Convair XC-99 takeoff in color
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Color video of Convair's wide-body transport derivitive of the B-36. Video starts with a landing of a B-36B at Convair's Fort Worth plant followed by the giant XC-99 rolling out to the runway for a slow takeoff.
My grandfather was the pilot in command on the last flight when, after landing at Kelly, a cracked wing spar was found. She never flew again. She is up at Wright Patterson AFB in the restoration process now. I will donate my grandfather's flight suit when they have it ready.
Wow I remember seeing this plane at Kelly when I was a kid. It was just sitting rotting away if I recall correctly. Glad its being restored.
I was stationed at Kelly from 1955 to 1957. I saw it fly and wondered how it ever got off the ground. It was very impressive.
I was a mechanic in the 1700th Turboprop Test Squadron.
That's very interesting and I saw that enormous XC-99 cargo plane when it flew over my elementary school on final approach to Love Field Dallas Texas in 1970 and I was a little boy and witnessed aviation history...
Due it being made of magnesium alloy, which would make restoration incredibly expensive, it’s unlikely to ever be restored and put on display. Too bad because it was an amazing aircraft.
You have pic?
The video of the XC-99 first flight, available elsewhere on UA-cam, shows the original single main gear wheels fitted. They had such a high ground pressure that only a very few runways would support this immense load. A revision of the design substituted multiple smaller wheels that reduced the ground pressure. The B-36s shown here also had the multiple main gear wheel design. The new design added weight, but was far more effective.
I saw that right away. Both of them. Make them look almost modern ;-)
Six turning and ... Well, six turning.
and passengers hurling.
No jet- assisted takeoff? I guess they didn't need it since they weren't carrying a 10 ton nuke!
During my guest status at Ft. Bliss, we were just a little past the runway of Biggs AFB, during the B-36's heyday. Saw the XC-99 fly by once and like the 36's seemed to always be, it had one engine dead. Wondrous sound they made though.
Ron Hoffstein The sound of an airplane flying by is a big part of the experience. I'm kinda bummed they've reengined the C-5 fleet. The original engines, both at high and low throttle, were some of the most distinctive sounding jets I've ever heard.
Probably one burning. Those engines used to catch fire a lot due to poor cooling.
When the XC-99 was retired it sat in a display park on the back road from Kelly to Lackland AFB in San Antonio. In the early 60's I would drive by and do a walk around. By the late 60's to the early 70's it was getting pretty ragged. Still an impressive aircraft. It sat across from the main runway at Kelly and watched a C-124 squadron doing their cargo runs. The old timers at Kelly said it was the only aircraft that the air force had that paid for itself due to all the cargo carried. I assume it must have had a good readiness time. The C-124 was big but the XC-99 was bigger.
Yet another airplane from the pages of the weird and wonderful.
I, like a lot of the other commenters, "toured" the XC-99 on display at Kelly AFB. (I was a MTI at Lackland). As a 5 year old, my son really enjoyed sitting in the cockpit. My son, now, is a Retired USAF Major - my how time flys when you are havin' fun! ha. MSgt. Retired
Congratulations and thank you for being all that you could be in your sons life. Retiring as a Major in USAF is a great accomplishment and reflects back to his parents and how he was raised. Thanks to people like him, we're all able to go to sleep at night or during the day without the worries of a bomb dropping on our asses.
I saw the shuttle land at Kelly in 1988 on the 747. I could see that behemoth in the distance and we have it on video for a brief second. I had no idea what it was at the time, but I wish I could’ve gone up to it later.
While going through training at Lackland AFB in 1967, we went on a tour of Kelly AFB next door. Saw this plane on static display. It is huge! Nice to see this video of it flying.
My dad was stationed at Kelly from 64' to '66 and at that time they had stairs to go up inside and walk around and go into the cockpit really cool I was 8 or 9.
Ole girl was a biggen I went on her when the AF bought her back at Kelly early 90's. Took several fellow Airman/Airwomen to go on-board she had a long upper deck. A split fwd and aft lower deck. A big aft hoist some of her skin just powdered away in the Texas sun. The engines were really wicked looking. The cylinders rolled in a spiral. You could open an access door and go out inside the Wings. She had been terribly vandalized. They disassembled her and flew her engines to Wright Pat on our C5' s Trucked the rest..For her time massive and she had the most mileage on her as an experimental aircraft. MSgt Hill Ret.
