Fairchild XC-120 Packplane

XC-120 Packplane
	Composite image of the sole XC-120 on the ground, and in flight.
Role	Military transport aircraft
Manufacturer	Fairchild
First flight	11 August 1950
Number built	1
Developed from	C-119 Flying Boxcar

The Fairchild XC-120 Packplane was an American experimental modular aircraft first flown in 1950. It was developed from the company's C-119 Flying Boxcar, and was unique in the unconventional use of removable cargo pods that were attached below the fuselage, instead of possessing an internal cargo compartment.

Design and development[]

The XC-120 Packplane began as a C-119B fuselage (48-330, c/n 10312) with a point just below the flight deck cut off to create the space for the detachable cargo pod.. The wings were angled upwards between the engines and the fuselage, raising the fuselage by several feet and giving the plane an inverted gull-wing appearance. Smaller diameter "twinned" wheels were installed forward of each of the main landing gear struts to serve as nosewheels, while the main struts were extended backwards.

All four landing gear units, in matching "nose" and "main" sets, could be raised and lowered in a scissorlike fashion to lower the aircraft and facilitate the removal of a planned variety of wheeled pods which would be attached below the fuselage for the transport of cargo. The goal was to allow cargo to be preloaded into the pods; it was claimed that such an arrangement would speed up loading and unloading cargo.^[1]

Production aircraft were to be designated C-128.

Operational history[]

Only one XC-120 was built. Though the aircraft was tested extensively and made numerous airshow appearances in the early 1950s the project went no further. It was tested by the Air Proving Ground Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in 1951,^[2] before the project was abandoned in 1952.^[3] The prototype was eventually scrapped.

Specifications (XC-120)[]

XC-120 without its cargo container

The XC-120 on the ground

Data from ^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: Five (pilot, copilot, flight engineer, two loadmasters)
Capacity: 20,000 lb (9,090 kg) (2,700 cu.ft)
Length: 82 ft 10 in (25.25 m)
Wingspan: 106 ft 6 in (32.46 m)
Height: 25 ft 1 in (7.65 m)
Wing area: 1,447 sq ft (134.4 m²)
Gross weight: 64,000 lb (29,030 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines, 3,250 hp (2,420 kW) each for takeoff

References[]

^ Micheal O'Leary (November 1978). "Those Fabulous Flops". Air Progress.
^ Staff, "XC-120 Goes to Eglin for Tests", Aviation Week, 11 June 1951, Vol. 54, No. 24, p. 15.
^ "1946-1948 USAAF-USAF Serial Numbers". joebaugher.com. July 13, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
^ "Cargo Carrier Concept"

Evans, Stanley H. "Cargo Carrier Concept:Design-logic for Airborne Logistics: The Fairchild XC-120 Pack-plane". Flight, 21 September 1950. pp. 331–333.

External links[]

Video about the XC-120
The short film Big Picture: Chinese Reds Enter the Korean War is available for free download at the Internet Archive. Contains segment about the plane.

[1] Micheal O'Leary (November 1978). "Those Fabulous Flops". Air Progress.

[2] Staff, "XC-120 Goes to Eglin for Tests", Aviation Week, 11 June 1951, Vol. 54, No. 24, p. 15.

[3] "1946-1948 USAAF-USAF Serial Numbers". joebaugher.com. July 13, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.

[4] "Cargo Carrier Concept"

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v t United States military transport aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems
Army/Air Force sequence (1925-1962)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16 C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20 C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-28 C-29 C-30 C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34 C-35 C-36 C-37 C-38 C-39 C-40 C-41 A C-42 C-43 C-44 C-45 C-46 C-47 F T AC-47 C-48 C-49 C-50 C-51 C-52 C-53 C-54 C-55 C-56 C-57 C-58 C-59 C-60 C-61 C-62 C-63 C-64 C-65 C-66 C-67 C-68 C-69 C-70 B C-71 C-72 C-73 C-74 C-75 C-76 C-77 B-D C-78 C-79 C-80 C-81 C-82 C-83 A B C-84 C-85 C-86 C-87 C-88 C-89 C-90 C-91 C-92 C-93 C-94 C-95 C-96 C-97 KC-97 C-98 C-99 C-100 C-101 C-102 C-103 C-104 C-105 C-106 C-107 C-108 C-109 C-110 C-111 C-112 C-113 C-114 C-115 C-116 C-117 D C-118 C-119 AC-119 C-120 C-121 F C-122 C-123 A C-124 C-125 C-126 C-127 (I) C-127 (II) C-128 C-129 C-130 J AC-130 DC-130 EC-130/H HC-130 KC-130 LC-130 MC-130 WC-130 C-131 C-132 C-133 C-134 C-135 KC-135 C-136 C-137 C-138¹ C-139¹ C-140 C-141 C-142
Tri-service sequence (1962-present)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 B C-8 C-9 C-10 (I) C-10 (II) C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16¹ C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20A-D F-H C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 J C-28 C-29 C-30¹ C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34¹ C-35 C-36 C-37A B C-38 C-39¹ C-40 C-41 C-42¹ C-43¹ C-44¹ C-45 C-46
Revived original sequence (2005-present)	C-143 C-144 C-145 C-146 C-147
Non-sequential designations	C-767 C-880
Related designations	CT-39 CT-43 CV-2 CV-7
¹ Not assigned