Northrop NC-49

[lenny100]

The first of a new class of aircraft entered service with North West airlines on its transpacific routes, on June 22, 1952, the Northrop NC-49 "Wing" a development of the  RB-49A  reconnaissance platform flying wing aircraft of the USAF.
The new aircraft replaced the venerable DC-4 on transpacific flights ,enabling a much more comfortable accommodation for up to 80 passengers with is trademark panoramic windows at the front of the aircraft, which gave some of the best views ever from its large windows in the front of the wing, and a much faster service cutting the flight time from 9 hours to under 6 for flights to its Hawaii hub from California.
The "Wing" commenced service from the U.S. West Coast to Honolulu service only at first because of problems with landing rights in Japan, but on September 27, 1954 the aircraft were finally cleared on nonstop flights to Tokyo, from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, at the time the longest pure jet scheduled flight in the world. The aircraft was operated by several of the smaller American airlines over the late 1950s  but it small cabin became it Achilles heel, when the larger Boeing and Douglas jets became available in 1958 and it became quickly replaced buy larger aircraft, but in the early 1960,s the second hand market grew as several smaller of the European airlines used them on the growing tourist routes from northern Europe to the middle east.
By the mid 1970s, there was only one airline in the world continuing to operate just two "Wings" because the aircraft flights having become uneconomical even on charter flights again because of small cabin size against the rising cost of fuel for the now old and competently thirsty  8 General Electric J35 engines , Northeast Airlines of the UK.
They used two aircraft named "Gabriel" and "Uriel", flying from its main hub at Newcastle airport in England on biweekly flights to Israel , but since  the take over of the airline by the newly formed British Airways 1973 the last commercial flights of both the airline and the "Wing", was on 31 March 1976 when both aircraft flew together in formation to Atarot Airport in Jerusalem and returned the same day .
Gabriel which is airframe 02 and was the aircraft the opened the the US Japan route with North West airlines, was donated to the Northeast air museum in 2012 after being in several small museum's over the years by the "Gabriel" preservation trust and is currently undergoing restoration to its 1976 configuration becoming the only aircraft of type on display anywhere .

[TallEng]

would that be in the yellow top and funny black design on the tail scheme?
like this http://www.abpic.co.uk/images/images/1078936M.jpg
or harking back to BKS days? http://s850.photobucket.com/user/raggidoll/media/aviation/197011.jpg.html

regards
Keith

[lenny100]

the first, been working on the nelsam trident were we are repainting it in that look over that last few weeks, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-The-Trident/400424790009308

[sandiego89]

Greta idea!  Would have been neat to sit in the leading edge and watch the world pass between your feet.   

[Captain Canada]

Wing eh ? This will be interesting !

[PR19_Kit]

Sounds terrific, but where do you paint the Northeast yellow/black fin design on a B-49 airframe? 

[lenny100]

i replace the small tail-fins with a single central tail and the design will fit nicely, and it look a whole lot better as well, as for the real world and it being big enough well its my world and here they got the semi auto-pilot the b-49 was due to get before until it was canceled working

[lenny100]

Greta idea!  Would have been neat to sit in the leading edge and watch the world pass between your feet.   

here how northdrop saw it looking



https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIn4Mm5VcUUAY1Cc3olQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBzNWN0ZjRuBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMjY-?p=northrop+flying+wing&vid=b789b80a32205fe0f79b376c5e8d7d5a&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.QGzOuRcfIeVSb%252fNggMIE1A%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJMTwQ9b5hvk&tit=Northrop+Flying+Wing+Airliner+Promo+Clip+-+1948&c=25&h=172&w=300&l=127&sigr=11b2mj10r&sigt=11f6crf6n&sigi=121egg0d8&age=1401061189&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-bt-btyuser&hsimp=yhs-btyuser&hspart=bt&type=bt_tier_b%2Fbt_access&tt=b

[jcf]

Interesting notion, but why "L-49"?

The X/Y/RB-35/-49 were variations on the Northrop Model N-9 so I don't see Northrop using the military type designation
as part of their own numbering scheme and certainly don't see them using Lockheed's "L" designator, especially as the
original version of the Lockheed Constellation was the model L-049.

What about something along the lines of the N-009 Jet Wing?

[Mossie]

Nice idea Lenny.

[PR19_Kit]

here how northdrop saw it looking



https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIn4Mm5VcUUAY1Cc3olQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBzNWN0ZjRuBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMjY-?p=northrop+flying+wing&vid=b789b80a32205fe0f79b376c5e8d7d5a&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.QGzOuRcfIeVSb%252fNggMIE1A%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJMTwQ9b5hvk&tit=Northrop+Flying+Wing+Airliner+Promo+Clip+-+1948&c=25&h=172&w=300&l=127&sigr=11b2mj10r&sigt=11f6crf6n&sigi=121egg0d8&age=1401061189&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-bt-btyuser&hsimp=yhs-btyuser&hspart=bt&type=bt_tier_b%2Fbt_access&tt=b

What a brilliant vid that is, well spotted. 

Interesting that it was deemed normal at the time for women to wear hats while flying. I can't remember EVER seeing a woman wear a hat aboard an aircraft, ever!

How about the aircraft being a C-49? A transport version in USAF service would have been just that, unless someone else had nicked the number first.

Ah, they did already, that was the designation for the civilian DC3s impressed into military service.   

[lenny100]

think i go for the new designation of NC-49 (Northrop Civilian type-49)

[jcf]

think i go for the new designation of NC-49 (Northrop Civilian type-49)

Perhaps Northrop Commercial? Not unlike Douglas Commercial aka DC, and while separate
companies in the period you are looking at, for much of the '30s Northrop was part of Douglas.

BTW the Northrop model N-49 was the F-89 Scorpion.