Aviation Traders Carvair

Freddie Laker's idea to convert surplus examples of the Douglas DC-4 and its military counterpart the C-54 Skymaster to carry cars was a relatively inexpensive solution to develop a successor to the rapidly aging and increasingly inadequate Bristol 170 Freighter, the car ferry airlines' mainstay since the late 1940s.{{harvnb|Eglin|Ritchie|1980|pp=76–77}}

The Bristol Freighter's main drawback was its limited car payload: even the "long-nosed" Mark 32 was able to accommodate only three cars, in addition to 20 passengers. This made carrying cars by air a very risky business: if a booked car did not arrive for the flight, the one-third cut in payload made the flight unprofitable. This was made worse by the increasing average length of British cars during the 1950s: the average UK car in 1959 was {{convert|25|cm|in}} longer than in 1950. The extreme seasonality of the car ferry business furthermore resulted in poor aircraft utilization outside peak periods. Moreover, repeated takeoffs and landings on short cross-Channel flights, in turbulent air at lower altitudes with tight turnarounds of as little as 20 minutes, made the aircraft prone to structural fatigue problems, necessitating rigorous and costly modification programmes, further increasing the type's operating costs on low-yield routes.

When the major airlines replaced their obsolete piston airliners with new Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 jets on their prestige long-haul routes, the unit price of second-hand DC-4s dropped to as little as £50,000 (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|.050000|1959|r=1|fmt=c}} million today). The conversion of each of these airframes into car-passenger carriers cost about £80,000 (£{{inflation|UK|.080000|1959|r=1|fmt=c}} million today). This was easily affordable by smaller airlines, such as the car ferry companies. Freddie Laker's cardboard model of a converted DC-4 featuring a door in the nose and a flight deck raised above the fuselage had shown that its payload was superior to the Bristol Freighter/Superfreighter. The aircraft conversion was designed to accommodate five average-sized British cars plus 25 passengers in the DC-4's longer and wider fuselage. British Air Ferries (BAF), for example, operated its Carvairs in a flexible configuration, either accommodating five cars and 22 passengers or two-three cars and 55 passengers, changeable from one configuration to the other in about 40 minutes.{{Harvnb|Flight International 15 August 1968|p=249}} In addition, the DC-4's lack of pressurisation was suitable for low-altitude cross-Channel flights, making the proposed structural conversion straightforward. The result was a new aircraft christened Carvair (derived from car-via-air).{{Harvnb|Eglin|Ritchie|1980|pp=77–78}}

File:Nieuwe auto-vliegdienst Rotterdam naar Manchester, Bestanddeelnr 919-0220.jpg

Initially, it was thought that second-hand, pressurised Douglas DC-6 and Douglas DC-7 airframes could be converted into larger, "second generation" Carvairs within 15 years of the original DC-4-based Carvair's entry into service.{{Harvnb|Whybrow|1959|p=710}}

The conversion of the original DC-4 entailed replacing the forward fuselage with one {{convert|8|ft|8|in|m|2|}} longer, with a flight deck raised into a bulbous "hump" like the later Boeing 747 jet, to allow a sideways-hinged nose door. It also required more powerful wheel brakes and an enlarged tail, often thought to be a Douglas DC-7 unit, but actually a completely new design.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} The engines, four Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps, were unchanged.

The prototype conversion first flew on 21 June 1961. Twenty-one Carvairs were produced in the UK, with production of aircraft 1, 11 and 21 at Southend Airport and the others at Stansted Airport. The final three aircraft were delivered to Australia's Ansett-ANA, which supplied its own DC-4s to ATL for conversion, unlike the previous 18 aircraft that were purchased by ATL and either sold on or transferred to associate company British United Air Ferries (BUAF). One of the two aircraft still flying in June 2007 was an ex-Ansett airframe. A second Ansett aircraft was abandoned at Phnom Penh in 1975. The first flight of the last conversion, number 21, for Ansett, was on 12 July 1968.

