The Also Rans, Part II

The Canadair Four was powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines developing 1760hp for take-off. On later models the four-blade propellers were replaced by three-bladed propellers with lower tip speed and the exhaust stacks were enclosed to give a quieter cabin sound level and increased power, which resulted in an increase in the all-up weight to 80,200Ib. Standard accommodation for continental and trans-ocean service was 40 passengers.

Span was 117ft 6in. Length 97ft 3in. Wing area 1457sq ft. Empty weight 45,444Ib. Maximum payload 14,758Ib. Maximum speed at 21,000ft was 345mph. Maximum cruising speed 333mph. Service ceiling 26,700ft and a maximum range of 4060 miles at 10,000ft. Take-of run at maximum weight was 5000ft.

In 1949 Pan American put into service on the Atlantic run the magnificent Boeing Stratocruiser 377 model. Developed from the C97 military transport, the 377 had the same wings, tail surfaces and landing gear as the B29 but had a fuselage with twice the volume of the Superfortress and was 12ft longer.

The Stratocruiser with its blunt glazed nose section, tall tail and double-sectioned fuselage, was the forerunner of the Boeing 707, a stepping stone on the path to glory and a successful aircraft type. The Stratocruiser seated from 55 to 100 passengers, and on the lower deck, there was a cargo hold and a lounge and bar with seats for up to 14, the lounge being connected by a spiral staircase, an innovation carried through on the Boeing 747. The Stratocruisers were popular with both crew and passengers alike, providing spaciousness and comfort, and a large unobstructed cockpit.

Although 888 Boeing C97 series aircraft were built, and some still fly on with the Israeli Air Force as KC-97 tankers and some US National Guard Reserve Units, only 55 civil Stratocruisers were built. Pan American, who have always been to the fore in the operation of successful aircraft types, and whose pioneering spirit has literally paved the way for today’s modern air transport and without whose orders most modern Boeing aircraft would not have been realised, flew 28 of them. BOAC operated 17, United Airlines 7, and Northwest Airlines 10. Stratocruisers operated the Atlantic until replaced in 1958 by De Havilland Comet 4’s and Boeing 707- 121s. Later they passed to charter airlines such as Trans Ocean who converted them to carry 117 passengers.

AeroSpacelines converted several into the spectacular Guppy series of aircraft of which there were three different types. Built to carry the large booster rockets used in the US Space program, the 201 Model is today employed by Aerospatiale to transport the wings of the A300 Airbus from Manchester to Toulouse for assembly. The two aircraft are the only ones of their kind in the world and no replacement has been considered suitable.

Although the Stratocruiser was not a commercial success for Boeing, its progeny have reached the pinnacle of success. During the 1950s on a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, a Stratocruiser had an engine failure and was unable to maintain altitude.

All hope of continuing the flight was abandoned and the captain radioed for help and was forced to ditch the aircraft in the open sea. Fortunately help was at hand and the crew and passengers were rescued by the Coastguard. The aircraft subsequently sank, but not before demonstrating the classic ditching procedure shown to all passengers on today’s airliners.

The power plants were four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Double Wasp 28-cylinder four-row radial air-cooled geared and turbo-supercharged engines each developing 2800hp with a take-off output of 3500hp with water injection. The four-bladed propellers were constant speed, full feathering and braking airscrews 16ft Bin in diameter. Total fuel capacity was 7715 US gallons. The crew consisted of two pilots, navigator, engineer and radio operator. In a sleeper version, the Stratocruiser could accommodate 28 upper and lower berths plus five seats in addition to 14 seats in the lounge. Wing span was 141ft 3in, Length 110ft 4in, Height 38ft 3in, Empty weight was 78,920Ib, normal take-off weight 135,000lb. Maximum speed 375mph. Maximum cruising speed 340mph at 25,000ft. Landing speed 100mph. Takeoff run at maximum weights 5400ft. Maximum range 4200 miles.

The Boeing Stratocruiser was a fine machine, despite the fact that it had the nasty habit of throwing an occasional cylinder head when a crankshaft fractured, which was the cause of the ditching in the Pacific described previously. In that case the propeller refused to feather, and the added drag brought her down.

With turboprops on the drawing boards, and Boeing, Douglas and Convair with pure jet transports in the design stage, the age of the large piston-engined aircraft in the mid-1950s was in a state of suspended animation regarding further development.

We will look at two magnificent aircraft next and see just how the wrong era can spell doom to any form of transport even if it is the perfection of the state of the art.

When the company making the new jets is also in the business of selling the old piston-engined types, it stands to reason that there will be an early cutoff in the production lines of the older types so that future orders will be for the new aircraft. So it was with Boeing and Douglas.

Douglas perfected their successful DC6 series by stretching it and giving it more powerful engines and greater fuel capacity and hence longer range. The DC7 was born on May 18, 1953, when the first flight was made. Subsequent developments saw series DC-7B with relocated flaps and increased fuel capacity, a DC-7F the freight version of the previous two, and the daddy of them all, the then largest passenger plane in the US and a feature of Popular Mechanics Magazine of 1956, the DC- 7C or Seven Seas as it came to be known, the ultimate in piston-engined airliners. First flight was on December 20, 1955 and six months later Pan American introduced the type on the North Atlantic route on June 1, 1956. BOAC followed in January 1957 on the London-New York Monarch service.

