Chase XC-123A

In the late 1940s, Chase Aircraft had developed the XG-20, the largest glider ever built in the United States.^[1] By the time it was ready for operations, however, U.S. military doctrine had been altered to remove the requirement for the use of transport gliders in combat.^[2]

However, the XG-20's aircraft had been designed to allow for the easy installation of power plants, and Chase modified the two prototypes into powered aircraft, one becoming the XC-123, with twin piston engines.^[3] The second XG-20, however, was taken in hand for a more radical reconfiguration, being fitted with two twin-jet engine pods, of the type used by the Convair B-36 and Boeing B-47 bombers, to become the XC-123A.^[4] As there was no provision for housing fuel in the former glider's wings, fuel tanks were installed underneath the cabin floor.^[4]

Dubbed "Avitruc" by its manufacturer,^[5] the XC-123A conducted its maiden flight on April 21, 1951,^[4] becoming the first jet-powered transport aircraft to successfully fly in the United States.^[4] It was considered "excellent" in flight trials, with the aircraft showing few vices,^[6] and demonstrating reasonably good short-field capability.^[4]

Despite this, even as the XC-123 proved successful, the XC-123A failed to win sufficient favor in flight testing to receive a production order. Although the aircraft's short-field performance was good, on rough, unimproved fields the low-slung jet pods would suck debris into the intakes, damaging the engines.^[4] In addition, the aircraft's design was mismatched to its engines,^[7] resulting in the XC-123A being incapable of providing sufficient cargo capacity compared to the amount of fuel its jet engines required.^[2] As a result, the XC-123A project was abandoned without additional aircraft being built.^[2]

Following the conclusion of trials, the XC-123A was converted to be powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines, and was used for boundary layer control trials as the Stroukoff YC-123D, receiving serial number 53–8068.^[4][8][9]

Data from Gunston^[6] and Adcock^[4]

General characteristics

• Crew:3
• Length: 77 ft 1 in (23.50 m)
• Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.53 m)
• Height: 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
• Wing area: 1,222.78 sq ft (113.600 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23017^[10]
• Empty weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 60,000 lb (27,216 kg)
• Powerplant: 4 × General Electric J47-GE-11 turbojets, 5,200 lbf (23 kN) thrust each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 500 mph (800 km/h, 430 kn)
• Cruise speed: 400 mph (640 km/h, 350 kn)

Related development

• Chase XCG-20
• Fairchild C-123 Provider
• Stroukoff YC-134

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Avro Ashton
• Avro Canada C102 Jetliner
• Vickers Type 618 Nene-Viking

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States

• Adcock, Al (1992). C-123 Provider in action. Aircraft In Action. Vol. 124. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications. ISBN 978-0-89747-276-0.
• Air League (1975). "Chase XC-123A". Air Pictorial. 37. London: Air League of the British Empire: 113.
• Baugher, Joe (2010). "1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers". USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
• Baugher, Joe (2010). "1953 USAAF Serial Numbers". USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
• Gunston, Bill, ed. (1980). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Commercial Aircraft. New York: Exeter Books. ISBN 978-0-89673-077-9.
• Lednicer, David (2010). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Archived from the original on 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
• Mitchell, Kent A. (1992). "The C-123 Provider". AAHS Journal. 37. Santa Ana, CA: American Aviation Historical Society. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
• Sweetman, William (1979). A History of Passenger Aircraft. London: W.H. Smith/Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-600-37248-6.

• Bonnier Corporation (July 1951). "Jet Power Troop Transport". Popular Science. Bonnier Corporation. p. 81.