The armed Army Caribou

[maxmwill]

That'd have to be a lot of ambition, 'cause even though the price is in Australian dollars, converting to US currency, even without the expected shipping charges, I'd have to be really good boy for Mrs Claus to feel that generous, come next Xmas.

Still, a quarter scale Caribou, with possible arms and ordinance for a tactical cargo drop........................

Seeing as there are more than a few 1/48 B 25s out on the market, and I think there are a few Gunbus mod kits, then pylons and a few drop tanks(to be suitably modified for napalm), as well as a few other odds and ends, damn, now I'm really giving this a serious think-over.

[KiwiZac]

I was mightily impressed by the RAAF Bou at Classic Fighters 2009...deceptively manoeuvrable, great presence, and the noise! Amazing stuff. Never before or since have I seen a piston-engined aircraft use reverse thrust.

I'm tempted by the AModel kits, they do a bunch of interesting stuff I want to buy.

[rickshaw]

I'm fortunate in that I've flown several times in 'bous.   They have exceptional STOL performance - I've seen one take off in the length of a soccer pitch (admittedly, empty and lightly fuelled).  I've heard of them flying in and out of postage stamp sized strips high in the Owen Stanleys in PNG.   I remember my second trip the best.  The pilot and the plane had just returned from a tour with the UN in Kashmir and he flew it the way they did there.  We all got onboard at the end of an exercise and strapped in.  Our packs and webbing where under our feet and our rifles between our legs.   He revved the engines up until they were roaring and off we went down the runway, faster and faster and up and down we went with it's undulations and suddenly we were up, or so we thought because he dropped it back onto the runway from about 6-10 feet and then we literally BOUNCED into the air!   It was pretty hairy stuff, I can tell you!  He climbed like he had a firecracker up his bum and before we knew it we were high in the sky and starting a tight spiral climb to cruising altitude.   

What I've observed though, over the years is that the 'bou is not manoeuvrable.  Sure it can land on a postage stamp but I wouldn't exactly call it fast nor particularly nimble.   It can hang in the air for a long time but personally, I wouldn't want to use those sorts of tricks attacking anything.  It'd make too much of a sitting target.

[maxmwill]

I have one question about the 'bou that I never could get a  straight answer for from my uncle on.

Is it true about the stall warning indicator(poo-poo shaker)?

That there were times when the pilot was coming in for a landing, that the AOA was greater than the poo-poo shaker allowed, and that the pilots would have this disconnected?

[Captain Canada]

Great stories Rickshaw !

No idea about the shaker, but I could believe it. It would make sense to have it unplugged in Vietnam, if you ever see the pics of the approaches and landings they did there.

Nova has a documentary of the failed attempt to fly the B-29 out of the Arctic. Some great footage in there and the pilot of the 'Bou praises the a/c. I think he flew them Army in Vietnam. One scene where theu loose and engine but bring her around to land, he said they'd all be dead in any other aeroplane.

[maxmwill]

There is one thing that kind of bothers me, though, and that has to do with some of the movies about Viet Nam, as well as the surrounding area. One movie in particular, Air America, which was based upon the CIA exploits there, used, among other aircraft, Caribous. And yet, in the movie, no 'bous at all. And, it wasn't as if the Caribou is a much more expensive flying machine that, say, the C 123, or even the Pilatus, both of when were featured in the movie.

Ok, so perhaps the Provider is a much more photogenic flying machine, and the Caribou looks worse than the red-headed stepchild, but, while the pilot depictions were pretty much spot on(and I suspect that they were actually  toned down a bit, as as a mechanic, I have a certain amount of contact with pilots, and some of them are real characters you wouldn't trust to be at your side at Midnight in a dark alley).

Ah well, I guess I'm just one of those overly picky people.

[Captain Canada]

Because the Caribou is too cool and the movie was American cheese ?



But that's just a guess 

[maxmwill]

Well, if you mean that the 'bou is cool like the Herky Bird, the Gooney, the Twin Beech, yes it is.

And to tell you the truth, I happen to have liked Air America, because it actually offered the general public a view of pilots and such operations as that that they really don't get very often.

And when I think back on that as in Trade-a-Plane offering 6 Caribous, over a dozen extra engines still in cans, tons and tons of spare parts, and a complete training package for pilots, loadmasters and mechanics for around $7,000,000.00 take away, I wished I'd've gotten brave and asked for a loan on that, because that's a potential flying service.

but, alas, that was over 20 years ago, and the birds and ad are long gone.

[sandiego89]

Ok, so perhaps the Provider is a much more photogenic flying machine...

Whoa, did he almost....nearly..... call the C-123 pretty??? 

It was a movie.   (I liked it also- what's not to like? good flying scenes, guns, explosions, popcorn action, quirky buddy movie- I wasn't watching it as documentary)...

Air America did use the C-123 in SE Asia.  This source puts it around 35 machines....http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=310

[sandiego89]

I'm tempted by the AModel kits, they do a bunch of interesting stuff I want to buy.

Amodel do them in 144th scale as well.

I give decent marks to the Amodel kits of the Buffalo and Caribou.  Basic, but semi-affordable and sometimes the only affordable option for some interesting subjects.  Recommended.   If you do the Buffalo, suggest the Air cushion version as it comes with all the stock landing gear, plus the bonus air cushion, floats and blower engines- good for WHIF stufff!

 

[Captain Canada]

Love that little air cushioned bird. Such a neat idea.

I like the movie myself. Lots of great flying scenes, and Ihave always been a Mel fan. And there was beer in it.

[maxmwill]

Ok, so perhaps the Provider is a much more photogenic flying machine...

Whoa, did he almost....nearly..... call the C-123 pretty??? 

Of course I did, and right shamelessly that.

But, think about it, the Caribou and the Provider, both thundering(or lumbering) down the air strip, shaking the air, and flying in close or loose formations(close for the camera, a lot looser in real life).

Now, if you want to make the provider really photogenic, howabout a fictional war movie which would feature troop carrying CG-20s and CG-17 gliders. I mean, even the Gooney Bird glider, with those big round fairings where the nacelles were would do something for part of the movie viewing audience, doncha think?

[McColm]

I'm tempted by the AModel kits, they do a bunch of interesting stuff I want to buy.

Amodel do them in 144th scale as well.

I give decent marks to the Amodel kits of the Buffalo and Caribou.  Basic, but semi-affordable and sometimes the only affordable option for some interesting subjects.  Recommended.   If you do the Buffalo, suggest the Air cushion version as it comes with all the stock landing gear, plus the bonus air cushion, floats and blower engines- good for WHIF stufff!

 

Apologies for going off the subject. I built a 1/72 twin engined C-130 with the air-cushion from the Airfix 1/144 hovercraft.
Normal service will resume .

[DarrenP2]

i would have liked to see the Caribou in service with the RAF in Borneo, Aden and Oman or the Rhodesian Airforce during the bush war

[Gondor]

i would have liked to see the Caribou in service with the RAF in Borneo, Aden and Oman or the Rhodesian Airforce during the bush war

Why not build a few like that then?

Gondor