This air-frame ended up here in San Antonio, Texas at Kelly AFB where I had the opportunity to view it on many, many occasions every time I drove by it. It was moved 2005/2006 I believe to go to one of the air museums.
My Step Mom was a Rosie The Riveter at the Convair Plant (AF Plant #4) when it was Carswell Army Airfield during WWII. She started out working on the empennage section of the B-24 Liberator, worked thru the 2 prototype XB-36s and in the early B-36 Peacemaker production run before she hung up the rivet gun and headed back to the Family dairy farm in East Texas. I Served on that Base from 2000-2004. By that time, it had become a Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base. The Base was still in a run down position after Air Force pulled chocks. None of my Shipmates understood my extreme fascination and wonder of the Base, dilapidated parts and all. They just did not realize the rich history that lay at the feet.
I was stationed at Kelly on Security Hill in 1955 and again in 1965/67. During the my first time, we could hear B-36 engines being run up and checked out. It shook the blinds in my room and the floor shook also. The XC-99 was on static display down on the base during my second trip back to Kelly and was in really rough shape. The damaged wing spar was plainly visible from inside. You could walk all through the plane and it was huge. I am glad it is awaiting restoration. USAFSS Msgt Ret.
It'll most likely never be restored. The Air Force has let it deteriorate too badly over the decades it's been at Wright-Pat...😡
Looks like the Pilot had his dancing shoes on that day......he was having to do some hard work on the Rudders to keep the Old Girl in a straight line.
Dad was a government welder at Kelly AFB. He told us he worked on the fuselage, at Ft Worth(?), or maybe as repair after it got to Kelly. We could see it from our car on errand days, 1954-56??
In 1979-81 I was at Lackland and drove down to Kelly AFB along the road that went between Lackland and Kelly in the outdoor rec area, and on that frontage road, sat (in my car) by the XC-99 (static) and watched F-4's, C-5's and more coming and going from the immediate runway
when I was down there,, Lackland in 76-77 you could go inside of it and walk around
`she was off the runway at Kelly AFB on Acme road. If your car was impounded by the police, you couldn't help but see her when you went to pick it up. I do miss her but knowing it would never fly again, I suppose it is OK to let it go elsewhere..
Well that definitely beat the law of gravity....how ? we'll never know!!
Unfortunate about the bad audio - I would have loved to have heard it. The B-36 had a very distinctive sound. Bet this was somewhat similar.
The XC-99 was used as a freighter until 1957 when it was parked. Convair hoped the Air Force would order these freighters, but didn't have a need at the time for anything larger than what they were using. Also, Convair planned a civilian passenger version of this plane. Forward thinking for the times.
I believe Pan Am had plans to use the never built civilian version for a West Coast to Hawaii route. Saw a Pan Am "here's what's coming" ad in a magazine once
Floor space less than the contemporary 747, but more than a 767.
Hate to attempt landing in a crosswind, which was fairly common at Carswell AFB.
It looks like a B-36 that got stung by a bee.
Quite a utilitarian looking design, isn't it? Not a trace of stylishness. Really quite a boring plane to look at. But it suffered from the same problem as the B-36. Both were interim designs that were just a stopgap measure until jet designs reached a degree of maturity. The XC-99 would have had a very short useful service life if adopted.
Some XC-99 facts: World's largest landplane when first flown Nov 24,1947, from Lindbergh Field, San Diego. Modified at Ft. Worth, TX with upgraded 4-wheel main undercarriage and (ultimately) powered by 6 x 3500hp R-4360-41's.100,000lb load first carried May 26, 1949. During Korean war, ferried equipment to the west coast. Shared wings, undercarriage & tail with B-36. Designed to haul 400 troops or 50 tons of freight. 182'6" long (without the evental radome), (cont'd)
My dad flew on the XC 99 during the early 50’s. He was a mechanic and loved every minute he got to spend on this plane. He was stationed at Kelly
That rarest of rare moments that you feel like your B-36 is a Piper Cub. 🤤🤤🤤🤤
That’s there the limit of prop technology ! Looks like the An-225 taking off .. it barely can.
