Caribou grazings

Lovely Turbo-ribou.

The Caribou in Afghanistan is a DHC-4T – T for turboprop or “Super Caribou”. Its owned by Flightworks in the USA and looks very similar finish to the “Air America” Caribous.
http://www.flightworks.com/fleet/showplane/81/DHC-4T-Turbo-Caribou
It looks to be a first class refurbishment job. Personally I think the RAAF was crazy for not converting their radial Caribous to turboprops with upgrades inside, the work could have been done locally creating jobs. But by doing so would upset the procurement people and top brass wanting a “imported new car” from the taxpayer of Australia.
I wonder what RAAF pilots privately think when they see the super caribou, and then its replacement due shortly?
Still the best type of STOL transport in the theater?
Here it is
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Link to page
http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2012/May%202012/May%2021%202012/pix052112caribouWP.aspx
http://50shadesbeige.tumblr.com/post/36725877515/dhc4-caribou-does-a-resupply-drop-at-new-zealand
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Video of parachute drop in Afghanistan.

There are similar aged Caribous still flying around the world. In fact there is/or was up until recently a Caribou working in Afghanistan with a private contractor from the USA fitted with turboprops.
It looks really nice in the bare metal finish.

Was it a modified Caribou or a Buffalo?

Just as a not-very-aside – the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB, Utah has come to a hard decision, and are divesting several aircraft from their holdings.

They had gathered a lot of aircraft in anticipation of construction of a new display gallery (to be as large as their other two combined), but funding and plans for that have fallen through.

As a result, they need to reduce the number of aircraft outside, as the upkeep for those is destroying their budget. They are looking for other museums (within the US preferably, but outside the US if necessary) to take on the aircraft (they just agreed to move a T-38 to a small museum in St. George, in southern Utah), and then they will even entertain requests from private collectors as a last alternative to scrapping.

One of the aircraft to be given away is this ex-US Army/ex-USAF C-7A Caribou 63-9757.
The first photo is one I took in 9 July 2009, and the others were taken on 7 March 2014.

Australian Caribous are well used airframes and hve been around for a long time. I suspect age/cost has a part to play in why they were retired. I noticed A4-195 in that lot of images. Here she is in happier times.

There are similar aged Caribous still flying around the world. In fact there is/or was up until recently a Caribou working in Afghanistan with a private contractor from the USA fitted with turboprops.
It looks really nice in the bare metal finish.

Wouldn’t mind a dollar for every Aeromedical Evacuation mission, SAR or PAX trip I did in a Caribou. I’d be a wealthy man.

50 odd years in service combined with STOL capabilities in rough conditions on small rough runways..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtXS-zSnYU&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Australian Caribous are well used airframes and hve been around for a long time. I suspect age/cost has a part to play in why they were retired. I noticed A4-195 in that lot of images. Here she is in happier times.

I am surprised it would have fatigue issues, its not a big pressurized airframe.

Maybe the spar was not robustly designed?

I understand that they had been on the verge of being grounded for airframe fatigue, and that that is why they were retired before their replacements were purchased.

Surprised there was not a new market in the dark continent for these workhorses? :confused: