jungle

LucasM

yeah buddy

usmc-sgt

There is a good chance one of our members is in that DC-6

stinsonjr

They would not fly the DC-6 if it were not profitable, but I am curious about the money making aspects of the plane. How much cargo can it carry? What airplanes would be comparable, and why is the DC-6 a better choice? Just curious - we all obviously love the 6 and I am amazed and happy they can still work her profitably.

jungle

The DC-6 variants are operated by at least two companies in Alaska and they seem to stay busy. I am sure FlyorDie will have more salient input, but this aircraft seems to have a good combination of low cost, lots of load, plenty of parts in the market and the ability to operate from rough strips.
The unique geography of the area and it's inhabitants requires quite an airbridge due to no roads and long distances. Almost everything used by people or companies operating in this huge empty area must move by air.

FlyOrDie

Well my window is open So it might be me. What day did you take this?

FlyOrDie

Most of our a/c are can carry 30,000lbs of payload. Usually the limiting factor on how much weight we can carry is the zero fuel weight limit of 87,360lbs. None of our aircraft have auto feather installed anymore so we're limited to 100,000lbs max takeoff weight which isn't a problem because we don't fly the airplane that far in our operations.

There aren't really any other airplanes that can carry 30,000lbs into a 4000 foot gravel strip other than C130s or other military aircraft which cost multi millions. The DC6 is perfect for Alaska because of all the gravel runways we operate on and the outsize loads like vehicles and equipment we haul. Ford Explorer size SUVs can fit on most our airplanes nicely.

We burn 500 gallons the first hour of flight and 400 gallons an hour thereafter. A 737-200 burns twice that going twice as fast.

In 2 weeks I'll have time off so I can catch up on posting some more freight dawg pictures. Meanwhile I'm flying 30+ hours a week which is nice for the checkbook

stinsonjr

How many do you have, and how hard is it to maintain them? I am happy that they are still working hard! What happens when the 6's need to be replaced? C130's? How long can they keep flying?

FlyOrDie

Yes and this one is carrying cargo, the fuel DC6s say Airfuel on the side.

jungle

Cliffy, just quit bragging about your fighter time (most of us have that) and give the freight dawgs the respect they deserve. Doors will open.
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I think on the Cajones meter it takes the same reading to climb into this as an F-16.