A freighter remembered
 

The preliminary page for Swingtail, the Canadair CL-44 Association, can be found on www.cl44.org
Bookmark and watch this space.

As Mr Plod at STN 72-73 I remember these a/c very well. Apart from the resident ones we also had the Conrot Super Guppy which if I recall was N reg. There was a regular CL44 sporting the Swiss flag and HB reg. I also recall one that used to come from S America with blood stock.

Finally there was a derelict 44 parked up from TMAC's hangars and one day a wooden rig was built and the a/c lifted on to this craddle by crane . Over the next six months it was rebuilt and took flight again. Happy days.

HZ123:

I saw the old girl (ex-N447T) at BOH this morning. Sadly it still seems to be Conrotting.

I wonder if KH is actually getting paid?

CL44's
 

There's one sitting in Brazzaville FCBB on the military side of the field.

Looks pretty good from distance, but I am sure that a closer inspection would tell a different story.

If I recall correctly it is bare metal with a blue line from nose to tail at window hight.

Cheers

JJ

JJflyer
 

How long ago was it that you saw the derelict aircraft at Brazza? As far as we are aware only one Yukon and the Guppy are all that remain unbroken. The Association secretary at [email protected] would be interested to hear of the whereabouts and condition of any remaining airframes.

Yo Nineiron my friend, sticking this one at the top for you for a while, miss not working with you! and will be up ure direction soon, any chance of a bed? beer supplied. cya.

the 360 knot guy.

Hoggy.:ok:


Distincly remember our weekend in Ostend.

Beer Soon.

CL44 in BZV
 

Yip this was about 8 months or so ago... It is a standard body (Not a fatty conversion:p ) I am trying to see if I have any pics of it.

I'll also ask a few questions around.

Cheers

JJ

JJflyer

I think that one is s/n 37 that was sold by MS to the Brazza military to cover some debts. It's the ex Bluebell Wrangler N106BB and ex TMAC G-AZKJ . Many miles in my logbook on this one. Negotiations at diplomatic level to recover this machine, but its the old problem of hard currency. If anybody goes down that way a condition report would be welcome, although hearing its still basically in one piece 8 months ago is encouraging.

Hogg
Yr welcome, will email.

A freighter not forgotten
 

Despite the apparent (in) activity at BOH, Aviation Leasing Group, owners of the Conroy Guppy have not abandoned the notion of operating it again-you just have to be patient!

my first experience in my new home 26+ years ago was a walk around the deck of a cl 44 -and i must say it looked ok..until the engines started.. and then the smoke and oil just decorated the place..lament for old lady. sure.. and we had at least three of them that i remembered..

all sadly gone now..but the front enders remain..

I posted a thread a while ago asking "what has happened to the Guppy"but nobody took it seriously.
It's nice to hear the Conroy Guppy may grace the skies once more.There is nothing like the sound of four Tynes!

A Freight Dog's aeroplane
 

Surprised at the attention this post has attracted, I am sure there are many who have only heard of the CL44 spoken of in hushed tones by elderly aircrew. Here are some of the reasons why:

The CL44 was a large aircraft for its day, just a few inches smaller than the B707 that followed it. The CL44 had a maximum takeoff weight of just over 95 tons, could carry 29 tons of freight and its four Rolls Royce twin spool turboprop engines could take it a 1000 miles on 5 tons of fuel. The stretched version was for many years the largest passenger carrier on the north Atlantic. The ’Hi-Loader’ we see on every major airport today owes its design origins to the CL44 freighter. The CL44 held the world long range flying record of almost 24hrs continuously airborne, (right up to the introduction of the B747SP).

During one of the most remarkable times in the development of global airfreight, you can imagine that life on board a CL44 freighter was quite unique.

I remember that the cattle truck CL44 that used to bring bloodstock to STN was River Plate Airlines or Airways. If my memory serves it may have been blue with some orange lettering.

Cattle truck
 

http://www.cl44.com/cl44/images/LVJZBx1.jpg

Maybe this one, pictured here at STN. Not strictly speaking a CL44 but a Yukon ie no swingtail but two freight doors, Britannia windshields etc.

I read somewhere recently that Yukon HC-AZH (c/n 13) has been bought by the RCAF museum in Trenton and that they are now looking for donations to get the old girl back from Guayaquil.