Basic price for a Carvair newly converted from a C-54 airframe (two of the three Ansett airframes supplied were of the DC-4 variant) in 1960 was £150,000, equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|.15|1960|r=1|fmt=c}} million today.{{Harvnb|Flight 18 November 1960|p=783}}

File:British United Carvair.jpg

The Carvair was used by Aer Lingus, BUA/BUAF and BAF among others, and was used in Congo-Kinshasa during 1962–1963, under contract to the United Nations. Aircraft for Aer Lingus were quickly convertible between 55 seats, and 22 seats with five cars. Some aircraft were pure freighters with only nine seats. One aircraft had 55 high-density seats and room for three cars. BAF was the last operator in Europe of the aircraft, keeping them flying into the 1970s.

File:Carvair in Christchurch (New Zealand) 1977.jpg ATL-98 Carvair of Nationwide Air at Christchurch, New Zealand in 1977]]

File:EI-AMR 2 ATL98 Carvair Aer Lingus LPL 19MAY63 (5562788490).jpg

File:Vintage Aircraft 58-021.jpg

;{{AUS}}

• Ansett Australia

;{{CAN}}

• Eastern Provincial Airways

;{{COG}}

• Aero Service

;{{DOM}}

• Dominicana de Aviación

;{{FRA}}

• {{Interlanguage link|Compagnie Air Transport|de}}{{Harvnb|Vandervord|2018|p=97}}
• SF Air
• SOACO
• Transport Aériens Réunis

;{{GAB}}

• Ste Anonyme de Construction

;{{IRL}}

• Aer Lingus

;{{ITA}}

• Alisud{{Harvnb|Vandervord|2018|p=96}}

;{{LUX}}

• Interocean Airways

;{{NZL}}

• Nationwide Air

;{{ZAF}}

• Phoebus Apollo Aviation

;{{ESP}}

• Aviaco

;{{CHE}}

• International Committee of the Red Cross{{cite web|url=http://aviationtraderscarvair.com/car-lnnaa-ema.htm|title=Croix Rouge - Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair - LN-NAA msn 14/10458|website=aviationtraderscarvair.com|access-date=29 March 2021|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206111407/http://aviationtraderscarvair.com/car-lnnaa-ema.htm|url-status=dead}}

;{{TUN}}

• Tunis Air{{Cite book|title=The Observers Basic Book of Aircraft - Civil|last=Green|first=William|publisher=Fredrick Warbe & Co. Inc.|year=1967|location=London|pages=66}}

;{{GBR}}

• British United Air Ferries and successor British Air Ferries (BAF){{Harvnb|Vandervord|2018|pp=94–95}}
• Channel Air Bridge{{Harvnb|Vandervord|2018|p=90}}

;{{USA}}

• Falcon Airways

;{{ZAI}}

• ECL Air
• Transair Cargo

Of the 21 airframes, eight were destroyed in crashes:

• Rotterdam, Netherlands 1962{{cite web|url=http://aviationtraderscarvair.com/crash.htm|last=Brouwer|first=Maarten|work=Aviation Traders Carvair|title=Rotterdam Airport Crash|access-date=14 March 2019|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330192147/http://www.aviationtraderscarvair.com/crash.htm|url-status=dead}}
• Karachi, Pakistan 1967{{cite web|work=Aviation Safety Network|title=1967 Database|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19670308-0&lang=fr}}
• Twin Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 1968{{cite web|work=Aviation Safety Network|title=1968 Database|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19680928-0}}
• Miami, Florida, United States 1969{{cite web|work=Aviation Safety Network|title=1969 Database|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19690623-0}}
• Le Touquet, France 1971{{cite web|work=Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive|url=https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-aviation-traders-atl-98-carvair-le-touquet|title=CRASH OF A AVIATION TRADERS ATL-98 CARVAIR IN LE TOUQUET}}
• Venetie, Alaska, United States 1997{{cite web|url=https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1997/19970628-0_CARV_N103.pdf|title=National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report Accident Number: ANC97LA093|work=National Transportation Safety Board|date=10 November 1998|access-date=25 August 2017|quote=Accident occurred Saturday, June 28, 1997 ... The crew made a successful landing and ran away from the airplane. The airplane continued to burn and was destroyed by fire.}}
• Griffin, Georgia, United States 1997{{cite web|work=Aviation Safety Network|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19970404-0|title=1997 Database}}
• McGrath, Alaska, United States 2007{{cite web|work=Old Wings|title=30 May 2007: Carvair N898AT Wrecked|url=http://www.oldwings.nl/content/n898at/n898at.htm}}

