Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

General purpose transport

Power Plant:

Four 1,082 kw (1,450 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-2000-7M2 Twin-Wasp 18-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

History:

The ATL-98 Carvair was a relatively cheap conversion of the Douglas DC-4 / C-54 series of World War II transport by Aviation Traders (Engineering) Ltd at Southend, Essex, UK for an aircraft to carry 23 passengers and five cars from the United Kingdom to various parts of the European continent. Nose loading for vehicles was essential so the cockpit was raised and the nose lengthened, being fitted with a hydraulically-operated single door hinged on the port side, thus providing a 24.4 m (80 ft 2 in) floor length.

The prototype of the series G-ANYB (c/n 1) made its first flight after conversion on 21 June 1961. Deliveries of production aircraft commenced the following year. Accommodation varied from operator to operator, one having four cars and 34 passengers, and another three cars and 55 passengers. At one time ATL offered conversions of the Douglas DC-6B and DC-7B with piston engines or Rolls Royce Dart turboprops, but these proposals did not proceed.

A total of 21 conversions of the Douglas DC-4 was completed (c/ns 1 to 21) to Carvair standard and operators in Europe included Norwegian Overseas Airlines, Channel Air Bridge, British United Air Ferries, etc.

First of the type seen in this region G-APNH (c/n 11) made an Australasian tour in 1965 and was operationally evaluated by Straits Air Freight Express in New Zealand. On 26 April 1965 Ansett-ANA ordered two, these to be conversions of two of its own aircraft, both Douglas DC-4-1009 models, but the airline ended up with three examples.

The first conversions were VH-INJ (c/n 19 – ex SE-BBD) first flown on 14 September 1965, VH-INK (c/n 20 – ex LN-IAE) first flown on 28 October 1965, and later VH-INM (c/n 21 – ex 44-9088), a C-54E-1—DO, first flown on 12 July 1968, all three seeing service with the airline for some years until sold overseas. The Australian Department of Civil Aviation insisted the Australian conversions should be of post-war built aircraft and allowed a max all-up weight 452 kg (1,000 lb) less than that granted to European operators.

The three Australian aircraft received new construction numbers (c/ns 19, 20 and 21) respectively and operated solely in the cargo role from 1968 to 1973, having Rolomat flooring, enlarged door-sills, and the ability to take 2.25 m (7 ft 4 in) by 2.74 m (9 ft) freight pallets. After withdrawal VH-INJ went to South East Asia Air Cargo Services, operating with the registration N33AC, and was eventually abandoned at Phnom-Penh, Cambodia in 1975. The other two, VH-INK and VH-INM, went to Seulawah Air Services in Indonesia. At one stage another operator sought to operate two of the Carvairs from Avalon near Geelong, VIC for freight operations but the application to the authorities was refused.

However, the type was seen in this region again. After going on to operate with Nationwide Air, two Carvairs VH-INK (c/n 20) and VH-INM (c/n 21) were ferried to Auckland from Singapore on 17 September 1978, c/n 20 (then as N54598) being registered as ZK-EKY, and c/n 21 (then as N54596) as ZK-EKZ, on 28 November 1978. Car Haulaways made an attempt to operate the Carvairs between Wellington, Paraparauma and Christchurch on car ferry operations through what it deemed to be a loophole in regulations. But after route proving flights the plan did not proceed.

The aircraft were ferried to Hamilton and refurbished in March 1983. They were then re-registered as ZK-NWA and ZK-NWB, named ‘Ruth 1′ and ‘Ruth 2′, and painted in Pacific Aerolift Cargo markings, c/n 20 becoming N406JT. They were then on-sold to further operators including Hawaii Pacific Air, AirCargo Hawaii, Roberts Hawaii Inc, as N5459X and N5459M respectively, and were stored in Honolulu.

In 1993 N5459M was operating in the Congo but left during the civil war in 1997 and was flown to Wonderboom in South Africa. In November 2000 it was flown to Jan Smuts International Airport in Johannesburg. It later left for Kinshasa in Zaire where it was dismantled for spares for the continued operation of Douglas DC-4s. The wreck of the aircraft, marked as 9J-PAA, was noted at Rand Airport, Johan Nesbury in November 2015. N5459X later operated with Hawk Air in Canada as C-GAAH but crashed and was destroyed on 30 May 2007.

On 29 June 1997 Carvair N103, operated by Great Arctic Airways, was destroyed when it suffered an in-flight fire and made an emergency landing. Carvair N89FA ‘Fat Annie’ is believed to survive in Texas in the United States, and was last understood to be stored at Griffin in Georgia.