Curtiss C-46A Commando
A large twin-engine transport with a double-bubble fuselage and two 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radials. It carried heavy loads over the Himalayan "Hump" in the Second World War and later worked as a freighter in Alaska and South America.
Performance
- Cruise speed
- 150 kt
- Range
- 2,737 nm
- Service ceiling
- 24,500 ft
Fuel
- Fuel type
- AVGAS 100LL
Runway
- Usable surfaces
- Asphalt · Concrete · Gravel
No published runway figures for this type yet.
Cockpit and systems
- Cockpit
- Analog gauges
- Systems
- Retractable gear · Constant-speed propeller
Weights and capacity
- Max passengers
- 40
- Cockpit seats
- 2
- Max take-off weight (MTOW)
- 20,412 kg
- Empty weight
- 13,911 kg
Licence and training
- Type rating required
- C-46
- Extra training or endorsements
- Tailwheel · Variable-pitch propeller · Retractable gear · Complex endorsement (FAA) · High-performance endorsement (FAA, over 200 hp)
EASA terms. Other authorities name and split ratings differently.
Flight rules and approvals
- Flight rules
- VFR only
Assumes the usual equipment. The aircraft's own documents decide what it may fly.
Type
- Manufacturer
- Curtiss-Wright
- Category
- Aeroplane
- Engines
- 2× Piston
- ICAO type designator
- C46
- Wake turbulence category
- M · Medium
- In service since
- 1941
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- 2024
Scale drawing
- Length
- 23.27 m
- Wingspan
- 32.92 m
- Height
- 6.63 m
- Fuselage width
- 3 m
- Propeller diameter
- 4.1 m
Drawn to scale from the published length, span and height; finer shapes are approximate.
Size comparison
- Curtiss C-46A CommandoLength 23.27 m
- Grumman HU-16E AlbatrossLength 19.13 m
All drawn at one scale. The person is 1.8 m tall.
Typical published values for the named variant, for learning only. Always fly with the aircraft's own flight manual (POH/AFM).
Fly the Curtiss C-46A Commando in the simulator
Practise your radio calls with this aircraft type in the AI ATC simulator.
