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howardwhite

What is this plane?

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Off the top of my head, I can't recall the make and model, but I seem to recall that airplane as one used at a World Meet, possibly held in France, sometime in the mid-70s.
I'm sure somebody here will recognize the aircraft type.
Zing Lurks

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Is it what was called a flying boxcar, a troop/cargo plane? I can't recall the military designation, possible C-19. The Marines had some in the early 60's which were phased out also in the early 60's & sent to the reserves.

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What is it? Where? Who's jumping out of it?

HW



It's an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy. The one in the photo is a Royal Air Force version with the 'Beaver Tail' arrangement at the rear. However since I don't see any RAF markings on the wings it must have been sold to a freight airline.

What do I win Howard?
;)

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Off the top of my head, I can't recall the make and model, but I seem to recall that airplane as one used at a World Meet, possibly held in France, sometime in the mid-70s.
I'm sure somebody here will recognize the aircraft type.



Zing,
I believe what you are thinking of is the Nord Atlas. It was used at a World meet. However it has just two engins so it's not the one in the photo. See my post above for the answer. The Nord Atlas is commomly mistaken for the C-119 Flying Boxcar.

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Yep ... the old steel trap had a bit of rust stuck in the memory banks, again.
Went and paged through the Skies Call books and found the photo of the Nord Atlas that I was thinking of, then went googling and found a photo of the Argosy.
I thought the gear, helmets and jumpsuits looked sort of circa mid-70s.

Re: the C-119 Flying Boxcar. It had clm-shell doors at the rear that could be removed before flight, but troopers usually exited the side doors for paradrops. Cargo drops were made out the rear flying with the clam-shells removed.
Zing Lurks

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It's an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy. ....
What do I win Howard?
;)


Well, there's one in the museum in Willow Run. If you can persuade them to fly it, or find another we can both jump out of, I'll buy your jump.:P

HW


I live near Willow Run and am a member of the museum. That's why I knew what an Argosy looked like. But I don't think you will be buying me a jump anytime soon. It hasn't flown in over twenty years.
>:(

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The French had the Nord Atlas in the World Cup of RW in Mormolon-la-grande (sp?), a French military base near Reims. Yes, it's a twin-engine aircraft.

The Nord Atlas was brought in for fun jumps while Porters were used for competition. I seem to recall it having a higher exit speed than we were used to back then...in the days of DC-3s and Cessnas.

The Golden Knights were representing the US at the meet.
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"...Rudyard Kipling

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Congrats to those who correctly identified the Argosy, a rather obscure cargo plane that never was very successful.
Despite having four turboprop engines it was considered quite underpowered and could not take heavy loads long distances as was originally envisioned. None remain in service. There is still one Noratlas flyable in Europe, restored by enthusiasts. It uses Bristol radial piston engines which had sleeve valves rather than valves in the cylinder head. Spare engines and parts are scarce. A C 119 and C 82 were recently ferried in the US from Hawkins and Powers, a bankrupt air tanker contractor in Wyoming. Both have twin booms and are ex RCAF and USAF respectively. I keep being amazed at the variety of heavy prop transports that have served as jumpships. The Boeing 307 photo blew me away and then the Argosy photo pops up. Man I wish I had jumped those rare birds. My only truly rare catch is the ATL 98 Carvair (double decked DC 4 conversion) that showed up at WFFC a couple of years ago.
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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