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Photo ID: 1011529
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Model: Douglas DC-4-1009, Carvair ATL-98 |
Registration: N898AT |
| Year: 1946 |
Serial Number: Douglas C/N 42994, Fuselage #55, Carvair C/N 20 |
| Engine(s): P&W R2000, 14-Cyl, Twin-Row Radials, 1450-Hp Eac |
Owner: Brooks Fuel, Inc., Fairbanks, AK |
| Location: PAFA, Fairbanks International, Fairbanks, AK |
Photographer: Ken Stoltzfus |
| Date: July 2004 |
Present Registration: Same |
Present Owner (FAA info): Same |
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Notes: 12/7/04 - What a nose! It is hinged on the left side and swings out to allow automobiles and other cargo to be loaded from the front. The cockpit has (obviously!) been placed above the former fuselage.
Douglas built 79 postwar, civilian DC-4's, designated the DC-4-1009. N898AT is number 55 of that series with Douglas c/n 42994. They were built with the 1450-Hp, P&W R-2000 engine, had a 73,000 gross and carried 3578-gal. of fuel.
This DC-4 is an ATL-98 Carvair. The Carvair was a DC-4 modification done by Aviation Traders in England from 1962-65. There was need for a replacement for the Bristol, in ferrying cars across the English Channel. The Carvair would hold up to six cars and 22-passengers. I gather that many of the 21 Carvairs were not actually used for channel flights but served in general cargo work. |
Photo ID: 1011530
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Notes: A very distinct profile!
History: N898AT was delivered 6/24/46 to DNL (Det Norske Luftfartssee Iskap Air Service), who I believe became SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System). SAS operated it under Norwegian registration as LN-IAE and named it "Olav Viking." |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011531
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Notes: Awesome! Action waiting to happen.
History cont'd: Japanese Airlines was next, in 10/56. They registered it as JA6012 and christened it "Mikasa". JAL leased it to Korean Airlines who operated it as HL4003. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011532
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Notes: The Carvair has a taller vertical tail than the regular DC-4. It looks more like a DC-6 or 7 except that the rudder does not go all the way up. Note that the windows have been taken out of the side.
History cont'd: Next owner was Ansett Airlines in Australia who registered it as VH-INK. Ansett took it to ATL for modification, and the first flight as a Carvair was 10/28/65. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011533
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Notes: The nose door swings out so vehicles can be driven in or other cargo loaded from the front.
History cont'd: The next registration was ZK-NWA, in New Zealand, and possibly N406JT before becoming N5459X for Hawaii Pacific Air. Hawk Air, of British Columbia, Canada bought it in 1997, operated it as C-GAAH and de-registered it in 2002. Brooks Fuel bought it in late 2002 and flew it to their base in Fairbanks, AK, where I saw it. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011534
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Notes: This is your cargo area. The ladder on the left takes you up to the flight deck.
When a Carvair was used as a channel ferry, the 22 passenger seats were in the back, behind the cargo door, with the cars up front. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011535
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Notes: The cockpit is pretty much standard DC-4/C-54 - - except that you sit so much higher. You know, that must have been quite a modification process! I'd love to have a progressive series of photos of one under conversion. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011536
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Notes: There's not as much in the overhead panel as I would have thought, compared to the DC-3's I flew. You can see the red feather buttons, mag switches, probably volt/ammeters, a couple of radio control heads and misc. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011537
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Notes: Two additional seats for crewmembers in the area behind the cockpit. The opening in the floor in the bottom left corner of the photo is the tunnel you go down through to the cargo area. |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011538
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Notes: Your regular DC-4, C-54 cargo door. Most of these aircraft have a rope for emergency evacuation - - or in case the ladder blows away or - - ! |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
Photo ID: 1011539
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Notes: Evening has come but fortunately the sun is not setting on this great bird. Brooks is doing a beautiful job of refurbishing N898AT and hopefully it will have the opportunity to serve Alaska for many years. The DC-7 in the foreground might not be that lucky and the C-54 between them is anybody's guess, but there's always that chance! Maybe maybe! |
| Photographer: Stoltzfus, Ken |
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