SAS (Scandinavian Airline System) began a trans-Polar service with DC- 7Cs on February 24, 1957, between Copenhagen and Tokyo via Anchorage. Other operators of the DC7C were Airlift, Alitalia, Braniff, KLM, Martins, Northwest Pan Am, Scanair, Saturn, and Sudflug Principal operators of the DC- 7 and 7F were American, Aerovias Panama, Delta, lnternord, TASSA, United, Zantop. DC-7B; AREA, Delta, lnternord, Panagra, SAA, Transair.

The DC-7C was powered by four Wright R-3350-18EA1 radial engines of 3400hp. These massive compound engines were the ultimate undoing of the aircraft. They were complex to maintain, and after 700 hours an engine change was required. Hence today the more simpler-engined DC-6 and DC-4 aircraft are still used, mainly for freight, but the DC-7s bar one or two are virtually extinct.

The maximum speed of the DC-7C was 406mph at 22,700ft at 107,00016 weight. High speed cruise 346mph, at 110,00016 weight. Maximum fuel range was 5635 miles. Maximum payload range was 4635 miles.

The type carries a crew of five and up to 99 tourist class passengers. Wing span 127ft 6in, length 112ft, height 31ft, wing area 1637sq ft.

A total of 121 DC-7C aircraft were built and 217 of the DC-7 and 78 Small numbers when compared with the figures of today’s 727 and DC-9.When the 707 and DC-8 arrived on the scene, the DC-7s were one of the first casualties. They were taken off the prime routes they were designed for and converted into freighters. They served in this role for several years but have long since been retired in favour of more efficient and economical types. The are now unfortunately remembered only as also rans.

Perhaps the most beautiful-looking aircraft ever built was the Lockheed Constellation. In its final form as the Super Constellation more than 600 were built. But when the DC-7C entered service the Super Constellation was not able to meet the required range. Lockheed set about redesigning the Super Constellation and came up with the Starliner.

The Lockheed 1649A Starliner was to be the ultimate Super Constellation. If only it had appeared on international routes five years earlier, it would have been a highly successful design notwithstanding the compound engines. As it was, the Starliner arrived on the scene on June 1, 1957, when TWA put them on New York-London non-stop services. Air France and Lufthansa also operated them. Other operators were Alaska, ASA International, LA Patagonicas, Luxair and TREK. The big jets were now only a matter of months away, the USAF was flying KC-135 tankers, and the writing was on the wall for the big piston-engined types.

The prototype 1649A made its first flight on October 10, 1956. By 1958 when production terminated, only 43 Starliners had been delivered.

The Starliner incorporated an entirely new wing of increased span and aspect ratio, constructed of large integrally-stiffened panels and the engines were carried further outboard than those of the Super Constellation. The undercarriage was strengthened. All in all, the modifications to the aircraft delayed entry into service nearly a year behind the DC-7C, so even though the Starliner had an even greater range than the DC-7C, this lateness in arrival proved a serious handicap in achieving worthwhile sales.

Power plants were four Wright R 3350-EA2 compound radial engines of 3400hp. Maximum speed 373mph at 18,600ft, high speed cruise 348mph at 22,600ft; maximum fuel range was an outstanding 7200 miles. Maximum payload range was 4870 miles, service ceiling 25,300ft.

The Starliner was heavier than the DC-7. Operationally e q u i p p e d 85,26216, maximum take-off 156,00016 compared with the DC-7C’s 78,890 and maximum-take-off 143,00016. This was still 20 per cent lighter than the Britannia which today is by no means a large aircraft.

The Starliner’s basic crew of five could be increased to 11 for long oceanic flights, and carried a maximum of 92 passengers or a mixed class arrangement of 26 first class and 45 tourist class passengers.

Fuel carried was 9600 US gallons, span 150ft, length 116ft 2in, height 23ft Sin, wing area 1850sq ft.

Very little has been· written about the Lockheed Starliner; to date no known examples are airworthy and most probably will never again fly. What started out as the ultimate mark in the Constellation series ended up …as a dead duck.

In 1955 a proposed model of the DC-7, the DC-7D, was on the drawing boards at Douglas, powered by 4000eshp Rolls-Royce RB 109 turboprops.

Douglas later faced a massive shake-up and takeover to become McDonnell-Douglas, and Lockheed never recovered from the Starliner and its unlucky brother the Electra in the years that followed, as far as commercial airliners were concerned. The DC-7 and Lockheed Starliner were well and truly dead, swept away by the impending new jet age and the wake turbulence that followed. However, no river runs straight to its destination, and in the ensuing jet age, even with the knowledge of hindsight, we still have our collection of commercial also-rans.

The third and final part of the Also-Rans story will be featured in our June edition in Which we examine the fate of such airliners as the Convair CV880 and Coronado. The Vickers VC-10 and Vanguard prop-Jet. The Mercure, the Belfast and the Argosy freighter.