Old control line C-47
03-19-2012, 04:58 PM
#1
Thread Starter
My Feedback: (14)
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Temple,
TX
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Old control line C-47
55 year old control line C-47. Hey guys I thought some of you might like to see my pride and joy! this plane was built and flown by my good friend Bill Murry. He started on the olane in 1957 while stationed in Japan. He finished it in early 1958 and fly it in the first ( and maybe only) Japan/USA championship. He had a plaque signed by the priminister of japan. It was originally done in American Airlines paint scheme, but due to not having the proper material to cut the lettering from ( the stuff he used kept peeling up thru the clear coat. So he changed it to the Navy scheme that is now on the plane. This is the original paint and has not been redone or even touched up. I have several of his trophies from the King Orange in Florida and some from Washington DC where he was stationed from the late 50s til 1965. The plane was last flown in 1963. It has Enya .19 engines that he picked from the Enya brothers at the factory in Japan. The plane has exhaust throttles that were made by a machinist on the military base in Japan. Bill went to see if the Enya factory could make these, but was told that it would not work!
And no it is not for sale
And no it is not for sale
03-20-2012, 08:07 AM
#4
Thread Starter
My Feedback: (14)
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Temple,
TX
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: Old control line C-47
Thanks, Bill passed away a couple of years ago at 92. The plane is scratch built from 3 view drawings. It has Nav lights with the switch and battery box is inside the door, The outer wing panels are removable. Before he gave me the plane he cut the flying wires and there is no way to get to the bell crank without cutting into the fuse. the cockpit has a little detail, but there is no way to take pictures, those windsheilds are only 1 inch high. I have kept the motors free and lubed I am sure they would run. The span is about 63 inches.
03-20-2012, 02:28 PM
#5
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 530
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: Old control line C-47
Super aeroplane and superb craftsmanship.
It's probably a good thing it can never fly again. After such a long time there is no way of knowing how the structure is under the paint, and the last thing anyone would want is for a failure while flying.
This way we can all enjoy it for many more years to come.
Thanks for sharing.
Regards
G
It's probably a good thing it can never fly again. After such a long time there is no way of knowing how the structure is under the paint, and the last thing anyone would want is for a failure while flying.
This way we can all enjoy it for many more years to come.
Thanks for sharing.
Regards
G
03-21-2012, 11:37 AM
#7
RE: Old control line C-47
Hey ron first off welcome to RCU and thinks for the pictures of a wonderful airplane. I am sure your friend would have been rightfully proud.
I do have a hunch though that in its last configuration as it is now, It was not intended as C-47 at all. The original scale documentation required for the contest may have cleared that up but I think it was intended as a Douglas R4D-8 or the civil 'Super DC-3'. The indicatiors for that are the squared off wing tips and most especially the tall squared vertical along with the broader horizontal tail and agine squared.
Not to be critical but just to let you know if you did not already and of course I agree with the other posters perhaps even more so since controlline is ingrained into my brain
John
I do have a hunch though that in its last configuration as it is now, It was not intended as C-47 at all. The original scale documentation required for the contest may have cleared that up but I think it was intended as a Douglas R4D-8 or the civil 'Super DC-3'. The indicatiors for that are the squared off wing tips and most especially the tall squared vertical along with the broader horizontal tail and agine squared.
Not to be critical but just to let you know if you did not already and of course I agree with the other posters perhaps even more so since controlline is ingrained into my brain
John
03-21-2012, 03:28 PM
#8
Thread Starter
My Feedback: (14)
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Temple,
TX
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: Old control line C-47
Yes you are correct, the plane was first built as a Super DC-3 with airline markings, Bill was upset about the lettering peeling up and wanted to change the paint, He noticed three of the Navy R4D s on base and borrowed a camera to take pictures, the paint was changed when he returned to the states in 1958. I was not aware of the R4D designation and thought C-47 was the military designation. I do have an envelope with the documentation that he used, but I have not looked at it in years.
03-22-2012, 09:31 AM
#11
RE: Old control line C-47
I do not beleve there was ever an Army Air corp or later Air Force equivilent of the R4D-8 and it is not the same airplane with the drastically redesigned tail assembly horizontal and vertical, longer fuse, larger engines, squared off wing tips and fully faired landing gear (no longer exposed) although there was a civil equivilent called the Super DC-3 for a short period.
The model which this thread is about was modeled as an R4D-8 and not a C-47 this becomes obvious if you look carefully at the tail section in the pictures of the model as well as the wingtips.
John
The model which this thread is about was modeled as an R4D-8 and not a C-47 this becomes obvious if you look carefully at the tail section in the pictures of the model as well as the wingtips.
John