I never saw the XC-99 fly she was always on the ground. When they shipped her to Wright Pat, home has not been the same without her here in San Antonio. When the National Air Museum at Wright Pat suffered the fire that engulfed one of the exhibit hangars, destroying the last XB-70 and other precious aircraft, it was decided funding should go to building a new hangar. As a result, the XC-99 was shipped to the Pima Air Museum where it is still in storage awaiting restoration.
Juan Vallejo When I was a toddler, my dad was the pilot of this bird. I’m sorry it had to leave Wright-Pat. We lived in Tucson 8 years. Went to the Pima Air Museum often. Now, I have to go back.
Toured the xc-99 Kelly Field school field trip grandpa Lopez flight engineer civilian
If you didn't know what the word "lumbering" meant before, you do now.
They say that if an airplane looks good it probably flies good. This airplane looks like a giant Oscar Meyer Wiernermobile with wings. So it's not too surprising it flew like it looked.
I've read those prop engines were expensive to operate and testy at times, surprised the USAF used this lone example as a cargo plane for many years without building additional ones since they seemed to be so practical.
The single XC-99 prototype's biggest drawback was that it used the massive single-wheel main landing gear from the XB-36 design. Most Air Force base runways at the time couldn't accommodate the very high ground pressure...😞
For many years couldn't help noticing that old hulk of an airplane just sitting near Growden Road at Kelly AFB gathering rust and literally falling apart. Some time in the 80's some private individuals decided to restore it and it looked great again, but the maintenance costs were too much and again it fell into disrepair. Left San Antonio, Texas in 1998 and never saw it again. Any updates any one?
It is now part of USAF museum collection at Wright-Patt. Right now, it is at Davis-Monthan for corrosion protection and restoration, but it will eventually be transported to the museum.
Hope it happens in my lifetime, been waiting to go see it. Looks like it may take years before it ever gets back to Wright Patterson.@@米空軍パイロット
My dad was assigned to Kelly AFB from 1959 to 1962. When the XC99 was on static display we were able to go into it. Boy was it hugh. I would like to see a C5A Galaxy parked next to it for comparison!
At first when it takes off it looks like it is just on a taxi way to the runway, then it lifts off and looks like it is going to stall! Awesome plane and awesome video!
That made the B-36 look "sleek"... LOL
Was told once long time ago...she could carry 400 troop's and their gear @ once...or haul eight Pratt and Whitney R-4360 engine's to Alaska for the Convair B-36 ...
I have never seen that aircraft before and it must have been flying during the 1950's for a short amount of time.
The XC-99 was flown for 7,400 hours. Roughly from 1948 to 1957. Not particularly short time.
In the '50s, my dad was stationed at Kelly AFB (San Antonio) and we checked in at a gate near where the XC99 was taking off. (It shuttled from there to McClellan AFB (Sacramento) and back every week.) When the tail swung around, there was a hell of a blow and me and my sister grabbed hold of the chain link fence to steady ourselves.
We always knew when the XC-99 was landing at McClellan because the whole house shook and dishes rattled in the kitchen. McClellan was an air logistics and maintenance depot.The XC-99 was flying in cargo in support of McClellan's logistic mission. Also, used to explore Camp Kohler in the early 50s.
(cont'd) 135,732lbs empty, 265,000lbs gross. Full load range w/ crew of 10 was 1720 miles. If lightly loaded (10, 000lbs) & carrying 19,112 gallons of fuel, it could fly 8100 miles. Cruise speed was 290mph & max speed at 30,000' was 335mph. Double-decked, pressurized, with an internal capacity of 16,117 cubic feet. Amassed 7400hrs prior to being retired in March, 1957. (Jacobsen & Wagner B-36)
It's too bad we can't tour her again, go inside in all her glory. It was not just a demonstrator. When the Korean War came around it flew troops in and then made weekly trips between South Korea and the United State, flying in supplies for the B-36. Those six-turning though were too inefficient for regular travel.
