Misplaced Pages

#191808

21-471: On January 19, 1952, a Douglas DC-4 on Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 324 attempted to land at Sandspit Airport due to a failed engine. Although the plane touched down on the runway, it lifted off again before coming to a halt. Unable to regain its lost speed and altitude, the aircraft hit the water about 4,500 feet (1,400 m) from the end of the runway. 36 of the 43 passengers and crew aboard died due to hypothermia or drowning . On March 27, 2024,

42-676: A C-54A fuselage with four cabin fuel tanks and the C-54B wings with built-in tanks to achieve maximum range. The most common variant was the C-54D, which entered service in August 1944, essentially a C-54B with more powerful R-2000-11 engines. With the C-54E the last two cabin fuel tanks were moved to the wings, which allowed more freight or 44 passenger seats. In total, 1,163 C-54s (or R5D in US Navy service) were built for

63-532: A center of the US charter business, home to World Airways , Trans International Airlines and Saturn Airways . In May 1971, Universal purchased American Flyers Airline . But on 4 May 1972, Universal ceased operations and went bankrupt. Trans International took over its passenger contracts while Saturn took over some of the cargo contracts, including absorbing nine Universal Electras in its fleet. Universal's president, Glenn L. Hickerson, in 1976 Senate testimony, outlined

84-692: A lengthy list of changes to the design. Douglas took the new requirements and produced an entirely new, much smaller design, the DC-4A, with a simpler, still unpressurized fuselage, Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasp engines, and a single fin and rudder. A tricycle landing gear was retained. With the entry of the United States into World War II, in December 1941, the United States Army Air Forces took over

105-734: The South African Airways Museum Society , with both aircraft (ZS-BMH and ZS-AUB) carrying historical South African Airways livery. Buffalo Airways of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories continues to operate the type commercially. Very few DC-4s remain in service today. Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947, McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Universal Airlines (United States) Universal Airlines

126-469: The 1950s, Transocean ( Oakland , California ) was the largest civilian C-54/DC-4 operator. Douglas produced 79 new-build DC-4s between January 1946 and August 9, 1947, the last example being delivered to South African Airways. Pressurization was an option, but all civilian DC-4s (and C-54s) were built unpressurized. A total of 330 DC-4s and C-54s were used in the Berlin Airlift, which made them one of

147-620: The CAB then tentatively decided to pull Universal's transatlantic authority for 1972, which made financing Universal almost impossible. The airline collapsed one day before the CAB announced that it would, in fact, permit Universal to continue to operate charters across the Atlantic. On 30 May 1972, the Zantop brothers incorporated Zantop International Airlines (ZIA) and by June they were in operation, once again flying auto parts. They once again started flying for

168-673: The Council of the Haida Nation and Transport Canada announced in a press release that Sandspit Airport had been renamed K'il Kun Xidgwangs Daanaay. This article about an airport in British Columbia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company . Military versions of

189-564: The United States military between 1942 and January 1946 and another 79 DC-4s were built after the war. A later variant, with more powerful Merlin engines allowing it to fly over 40% faster, was built in Canada as the Canadair North Star . The DC-4/C-54 proved to be a popular and reliable type, with 1,245 being built between May 1942 and August 1947, including 79 postwar DC-4s. Several remain in service as of 2022. Douglas continued to develop

210-765: The Universal name during the late 1970s operating scheduled passenger service in Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas . In 1946, the Zantop brothers started Zantop Flying Service, a fixed base operator . This evolved into Zantop Air Transport in 1956, which flew auto parts for the car manufacturers and flew air freight for the US Air Force . In 1962, Zantop Air Transport became a supplemental air carrier . In 1966, Universal Consolidated Industries (the Matthews family) bought Zantop Air Transport and renamed it Universal. A name change

231-406: The causes of Universal's demise: Universal attempted to restructure, cutting employment from 1400 in 1968 to 750 in 1971. It acquired American Flyers to obtain its transatlantic charter authority, viewed as one of the few bright spots in the charter market. Unfortunately, the CAB took a long time to approve the merger, meaning the 1971 summer charter season performed less well than expected. Further,