The 'cattle truck CL44 was, if memory serves, a true 44 with swing tail & was operated by Aerolineas Rio Platte or something like that (River Platte Airlines). Can't remember for the life of me where it was registered (Argentina??) but used to come in with cattle & leave with general freight. Transmeridian used to look after it at STN. I'm sure somebody will correct my failing memory where neccessary.

Ah, happy days!

Brazza bird
 

Any news on the CL44 in Brazzaville??? Just read an interesting article in the Airliners magazine about the bird and it's development.

Cheers

JJ

Ramp Tramp

Well done 9 out of 10
Transporte Aereo Rioplatense,registered in BUE.
I remember standing on the ramp at STN and watching the crew get off followed by 6 attendants for the cattle all wearing sombrero's looked like a scence from the Cisco Kid movie.
Or a holiday flight from Spain.
TAR had 2 x CL44D and 1 x CC106 Yukon.

Thunderbird 3

Yukon
 

So now you have started this what apart from front and back was the main difference between said CL44 and the Yukon, Who made the Yukon as well. Thanks

Yukon
 

Yukon was a military version of the CL44. It had the same cockpit windows as Britannia had.
Apparently US authorities felt that this set up did not provide enough visibility outside. As a result "Convair" windows where used.

Cheers

JJ

A freighter remembered
 

Those with keen hearing would have heard the sound of Rolls Royce Tyne engines at Bournemouth last week!
The CL44 Association has news on the aircraft, the arrival of the complete history of the 44 to be published by Air Britain in late Sept and a new video due by Xmas.
Also-News of the next re-union to be graced by the attendance of veterans from Flying Tigers, Transmeridian Transglobe, Tradewinds Wrangler, Transvalair, UAA, Vic Air Cargo and many other 44 equipped airlines.
Want more info?
email [email protected]

The news that the Brazzaville 44 may still be complete is the first bit of positive CL44 news I have heard for some time, at least there is still hope that a standard swing tail aircraft might yet be saved. (a long shot I know).
I too remember the TAR & Transvalair aircraft that visited stn in the 70's & all those TMAC 44's, what a wonderfull sight they were.
Look forward to the next edition of Swingtail, I hope there's good news about the Guppy & the Yukon.

GAZIN

. . and there I was thinking this topic was about the Argosy :}

Thuderbird 3, as I said, the memory starts failing, either through age or alcohol, not sure which!

Thanks for the correction (and the marks, guess that means I've passed!). I seem to remember the TAR crews wearing a pretty 'normal' uniform but agree that the 'grooms' looked like they'd just stepped off the pampas.

On the same subject, but off the good ol' 44, there was another bunch that also came into STN in those days called, again if memory serves, Maveric Air Cargo who were operating an ex PanAm B707. The first clue to the way this lot saw themselves was the insciption 'The Biggest Bull Shippers in the World' over the crew entry door and then the crew appeared! Unform was light blue with a stetson. First time I saw them, laugh! I nearly bought a round! Only saw them a few times so I guess they didn't quite make their promises.

Nostalgia 'aint what it used to be!!

Cheers all,

RT.

Maverick Air Cargo apparently had two 707, although I only saw one of them at STN, sometime later the same plane returned in the colours of BMA Cargo. Maverick only lasted from Oct 77 until Feb 79.
Further O/T, are there any STN old timers who remember a 707 with a flower painted on the fin. It was parked for sometime on the mufflers near Hangar 4 earlier on in the 70's, I've been wondering which airline it was.

GAZIN

EL-AL
 

As a plod I recall being on static guard as one of Donaldson 707s had been painted up for EL-AL but as was often the case at STN Donaldson went broke so the a/c sat for sometime on the mufflers but I cannot recall how long it sat there or who eventually took it.

As we are extending this trip down memory lane I can also recall an Indian Air Force Conney that underwent a major in 72. Recollect the regular Saturn Airways stretch DC8's and the Carvairs that were repainted by TMAC I assume they must have been operated from SEN 72/73. Can someone confirm the latter.

Sadly no recollection of a flower painted 707.

....unless, of course, one is referring to the "Flower of Scotland" on the fin of the Donaldson 7-oh !

A freighter remembered
 

Many small-and often unsuccessful operators used 44's-mostly forgotten now but Guy Romero used a 44 to set up Air Calypso-used British crews on an N regd machine-changed its name to Cairgo. I recently met a guy who had a St Kitts CL44 licence-not many of those issued!
Or how about Canhellas-3 flights and it was all over!
Want to know more of these small fry operators-read 'Swingtail-The CL44 Story"-published by Air Britain

I remember seeing a Yukon at Heathrow in the early '60s working with British Eagle on the Woomera flights. It was always referred to as the 'Canadian Brit'. It wasn't part of the Eagle fleet. Anybody know who's it was?

