Fairchild (1) R4Q Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar earned its nickname from a wide, box-shaped fuselage suspended between twin tail booms. Its rear clamshell doors allowed troops, cargo, and vehicles to be loaded quickly, and it became a major Cold War transport for the United States and many allies. Some were adapted for unusual work, including the Fulton recovery system used to snatch people from the ground. The design’s twin-boom silhouette remains unmistakable at airshows and museums.
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Did you know?
The Flying Boxcar's twin-boom silhouette and rear clamshell doors made it a Cold War workhorse, some rigged for the mid-air Fulton recovery system.
Specifications
| Length | 26.4 m (87 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 33.3 m (109 ft) |
| Height | 8.1 m (26 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 62 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 33.7 t |
| Range | 2,200 NM (4,074 km) |
| Maximum speed | 300 kt (556 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 30,000 ft (9,144 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 20,000 ft (6,096 m) |
| Rate of climb | 770 ft/min (3.9 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 700 m (2,297 ft) |
| Landing distance | 580 m (1,903 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 11,000 l |
| Engines | 2x Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20 |
| Units built | 1,183 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Fairchild (1) R4Q Flying Boxcar starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Fairchild (1), the R4Q Flying Boxcar family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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