The Douglas DC-6 and its successors would
become the most popular and successful family of long-range civilian
transport propeller driven aircraft in history. Although Lockheed’s
Constellation was technically superior to the Douglas DC-4, the
former company’s agreement with TWA prevented Lockheed from
marketing the Connie to major airlines that competed with TWA. This
created a window of opportunity for Douglas, and many airlines were
anxious to purchase an improved version of the Douglas DC-4. During
WW II Douglas built a lot of C-54 Skymaster aircraft, which was the
military version of the DC-4. During the War, Douglas engineers
interested the military in the concept of an improved version of the
C-54 that would include a longer, and for the first time,
pressurized fuselage, de-icing, and other enhancements. This
improved Skymaster design evolved into the DC-6. Test flights on the
first DC-6 prototype (c/n 36326) began in early 1946. This aircraft
was bought by the USAAF, and later sold to a non-scheduled U.S.
airline. This particular aircraft flew many millions of miles before
being lost in an accident in 1978. DC-6s entered commercial service
with the airlines in 1947. American and United Air Lines both
introduced the DC-6 at the same time. American had orders or options
on fifty planes, while United had the same on another forty. Pan Am
was also an early customer as was Sabena. Early DC-6 operations had
some problems. A United DC-6 caught fire and crashed in Utah with
the loss of all on board while another American DC-6 caught fire and
had to crash land in New Mexico. The problem resulted in a temporary
grounding of the plane, and the cause of these fires was discovered
and rectified. The DC-6 was widely purchased by non-U.S. airlines,
and the 29th aircraft produced was named Independence,
and was purchased by the USAF for use by President Truman. The first
variant of the DC-6 to appear was the DC-6A, a freight version of
the aircraft, which had a lengthened fuselage and greater load
capacity and range. The DC-6B, which is depicted in Stan Stokes’
painting, was the passenger version of the DC-6A. It was one of the
most successful airliners of all time. It could be configured to
carry as many as 105 passengers, but was more typically operated
with between 60-70 seats. A total of 288 DC-6B aircraft were
produced, more than any other DC-6 or DC-7 variant. Many of these
aircraft were still in service as late as 1978-79, more than twenty
years after their development. The DC-6B had excellent economics.
The operating cost per seat mile to fly this aircraft coupled with
very good maintenance experience with both the airframe and the P&W
engines, made this aircraft a money maker for most of the airlines
which flew it. United and American were both big buyers of the
DC-6B, and no less than ten long haul European airlines flew this
great Douglas aircraft. The DC-6B had a maximum speed of 360-MPH, a
typical cruising speed of 315-MPH, and a maximum payload of nearly
25,000 pounds. The maximum range of this aircraft was about 4,300
miles.
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Collector Sized Lithograph:
$40
16" x 11 1/2"
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Giclee on Canvas:
$445
18'' x 27''
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