The Convair XC-99, AF Ser. No. 43-52436, is a prototype heavy cargo aircraft built by Convair for the United States Air Force. It was the largest piston-engined land-based transport aircraft ever built, and was developed from the Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber, sharing the wings and some other structures with it.

The Convair XC-99, a transport version of the Convair B-36 bomber, made its first flight in November 1947. Designed to carry 400 troops, 335 litter patients, or 100,000 pounds of cargo, the double-decked XC-99 was powered by six 3,500 hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360-41 pusher-type engines turning 19-foot reversible-pitch propellers.

2023年2月18日 · The Convair XC-99 began life as an experimental transport aircraft and is perhaps one of the most unique designs of a larger plane by using the pusher formation. Designed in the late 1940s as a variant of the Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber, the XC-99 held the record as the largest piston-driven propeller plane constructed in the United States.

2024年7月5日 · This turbine-powered aircraft could carry more weight than the XC-99 over similar distances at quicker speeds, all with the benefit of a continuous and fully open cargo deck, in contrast to the XC-99’s awkward twin-deck configuration.

2008年4月6日 · The XC-99, serial 43-52436, is a double deck transport variant of the B-36. It has a considerably larger fuselage, but was never fitted with jet pods. The wingspan is the same 230 feet, but the fuselage is 23 feet longer at 185 feet.

1940s and 1950s, the Air Force explored the potential of a super cargo carrier by flying its one-of-a-kind XC-99 on regular, often record, transport runs. It also was touted as a possible prototype for a new generation of commercial air carriers. The experiment lasted 10 years.

The XC-99 was a proposed cargo airlifter and passenger airliner built on the B-36 airframe. It featured a double-deck layout that could hold 400 troops, 305 liters and 35 attendants, or 100,000 pounds of cargo.

Convair XC-99 Specifications. Crew: Five duty + five reserve crew ; Capacity: 400 troops Payload: 100,000 lb; Length: 182 ft 6 in; Wingspan: 230 ft 0 in; Height: 57 ft 6 in ; Wing area: 4,772 ft² ; Empty weight: 135,232 lb ; Loaded weight: 265,000 lb ; Max takeoff weight: 320,000 lb

One 37 was ordered in late 1942 with the military model designation XC-99-CO. Throughout its service life, it was the world’s largest regularly and productively flying aircraft. Fifteen civil 37s were ordered by Pan American Airways early in 1945 for its postwar fleet.

2007年1月12日 · Dubbed the “Pachyderm Piston,” the giant XC-99 was one of the Air Force’s biggest might-have-beens. The XC-99 was first conceived in May 1942 as a spin-off of the XB-36, the bomber intended to replace the B-29.