a sweet bunch of airplanes. They are big, and loud. unfortunately they don't command the desire to save them that other types get. There were a couple parked in the grass in Haiti that keep having bits and pieces removed every time Google Earth updates the satellite imagery....

[Tulio]

Just an observation:

"CP-xxx" is the civilian registration for Bolivia, not for "Columbia" (sic) (Colombia)

Saludos,


Tulio

[menards]

Just an observation:

"CP-xxx" is the civilian registration for Bolivia, not for "Columbia" (sic) (Colombia)

Saludos,


Tulio

Nice observation... that makes everything even better. The Bolivian govt grounded the -46 type, so it can't even be flown out......

[Mick G]

Just an observation:

"CP-xxx" is the civilian registration for Bolivia, not for "Columbia" (sic) (Colombia)

Saludos,


Tulio

Nice observation... that makes everything even better. The Bolivian govt grounded the -46 type, so it can't even be flown out......

Curious where did you hear the Bolivia Gov't grounded? I think they had a wreck a few years ago, but surely by now the investigation would have been over?

[marine air]

You guys must be talking about another aircraft. This C-46 has had a ton of work done to it and it's nice. It could go either way, continue in commercial use or be purchased by a collector. I could see it hauling passengers and cargo to Cuba or other Caribbean islands, or Belize or Costa Rica from the States. It's a long range hauler that can go into unimproved or derelict airfields.

[Cubs2jets]

That wouldn't be a white powdery substance yer haulin' now, would it??

C2j

[Mick G]

I'd love to see this back in service, but the problem with anyone buying this for commercial use is:
- first, the challenge of spare parts. Other than Evert's who won't likely give anything up, I don't see how viable spare part acquisition will be. There aren't really many derelict air frames left for scavenging that haven't already been stripped.
- second, the price of $250K USD is a lot for an airline in a 3rd world country to pony up for an aircraft which is not only expensive, but obsolete and arguably uneconomic to maintain. Selling into US or Canada is probably not viable unless destined for static display at a museum as touched on previously in this post.
- third, with few, if any other examples available for purchase; no airline in there right mind would go through the training and certification for a 1 off.....too expensive. To run a commercial operation would require at least 2 or 3 to allow for redundancy, training etc...

[marine air]

Mick G, with all due respect, I disagree. Have you see Paul Allen's DC-10 equipped as an eye hospital that only flies a few times a year? But when it does it is quite effective. There is also a B-747 parked at (KMQY) that an evangelist flies 60 hours per year. How much payload do you think they can deliver to earthquake and hurricane victims, on short notice? To me, it's onwly shortfall is areas of the world where avgas is not available. then you could probably preposition fuel or use autofuel. The fuel in WW II wasn't that great.
An aircraft like the C-46, because of it's simplicity and having been overbuilt, can continue to be flown a few more years. Yes, restoring a derelict example would be a daunting task. It has the loading doors and ramps that don't require special equipment. IT doesn't have the added weight of pressurization and doesn't require gas guzzling climbs to higher altitudes to find fuel eficiency like a turbined engined aircraft. It has the range to "go there" and back without refueling. I'd rather own a 10,000 hour well maintained C-46 than a 50,000 hour Convair C-131. The C-46 couild still find a role in the low utilazation flight schedule but not the higher flight hour schedule of air cargo, etc.