Just wondering if that's the predecessor of the C-133. I wouldn't get on that airplane and never wanted to work on them. The 133 was difficult to get good aircrew to fly.
Believe it or not, the XC-99 design was also pitched by Convair to Pan American and others as an even-bigger rival of the Boeing 377...
The XC-99 would make an occasional visit to the Convair plant at Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Attended a school 12 blocks distant from the airport. When the XC-99 flew above our school on the landing approach it would vibrate pictures hung on the classroom walls.
My Dad was Flight Engineer on this thing in 1950-51....I have the patch from the leather flight jacket...
vonmazur1 My dad was the pilot in those years!
The size of an A380 with a small fraction of the thrust. Take off with a load in it must have been a white knuckle experience for the crew
My dad used to take me to walk around inside of that monster when it was parked next to Kelly AFB in San Antonio, TX. You could walk upright inside the wings. I hear that its now in Ohio possibly getting restored.
What a lot of people don't know is that even though it never went into production the aircraft was operationally used during the Korean war.
Very nice! Thanks for posting this. I recently got some through-the-fence-from-a-mile-away pictures of its remains at Wright-Patterson. The folks at the USAF Museum said that it's going to be moved to Davis-Monthan for long-term desert storage, as they won't even be able to think about restoring it for a couple of decades, if ever. It's in really, really bad shape.
That's sad news...😞
That was a whole lotta airplane to haul into the sky back then. Thanks for the great video!
Looks very underpowered.
What did the giant b-36 need more than anything? More weight of course!
GREAT CLIP! Thanks for sharing.
Do us all a favor, and re-upload this video without sound. Absolutely excruciating. I had to mute my computer.
That plane actually flies!...
fact: pusher propeller engines are better aerodynamically.
Not so sure about that. The pusher propellers are working in non-uniformly disturbed airflow, which leads to less efficiency and more vibration, while the wing does not get any added lift from the prop wash (though no drag, either). The props also are in the exhaust of the engines, which leads to blade heating, especially in the case of turboprops (not so with B-36/XC-99). So for slow, piston-engined planes it may been have a good idea, but certainly not for faster turboprops, and I don't think pushers have been seriously used since except in relatively small twin-boom configurations. Other very big '50's prop-driven planes such as the Bristol Brabazon, Saunders-Roe Princess and Tu-114 used contra-rotating tractor propellers, but only the Tu-114 was successful (and whose military bomber/maritime patrol versions are still in active service today).
Where did you find the film clips of this dinosaur?
In a public VHS tape commemorating the 50th anniversary of Air Force Plant 4.
They were going to turn it into the A380 via pan am
Impressive for weighing over 300k lbs and goes over 300mph on prop piston power. Unbelievable in 1949. Wow
What's left of it's at Wright Patterson across from the museum(east) next to a Mig 21.lol
I remember seeing it at kelly AFB in the mid 80's as a kid. awesome machine! I always wondered how the B-36 would have performed with some massive turboprops like the TU-95 which sounds pretty similar to the B-36. Anyway. Cheers everyone.
Waiting for a kit manufacturer such as Roden to make a 1/144 scale model kit of the XC-99….they make the B-36 kit already so all they need to mold is the fuselage…..
That makes a max-gross DC-7C on a hot day look easy...
Got to climb through it as a kid,60+ years ago.
I never really noticed before but the geometry of the nose secion is sort of A380ish. I used to go visit this bird when it was parked in San Antonio for years. Sounds like that all the magnesium is going to prevent restoration so I glad I toured it when I could.
Any word on the progress of restoration efforts for this magnificent beast?
0:50 Now you can see typical B36 taxing and XC-90 (prototype transport aircraft based on B13) behind it. Its easy to compare that planes and see a defferences. Also this B36 is one of earlier versions without 4 jet engines under wing tips.
Thanks for the cool video, what is intresting the B 36 that this aircraft is based on was surprising light for it's size and power and with it's generous wing area and at altitudes above 40.000' it could turn inside of a F 100 Super Sabre, great design
just imagine if only they were able to install two CF-6 engines on that thing today. that plane is as big a 767-300.