File:Carvair at Rand Airport.jpg, South Africa on 18 August 2011]]

• 9J-PAA (the 21st and final Carvair built) is in South Africa with Phoebus Apollo Aviation. Formerly registered in Zambia, the aircraft is currently on display at Rand Airport, where it sits near other uncommon aircraft such as the Boeing 747SP. Although removed from the Zambian register, the owner planned to return it to the skies for air shows.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
• N89FA "Miss 1944" (the 9th Carvair) is based in Gainesville, Texas at KGLE Gainesville Municipal Airport. The aircraft is still complete as of April 2024, and has been seen receiving periodic maintenance, but there is no specific evidence that she has flown in recent years. In 2005 this aircraft appeared at the World Free Fall Convention, Rantoul, Illinois, where it took over 100 skydivers into the air in one flight.{{cite web |last1=Peters |first1=Luke |title=The Aviation Traders Carvair (April 20, 2024) |url=https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/aviation-traders-carvair-history |website=Aerotime |date=20 April 2024 |access-date=30 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=N89FA Carvair, photo showing maintenance in progress, 8 November 2015 |url=https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/8197052 |website=jetphotos.com |access-date=30 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=2005 List of jump aircraft |url=https://www.freefall.com/aircraft.php |website=World Free Fall Convention (freefall.com) |access-date=30 September 2024}}

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66{{Harvnb|Taylor|1965|p=129}}

|prime units?=imp

|genhide=

|crew=2 or 3

|capacity=

• Maximum seating 85 passengers or
• five cars and 22 passengers or
• {{convert|19335|lb|kg|abbr=on}} cargo

|length m=

|length ft=102

|length in=7

|span m=

|span ft=117

|span in=6

|height m=

|height ft=29

|height in=10

|wing area sqm=

|wing area sqft=1462

|aspect ratio=9.45:1

|airfoil=NACA 23016 at root, NACA 23012 at tip

|empty weight kg=

|empty weight lb=41365

|gross weight kg=

|gross weight lb=

|max takeoff weight lb=73800

|fuel capacity={{convert|2993|impgal|USgal L|abbr=on}}

|eng1 number=4

|eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney R-2000-7M2 Twin Wasp

|eng1 type=14-cylinder radial engines

|eng1 kW=

|eng1 hp=1450

|prop blade number=3

|prop name=Hamilton-Standard Hydromatic

|prop dia m=

|prop dia ft=13

|prop dia in=1

|perfhide=

|max speed kmh=

|max speed mph=250

|max speed kts=

|max speed mach=

|cruise speed kmh=

|cruise speed mph=207

|cruise speed note=at {{convert|10000|ft|m|abbr=on}} (econ. cruise)

|stall speed mph=119

|stall speed note=(wheels and flaps up)

|never exceed speed mph=275

|range km=

|range miles=2300

|range note=at {{convert|10000|ft|m|abbr=on}} with maximum payload, {{convert|3455|mi|nmi km|abbr=on}} with {{convert|10000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} payload and max fuel

|ceiling m=

|ceiling ft=18700

|climb rate ms=

|climb rate ftmin=650

|more performance=*Takeoff distance to 50 ft (15 m): {{convert|4200|ft|m|abbr=on}}

• Landing distance from 50 ft (15 m): {{convert|3120|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|avionics=

}}

{{Main|Aircraft in fiction#Aviation Traders Carvair}}

British United Carvairs made an appearance in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger{{cite web|url=http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0061b.shtml|title=Carvair in Goldfinger|work=aerospaceweb.org|last=Scott|first=Jeff|date=13 January 2002|access-date=25 August 2017}} as Auric Goldfinger and bodyguard Oddjob boarded G-ASDC bound for Switzerland while Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce Phantom{{Cite web |date=2013-10-09 |title=Rolls-Royce Phantom III |url=https://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/product/rolls-royce-phantom-iii |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Bond Lifestyle |language=en}} was being loaded through the Carvair's nose. In the 1967 TV series The Prisoner in the episode "The Chimes of Big Ben", the plane is seen being loaded through the nose, then taking off and landing again. A Carvair serves as Charlie Marshall's plane in the John Le Carre novel The Honourable Schoolboy.

