Talk:Douglas C-124 Globemaster II/Archive 1

Display
I've added the aircraft on display at Charleston AFB, but can't find any reference to a derelict aircraft at Valley Airport in Harlingen, Texas, and I didn't see one on aerial photographs. If you can find any references, photos or a s/n for the aircraft I'll add it. I suspect there are a couple other aircraft still at Aberdeen, but I can't find proof.- Ken Keisel

There is also a static display of a C-124 at Charleston AFB, SC There is a derelict C-124 at Harlingen, TX airport.

Original Research and Just Wrong
This article states: "Until the C-5A became operational, the C-124, and its sister C-133 Cargomaster were the only aircraft available that could transport very large loads." What about the C-141? It actually had a reasonably comparable cargo load to the C-124 (something around 85%) - the C-5 was in a whole different category with multiples of the load capacity of either aircraft. Suspect this is just some wiki-ite writing something that sounds like a fact, but as there's no citation (even an oddball aerofan magazine) and also wrong, it's probably "original research." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.171.131.187 (talk) 01:03, 16 November 2019 (UTC)

Old Shaky
I flew both the C-124A and C-124C a combined total of over 5,000 flying hours as a USAF Pilot, Instructor Pilot (IP) and Pilot Flight Examiner (PFE) from 1958 to 1964. The Pratt and Whitney Wasp Major RW-4360 (4,360 = cubic inch displacement per engine) 28-cylinder engines were the same basic design as those on the B-50 and the B-36, among other aircraft. They developed their 3,800 horsepower "MAX POWER" setting when using Anti-Detonation-Injection (ADI) fluid (a mixture of water, alcohol, and a fish oil based emulsifier) to prevent detonation in the cylinders. If ADI was not available, the maximum "dry" horsepower was 3,400 per engine. In either case, there was an iron-clad 5 minutes maximum time limit after which power had to be reduced to METO (Maximum Except Take-Off) power. If the time limit was exceeded, all four engines had to be removed and replaced prior to the next flight of the aircraft.

The C-124s were routinely operated at or near their maximum performance capabilities. Takeoffs required that carefully calculated performance predictions showed the aircraft could climb a mere 50 feet per minute on three engines! Let me assure you that a plane travels a long, long way in a minute, and the terrain may be a lot more hostile at that point than it was on takeoff. Suffice to say that every takeoff was an adventure.

At the time I was flying the C-124s, the "Maximum Peacetime Takeoff Gross Weight" was 185,000 pounds, and the "Maximum Wartime Emergency Takeoff Gross Weight" was 194,500 pounds. I know of at least two cases wherein these limits were inadvertently exceeded without mishap, but it was not a good idea to do so.

The C-124C was the ultimate and final development in large gasoline-engine, propeller driven heavy transport aircraft, at least in the United States. I thoroughly enjoyed my association with "Old Shaky" and have many fond memories of that time in my young life. —Preceding unsigned comment added by OldShakyDriver (talk • contribs) (Moved from article by BillCJ 03:17, 17 September 2007 (UTC))

Berlin Airlift
How on earth could an airplane that was developed before 1949 have been based on "lessons learned in the Berlin Airlift," which was largely in 1949? Furthermore, only a single C-74 was used in the air lift, which was a Troop Carrier operation. The C-124 was actually developed because (1) the C-74 lacked military capabilities and the Air Force didn't want it and (2) Tactical Air Command wanted a long-range troop carrier transport and Douglas designed the C-124 to compete for that contract. SamMcGowan (talk) 20:05, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

Assessment
How can it be a B class if it has no references? I changed it to a Start class. --Colputt 22:24, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Copy/Paste
The second paragraph in Development section seems to have been copied from: http://www.mcchordairmuseum.org/REV%20B%20MAM%20COLLECTION%20C-124%20BORDER.htm. I have put a copyright notice in the article section. --Private Pilot (talk) 23:46, 26 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Fixed. - BillCJ (talk) 00:05, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

First Military Aircraft with an APU
See: Talk:Auxiliary power unit

Last Sentence of Intro
Maybe I'm not familiar with some terminology, but this sentence makes no sense to me: "It served in MATS, later Military Airlift Command (MAC), gained units of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until 1974." Does someone know what it's trying to say? --Sam (talk) 23:36, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Capability
The specification section has no information on its cargo capacity. In contrast the Design and Development section states it was capable of 68,500 lb cargo lift. Per the specification section - loaded weight minus empty weight is 84000 pounds. If at maximum takeoff weight - that gets 9000 pounds more. If loaded that much you end up with a very limited amount of fuel (that is weight also) and therefore quite limited range. Wfoj3 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:02, 28 May 2018 (UTC)


 * That's not all that unusual, especially for a piston-engined aircraft. Most aircraft cannot carry both a full load of cargo and fuel, so some trade-off is necessary, depending on whether the cargo or range is more important to the mission. Many large military aircraft can now be refueled in flight, so they can carry much heavier loads further than would be possible on internal fuel alone. - BilCat (talk) 01:37, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

Accidents section missing 1 crash
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19600418-0

C-124 lost in April of 1960 near Harmon AFB in Newfoundland.

Link has details. I don't know how to add this, but it should be part of the accident history. My father flew C-124s and talked about this crash being visible years later when you took off from this base. He lost a classmate in this crash.

Regards, Scott Johnson — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sjjohnso (talk • contribs) 15:29, 10 July 2018 (UTC)
 * I'll add it. Carguychris (talk) 18:21, 10 July 2018 (UTC)