Fairchild C-82 Packet

Originally designed as a cargo and paratroop transport during World War II, the Fairchild C-82 Packet is today mainly remembered for its starring role in the Hollywood film The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Its ungainly appearance earned it the nickname “the flying boxcar” but the aircraft was the first to achieve practical end-loading and aerial delivery of cargoes. Its outsized capacity served the U.S. military’s needs for more than ten years—civilian operators flew it in remote locations like Alaska and South America for a further three decades. This book provides a comprehensive history of the C-82, detailing each of the 224 aircraft built, with technical diagrams, multiple appendices and more than 200 photos.

Simon D. Beck has had a lifelong passion for aviation history, both military and civil. Living in Christchurch, New Zealand, he has written a previous book about aviation films and penned many aviation articles.

Simon D. Beck
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 324
Bibliographic Info: 208 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6975-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2864-6
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Abbreviations 3
Introduction: C-⁠82 Development History 5
Section One
The Airplane 17
Mission 24
Specifications 27
Serial Number List 29
Variants 32
Steward-Davis ­Jet-Packet 41
Jet-Packet Variants 53
The Flight of the Phoenix 57
Section Two
Military Operators 71
Section Three
Civil Operators/Owners 111
Section Four
Production Histories 150
Appendix I: Civil Registration to Serial Number Cross-References 291
Appendix II: C-⁠82 Retirement Bases/Civil Sales and NACA Assignments 294
Appendix III: Unknown Identities and Dispositions 299
Appendix IV: Conversions and Unique Packets 301
Appendix V: Attrition 303
Appendix VI: Accidents 304
Appendix VII: Existing Aircraft 308
Appendix VIII: Civil C-⁠82A Checklist 309
Postscript: Sebring C-82 Packets 312
Bibliography 313
Index 315