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Six Engine Propeller Plane?


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Speaking of loud planes and loud multi engine planes, I have a vivid boyhood memory of seeing B-36's flying over the Midwest US, landing and taking off from their base, as we were driving through the country on one of my father's Army transfers. The noise was truly incredible. I hear the Bear turboprop bombers can give the B-36 a run for their money, but the B-36 had 6 prop and 4 jet engines going for it. Those were the days, when the old "aluminum overcast" ruled the skies.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I ran outside just now as I heard a plane with unusual thundering prop engines. Our house is near the Asheville Airport regularly used for military training as it gets few flights and has long runways, enough that the Concorde landed here years ago.

Anyway, the plane came right by the house ( we live on a mountain ) I saw it coming and going. It had 6 big front mounted props!. It was not a C-130 with drop tanks as those sit inboard of the outer engines. What the heck! So Spanish Bombs may be on to something. I can hear it again in the distance and will post a picture if it comes by...

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If that's the one I'm thinking of, it's a beautiful B24 and I think the only truly original one still flying. I got to see it inside & out when they flew it over from India in the late 80's or early 90's. I wonder if they ever found the belly turret for it? When they got it from the Indian Air Force it had a radar dome (original WW2 pathfinder radar I think) in the place of the belly turret. I was amazed how how thin the WW2 airmen must have been to fit in the nose and tail turrets, not to mention the bombardier/navigator tunnel under the pilots' station. I was still pretty slim from my Navy years at the time and could barely fit in summer clothes, let alone with full high-altitude WW2 flying gear on.

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  • 9 months later...
  • 1 year later...

This may be old information by now, but I didn't see an answer to the 6 engine turboprop cargo plane sighting.

I live in central Arkansas near Jacksonville AFB the home of the C130.  These things routinely fly at low altitude right over my house.  Last weekend I was sitting on the deck with my wife and another batch flew over.  I thought so little of it I didn't even look up until the last plane was coming over.  The last plane cause a severe double-take.  IT HAD SIX ENGINES!  It looked just like the standard C130 but with 6 engines.  No mistake.  I actually commented on the sight to my wife.

 

Not being a big plane buff, I dismissed it thinking I just didn't remember and all C130's must have six engines.  The next time the C130's came over, there they were with only 4 engines just like I thought I miss-remembered.  It was kind of bugging me so I started looking and can't figure out what type plane I saw.  Wish I had had my camera or thought to use it.

 

Please advise if you know anything about such an aircraft.  It was not a historic plane, props were at the front of the wing, it looked identical to a standard C130, it had six props not extra tanks, and this was seen a a very low altitude of probably 2,000-3,000 feet.  Clear day. Unmistakable.

 

Please advise,

BHoff

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C-130_Of_The_Australian_Air_Force.jpg

 

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/c-130_facts.htm

 

Only 6 engine C-130 version = NC-130B

 

NC-130B6engine.jpg

 

 

 

From rear with auxillary tanks

 

AF_Reserve_C-130_Spraying_Pesticides.jpg

This is definately NOT what I saw.  I saw three distinct props on each wing, evenly spaced.  Actually looked like the photoshoped C130 someone had posted, but the thing flew right over my house.  Saw it about a week ago but haven't seen it since.  I never go outside without my camera anymore though, haha.

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  • 10 months later...

Sorry guys, I don't play Combat Mission (yet...) but I just had to log on to say I saw a plane as described here fly southwards over Bath at 9:45 on 18th April. We get planes flying to Bristol airport quite frequently and this one wasn't particularly loud so I sort of ignored it and then noticed it had turboprops. I shrugged and though it must be a Hercules. Then I noticed it had six engines and I checked the internet to confirm they only had four. Through that I found this thread and now I'm beginning to think I can't count either!

It's the exact same as Spanish Bombs described in the OP and BHoff later. A high wing, cargo/military round body and of course I can't remember the tail exactly. I am certain the extra props were not fuel pods. I noted that the wings beyond the outer props looked quite long. it does look eerily like that photoshopped C-130 above actually.

I'm not a plane buff either but I do look up. I worked in airports for a while so I can tell the major airliners at a glance and everyone loves a Vulcan but this one puzzles me. Airbus do the wings out in Bristol? Is there a 6-engine prototype A400m being made?

It didn't look or sound like an especially old airplane.

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Gah... I sound just like the son of Bhoff but across the Atlantic! Weird that we should have noticed. Anyway, it's bugging me now so I looked up flight tracking and searched the planes that have passed in that direction. Only one I found that seemed weird was the one in the attached but I think that's a bit screwey?

I'm procrastinating some very necessary study. Hope this is of interest to someone.
Cheers.
 

Weird Plane over Bath 18_04_16.JPG

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  • 1 year later...

On Oct 20, 2017 six engine turboprop with a fuselage shape similar to a C-17 or large C-130 went right over me at St. Pete Beach on low final approach to Ellis AFB, Tampa FL. I'm a Naval Air Vet with 8 yrs P-3B and P-3C 4 engine turboprop experience and there was no mistaking this big boy had 6 turboprops. The engine nacelles appeared to be shiney rather than painted grey which makes me wonder if this were a visiting foreign military aircraft.

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Six engine aircraft are pretty unusual.....The description doesn't match anything I know of.

Maybe OP should post somewhere like BM or one of the other scale modelling forums?  You'll find some seriously knowledgeable posters at such places.....Come to think of it a couple of my buddies at the ATF are quite highly placed at Airbus, I'll ask them if they are aware of anything.

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