Fairchild C-82 Packet

The Fairchild C-82 Packet at a glance

The Fairchild C-82 Packet was a twin-engine, twin-boom cargo aircraft built for the U.S. Army Air Forces. The prototype first flew on 10 September 1944, and 223 were built before production ended in 1948.

Its big idea was the rear loading door. Trucks, jeeps and artillery could drive or be winched straight into the hold, instead of being squeezed through a side hatch.

The full specification table for the aircraft is on this page. The sections below explain the story behind the numbers.

Why Fairchild built a twin-boom transport

The Army wanted a cargo plane that could carry bulky loads, not just boxes. Fairchild’s answer put the cabin in a short pod under a high wing and carried the tail on two booms.

That layout left the back of the fuselage open. A loading ramp could sit low to the ground, and trucks could back right up to the doors.

The open rear also made the Packet useful for dropping paratroopers.

Explaining the numbers

The Packet’s cargo and troop capacity is the headline figure. It could carry 42 troops, or litters for wounded, or a heavy vehicle load.

Range figures differ between sources. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force fact sheet lists a much shorter 2,140 miles, while the range in the table is the longer ferry-style figure.

Service ceiling is another figure that varies. Some museum listings give about 27,000 feet, others about 21,200 feet, which is why those numbers are best read as approximate.

Service with the Air Force

The C-82 entered Air Force service after the war and spent most of its career in troop carrier units. In January 1948, C-82As of the 62nd Troop Carrier Group took part in Project Yukon, an arctic cold weather test.

During the Berlin Blockade in autumn 1948, five C-82s flew in dismantled earthmoving equipment. That machinery helped build Tegel Airport in West Berlin.

The Packet had its faults. Pilots found it underpowered with poor cockpit visibility, and a heavily loaded aircraft could not hold level flight on one engine.

That problem pushed Fairchild to a bigger design, the C-119 Flying Boxcar. The Air Force retired its last C-82s in 1954.

Variants and the Jet-Packet

The main production model was the C-82A, with 220 built. The prototype was the XC-82, and North American Aviation completed three C-82Ns.

The XC-82B tested larger Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines and pointed the way to the C-119. One EC-82A was converted with tracked landing gear for soft ground, but the idea was dropped.

After the war, Steward-Davis converted civil Packets into the Jet-Packet, adding a small turbojet pod above the fuselage for extra takeoff power. Later conversions included the Skytruck and the Skypallet.

Civil use and Hollywood

Surplus C-82s went to operators in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States. They hauled freight for decades, and the last ones were retired in the late 1980s.

The type also has a film connection. The 1965 movie The Flight of the Phoenix used a Packet-derived aircraft, the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1. Stunt pilot Paul Mantz died flying it during production.

The name Packet comes from the packet boats that carried passengers, freight and mail along rivers and canals. In 1954 a Hagerstown baseball team, in the town where Fairchild built the plane, renamed itself the Hagerstown Packets.

Where to see a C-82 Packet today

Several survive. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, displays a C-82A. The McChord Air Museum in Washington state and the Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona also have examples.

The Hagerstown Aviation Museum in Maryland shows a Jet-Packet 3400. Brazil keeps two C-82As, one at the Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro.

How the C-82 compares with its relatives

The C-119 Flying Boxcar was the bigger, stronger follow-on and replaced the Packet in front-line service. The later C-123 Provider kept the high-wing, rear-loading idea but dropped the twin booms.

For a heavier postwar airlifter, see the C-124 Globemaster II. The wartime C-46 Commando is the type the Packet was meant to succeed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Fairchild C-82 Packet used for?

It carried cargo, vehicles and troops, dropped paratroopers, evacuated wounded and could tow gliders. In 1948 it also hauled machinery to help build Tegel Airport in Berlin.

How many C-82 Packets were built?

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force says 223 were built before production ended in September 1948. Other sources give figures within one or two aircraft of that.

Why did the C-82 have twin booms?

The twin booms left the rear of the fuselage clear. That let Fairchild fit large loading doors so trucks could drive straight into the hold.

Did a C-82 Packet crash in Flight of the Phoenix?

The film used the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1, built with Packet parts. Pilot Paul Mantz died flying it during production in 1965.

Is any C-82 Packet still flying?

The surviving examples we found are museum displays and stored airframes. We found no confirmed airworthy C-82 in current sources.

What replaced the C-82 Packet?

The C-119 Flying Boxcar replaced it. It was a larger development with more powerful engines.