Cl-44-o and swingtail merged
 

Is the `sky monster` still intact - last heard of at Hurn as 9G-LCA?

Still there - hasn't moved in quite a while.

Shame thats a great plane, i remember it well at Southend in recent years, and nearly 30 years ago as N447T

I remember it at STN as N reg and a single standard CL-44 with Swiss reg and a visitor CL-44 called River Plate airlines. They were all grand a/c as I recall one that appeared derelict close to TMAC engineering which rebuilt it and it took off some months later, a carpenter having built a craddle for it to be craned onto. Some very nice girls worked in the TMAC offices both sides of STN airport.

Actually I think 9G-LCA has been given by Mr Azhima to the CL44 association.
I visited the aircraft inside and outside a month ago as I was attending the Cl44 association yearly convention in Bournemouth.
Unfortunatly, even if it still looks very nice from outside, you realise as you get closer that it is getting quite heavely corroded. Same inside the cockpit.
And there are no engine, pitot/static covers.
The thing witch might be possible, would be to restore it to a conditon were they could ask for a special permission of the CAA to ferry fly it to any of the great aircraft museum places. But they shouldn't wait to much as corrosion is progressing daily, and it will soon be to late.

og

Oligoe,

I believe you are right on both counts. 1. The Cl44 association own it, and 2. It should be preserved, and that would be best served by getting it airworthy for a ferry to somewhere with a less harsh environment. Better still, a hangar.

It was the last "Canadian Edsel" I ever flew, and that was 27 years ago! I was last on it about 16 years ago, when we parked next to it in Djakarta. The Kiwi F/O on that occassion was mesmerised by the sight of it, and even more surprised when I was able to reply to his startled "J***s C****t, what the f**k is that" with the right answer!

It was corroded then, and I fear that getting it airworthy, even to a one-off ferry condition would be a monstrous effort.

I last saw it about 10 years ago, when it drifted over my house here in deepest Essex at reasonably low level, with the no. 2 engine feathered. Happy days!

I'd love to see it receive the TLC it deserves.

BSD.

Indeed a mammouth task even for a ferry, and then you've got the problem of registering it somewhere.
I think it will leave Bournemouth in a skip!

GUPPY IN A SKIP
 

Please, please leave some room in the skip for that loadmaster, thanks awfully old chap !!!!:ok:

Oh dear,

Looks like she`s up for scrapping. See statement on the home page.

http://www.cl44.org/

Jamie

From what I hear some of the more expensive items have been removed and fingers are being pointed by the association chairman.

CL44 Guppy at Bournemouth - Official Status
 

Statement from the CL44 Association regarding the Guppy at BOH

Since accepting the aircraft from LCA Partners of Kansas City, every effort has been made to secure a permanent resting place for the aircraft. Several major museums declared a keen interest but the cost of a ferry flight dampened the most ardent of them! There is no current accurate estimate as to the likely cost of a ferry flight out of Bournemouth-the last licenced engineers estimate to achieve 'signing off for flight' was in excess of US$60,000 and this is now likely to have doubled.
Many of the parts needed to achieve such an undertaking ARE available and are currently held by vendors in the UK. Alas, monies owed prevent those parts from being returned to the aircraft.
We have focused our attention to transferring the aircraft to the Bournemouth Museum but they are unable to handle such a large aircraft although we had high hopes they would find room on the current picnic area.
Meanwhile BASCO, whose ramp the aircraft continues to be parked, is insistent that it is removed forthwith and more recent efforts have turned to the ramp area adjacent to Solent Helicopters (airside of the Museum) or to a landside site near to European Airlines ramp (near the Burger Bar).

But time has almost run out and a team of former 44 flight engineers is due to begin clearing the surplus parts such as u/s avionics and spare prop blades. We are inviting offers for the prop blades right now.
(Offers over £100 as is where is)
We have sufficient fuel in tanks and engine oil to run the Tynes one more time-if anyone can sponsor us an ASU and GPU!

No matter what the outcome, we are hopeful that the flight deck of the Guppy will be preserved-the Association contains several Conroy employees who put the thing together!

If anyone out there wishes to have a specific 'bit' off the Guppy, they should email [email protected]