{{Aircontent

|related=

• Canadair North Star
• Douglas DC-4
• Douglas C-54 Skymaster

|similar aircraft=

• Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy
• Bristol Freighter

|lists=

|see also=

}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite magazine |title=Air Transport: British Air Ferries Look Ahead |magazine=Flight International |date=15 August 1968 |volume=94 |issue=3102 |pages=248–249 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%201560.html |access-date=15 March 2019 |ref={{harvid|Flight International 15 August 1968}} }}
• {{cite magazine |title=Commercial Aircraft of the World |magazine=Flight |date=18 November 1960 |volume=78 |issue=2697 |pages=781–827 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%202659.html |access-date=15 March 2019 |ref={{Harvid|Flight 18 November 1960}} }}
• {{cite book|last1=Eglin|first1=Roger |last2=Ritchie|first2=Berry |name-list-style=amp| title=Fly me, I'm Freddie | publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson | place=London, UK | year=1980 | isbn=0-297-77746-7 }}
• {{cite book|last1=Dean |first1= W. P. |last2=O'Callaghan|first2= M. |name-list-style=amp| title=The ATL-98 Carvair: A Comprehensive History of the Aircraft and All 21 Airframes | publisher= McFarland & Co. | place=Jefferson, N.C., USA | year=2008 | isbn=978-0-7864-3670-5 }} (2nd printing)
• {{cite book |last=Doyle|first=Paul A. |title='Air Bridge 2' (the design, development and service use of the ATL98 Carvair conversions and their effect on the civilian vehicle air ferry era) |year=2000 |location=Hertfordshire, UK |publisher= Forward Airfield Research Publishing |isbn=09525-624-72 }}
• {{cite book| title=Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines, January 2004 | publisher=Key Publishing | place=Avenel, New Jersey, USA}} ([http://www.airlinerworld.com Airliner World online])
• {{cite book|last=Taylor |first=John W. R. |author-link=John W. R. Taylor |title=Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66 |year=1965 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company |location=London }}
• {{cite magazine |last=Vandervord |first=Richard |title=Database: Aviation Traders Carvair |magazine=Aeroplane |date=November 2018 |volume=46 |issue=11 |pages=87–100 |issn=0143-7240 }}
• {{cite magazine |last=Whybrow |first=D. A. |title=Bridging That Gap: What Prospects for the Vehicle Air Ferry? |magazine=Flight |date=11 December 1959 |volume=76 |issue=2648 |pages=709–711 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%203332.html |access-date=15 March 2019 }}

{{Commons category|Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair}}

• [https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1964/1964%20-%202920.PDF Operators’ reference drawing]
• [https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1964/1964%20-%202919.PDF Commercial Aircraft of the World Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair]
• [http://www.atl.aero Aviation Traders Ltd.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061209073336/http://www1.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=49 The Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair]
• [http://www.aviationtraderscarvair.com/ Aviation Traders Carvair] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216201606/http://www.aviationtraderscarvair.com/ |date=16 December 2014 }}
• [http://www.ruudleeuw.com/n898at-history.htm DC-4 to Carvair, c/n 42994 history by Gil White]
• [http://www.ruudleeuw.com/temp-carvair-stu.htm ATL.98 Carvair N898AT in final stages of restoration]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131205/http://www.flyinghigher.net/douglas/N898AT.html Douglas DC-4-1009, Carvair ATL-98 Registration: N898AT]
• [http://www.oldwings.nl/content/n898at/n898at.htm 30 May 2007: Carvair N898AT Wrecked]
• [http://aviation-safety.net/database/type/type.php?type=060 ASN Aviation Safety Database Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair]
• [http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0061b.shtml Carvair in Goldfinger]

{{Douglas DC-4 family}}

{{Authority control}}

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