SECTION 10

#1732845170192

252-454: The earliest were Aerolíneas Argentinas (1946), Iberia Airlines of Spain (1946), and Cubana de Aviación (1948). Basic prices for a new DC-4 in 1946–47 were around £140,000-£160,000 (equivalent to £8,383,048 in 2023). In 1960, used DC-4s were available for around £80,000 (equivalent to £2,326,868 in 2023). As of June 2020 , two DC-4s were used for charters in South Africa by

273-513: The first President and CEO of Southwest Airlines (1971–1978) and later co-founded his namesake airline Muse Air where he served as Chairman and CEO. Muse resigned from Universal after the owner insisted on ordering 747s. During his tenure, Universal became a public company with an initial public offering in November 1968. In 1969 Universal took delivery of DC-8 aircraft both standard and stretched versions, and leased three additional DC-8s over

294-629: The most numerous types involved. Purchasers of new-build DC-4s included Pan American Airways , National Airlines , Northwest Airlines , and Western Airlines in the US, and KLM Royal Dutch Air Lines, Scandinavian Airlines System , Iberia Airlines of Spain, Swissair , Air France , Sabena Belgian World Airlines, Cubana de Aviación , Avianca , Aerolíneas Argentinas , Aeropostal of Venezuela (1946), and South African Airways overseas. Several airlines used new-build DC-4s to start scheduled transatlantic flights between Latin America and Europe. Among

315-461: The next three years. It operated a number of military contract flights. During its heyday in 1969, Universal Airlines looked into the plausibility of obtaining the Lockheed L-500 (Civilian C-5 ) to carry passengers and their vehicles from coast to coast. A scale model of that concept was displayed in the hangar two lobby. In 1970, Universal announced it was moving to Oakland , at that time

336-632: The plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II , in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. From 1945, many civil airlines operated the DC-4 worldwide. Following proving flights by United Airlines of the DC-4E , it became obvious that the 52-seat airliner was too inefficient and unreliable to operate economically and the partner airlines, American Airlines, Eastern, Pan American, Trans World and United, recommended

357-487: The provisional orders for the airlines and allocated them the designation C-54 Skymaster . The first C-54 flew from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California , on 14 February 1942. To meet military requirements, the first production aircraft had four additional auxiliary fuel tanks in the main cabin, which reduced the passenger seats to 26. The following batch of aircraft was the first built to military specifications, and

378-421: The type during the war in preparation for a return to airline use when peace returned. Sales of new aircraft had to compete against 500 wartime ex-military C-54s and R5Ds which came onto the civilian market, many of which were converted to DC-4 standard by Douglas. DC-4s were a favorite of charter airlines such as Great Lakes Airlines , North American Airlines , Universal Airlines , and Transocean Airlines . In

399-707: Was a United States supplemental air carrier that operated from 1966 to 1972, based initially at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan and later at Oakland International Airport in California . Universal was a re-naming of Zantop Air Transport . At the time, "supplemental" was the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) term for a charter airline, the CAB being the Federal agency that tightly regulated US carriers in that era. A Houston -based commuter air carrier also used

420-502: Was designated C-54A and built with a stronger floor and a cargo door with a hoist and winch. The first C-54A was delivered in February 1943. With the introduction of the C-54B in March 1944, the outer wings were changed to hold integral fuel tanks, allowing two of the cabin tanks to be removed; this allowed 49 seats (or 16 stretchers) to be fitted. The C-54C was a hybrid for Presidential use; it had

441-499: Was filed with the State of Michigan effective 29 December 1966 in the name of Universal Airlines, Inc. The fleet originally comprised C-46 , DC-6 , DC-7 , and Argosy AW650 aircraft to which Lockheed Electras were added. Universal had three businesses: flying parts for auto manufacturers, flying freight for the military and passenger charters. Lamar Muse was president and part owner of Universal from 1967 to 1969. He went on to become

SECTION 20

#1732845170192
#191808