![]() I know it's a serious business, but this plane does have a comical appearance this way...! |
Not many Canadair CL-44s were built . Canadair made an effort to re-enter the civilian market after building the DC-4M2, C-4 North Star. |
![]() This left Canadair with the unsold prototype and three CL-44D4s already finished but not sold. Icelandic low fare carrier Loftleidir was searching for alternatives to replace their ageing fleet of DC6Bs. Loftleidir was interested provided the CL-44Ds would all be stretched to accommodate more passengers. An engineering office in the United States carried out a study to stretch the CL-44. Canadair carried out the work and the first stretched D4 flew on November 8, 1965. Loftleidir had already taken the other three D4s into service, but they too were converted. A CL-44D4 of Flying Tiger Line was converted by Jack Conroy Aviation of California into a CL-44-0 'Guppy' or 'Skymonster'. This aircraft had its upper fuselage removed and replaced by an enlarged section, which raised the cabin height by 1.5m. It was the only one thus converted. Jack Conroy went on to convert Boeing Stratocruisers in even larger Super Guppies. 9G-LCA is the only airworthy CL-44 remaining and amazingly enough, no CL-44s are preserved. |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() A sequence of closing the 'swingtail'. |
'Malcolm Porter passed away on Monday 17th December (2018) after suffering from vascular dementia. |
Source: Fahrad Azima, a profile (Link removed and no longer valid by may 2013) Aviation Leasing Group (ALG), companies of ALG (www.algkc.com seems blocked) http://www.cl44.com/cl44/44history.htm See also WIKIPEDIA Back to my Propliners in the UK, 2003 |
This vintage image was shared by Richard Nash |
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