The XC-99 never had the jets mounted like the ones on the B-36.
Wow, what a mighty beast. I'm glad they preserved it.
Right...
@@JungleYT what is its status, last I heard it was being held at the boneyard awaiting further funds
@@wyattwilliams2457 As far as I can see, it's still at the Boneyard as per your notice. I did not realize that it was moved to D-M. Imagine if they could get it flying again? Wow... One of my dreams is to get rich enough to build a new flyable B-36 replica or replicas. Too bad none of these billionaires are into vintage aircraft
There used to be one sitting at Kelly AFB
sizable vehicle
I think it only got airborne because of the earth's curvature.
I never knew there was just a beast.
@randyl74 It's being restored at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton Ohio.
It was, now it's at the boneyard in Arizona in pieces awaiting funds to restore it and take it back to Ohio.
Still a better climber than A340-300 😂😂😂
It's like when a hot chick gains a bunch of weight.
Does anyone know why the four jets were removed from the aircraft? I would have thought they'd get better performance from the four jets.
if you look at the first regular b36 at the beginning it doesnt have them either i think this is from before they came up with that idea but the xc-99 never had them
It's not a "widebody", it is a double-deck narrow body.
Something tells me the designers at Convair were a bunch of lonely housewives 😂😂😂
A unique plane, no others were produced.
Woah Awesome footage ...thank you
That's really cool. Is this plane on display anywhere?
I toured that plane as a child near Kelly afb
Think I saw Bugs Bunny coming out from under the nose gear tire. Lucky she had air brakes!
You ain't gettin me up in that sarge, I got a life ahead of me I'll have you know!
What a big plane!
Can anyone verify this bird is in pieces at Davis Monthan now? I recall it was taken apart and sent to Wright Pat, but understand it is at Davis Monthan now??? Restoration did not happen and it sits out in the desert now?
That is correct.
@@AVhistorybuff thanks for the reply! My dad flew in it as he was USAF out at KAFB during one of his stations. I used to visit it just outside the base when DAV sold tickets to go through it in the 70’s.
Beautiful
Wow, what a beast. But very cool.
I remember seeing the XC-99 parked in the grass at Kelly A.F.B. when I was a kid. My Dad took me out to see it one time as I was "airplane crazy" and I was amazed that something so big could actually fly!
I also saw it at KAFB in 1968. Lived off base in the Lackland terrace area.
Thanks for posting, AVhb. Great stuff, as always.
Imagine it has six turboprops engines? 😳
Not turbo prop engines but 18 cylinder piston engines.
28 cylinder.
The 99 as it's cousin B36 were powered by Pratt and Whitney Wasp Major engines. While they were the pinnacle of piston engine development, they were problem prone and required a lot of maintenance. I'm sure ground crews were glad to see them go when replaced by the all jet B52.
@@58HUSTLER B-36 engines had a tendency to overheat and there were more than a few fires. Last B-36 flight in 1959. Saw one as a static display at Chanute AFB in 1969.
@@isleman9473 Yeah, it's always been one of my favorite airplanes because of its size and uniqueness. I've seen the B-36 at the AF museum in Dayton Ohio and the RB-36 at Castle AF museum in California. I think the only other examples today in addition to those are one at the SAC museum in Nebraska and one at the boneyard in Arizona. Supposedly the XC-99 will eventually be restored and put on display. Keeping my fingers crossed.
That doesn't look like the XC-99 that you could tour at Kelly AFB in the 60's. The nose cone is missing and there was a row of windows along the upper sides of the aircraft, one that was bubble shaped and you could look down the side of the plane. I spent many a day playing inside this plane with friends for a lot of years. There is a B&W video on UA-cam that show the XC-99 and the records it set. Here is the link //ua-cam.com/video/rXAOGQCutPY/v-deo.html
Rene Vasquez this was the first flight of the prototype. They changed things as they went along.
NOT a wide-body, rather a tall-body.
No good
This looks way bigger then 225.
How 'bout scanning it and posting it to facebook or someplace we can see it?
looks like a turd
I think moby dick just got a pair of wings that's why he's flying