Convair C-131 "Samaritan"
The Convair (Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation) C-131 Samaritan is an American twin-engined military transport produced from 1954 to 1956 by Convair at San Diego California. It was the military version of the Convair CV-240/340 family of airliners.
The initial design began as a production requirement by American Airlines for a pressurized airliner to replace the classic Douglas DC-3. Convair′s original design had two engines and 40 seats, and was designated the CV-240. The first CV-240 flew on March 16, 1947, and production aircraft were first delivered to American on February 28, 1948. Seventy-five were delivered to American, with another fifty going to Western Airlines, Continental Airlines, Pan American Airways, KLM, Sabena, Swissair and Trans Australia Airlines.
The CV-240/340/440 series was used by the United States Air Force (USAF) for medical evacuation and VIP transport and was designated as C-131 Samaritan. The first model Samaritan, the C-131A, was derived from the CV-240 model, and was delivered to the USAF in 1954.
The earlier trainer model, designated the T-29 "Flying Classroom", was based on the smaller Convair 240 and was used to instruct USAF navigators for all USAF aircraft and those USN Naval Flight Officers selected to fly land-based naval aircraft. The aircraft cabin was filled with student stations and was used to train bombardiers, navigators and electronic warfare officers.
The U.S. Navy called their Convairs the Samaritan, which was designated as R4Y until 1962, when the Navy caught up with the U.S. Air Force and designated them C-131. Nearly all of the C-131s were based on the 240, 340 and 440 model. The basic C-131 power plant was the Prat & Whitney R-2800 radial engine. Pilots and crew often referred to them as reciprocating engines, or "recips," holdovers from a bygone era. A few where converted with turbo-prop engines.
In an all-passenger configuration, the aircraft could carry 44 passengers. In their heyday, the Navy and Air Force 131s were used for medevac, VIP transport, trainers, even a prototype gunship. In fact, the name Samaritan stems from its "aeromedical casualty evacuation" flying ambulance role.
The U.S. Coast Guard also received a number of former Air Force aircraft, starting in 1976. The last Coast Guard C-131 flight was in 1982.
Nearly all of the C-131s left the active USAF inventory in the late 1970s, but the U.S. Coast Guard operated the aircraft until 1983, while the Air National Guard and U.S. Navy units operated additional C-131 airframes, primarily as Operational Support Aircraft for Air National Guard flying wings and as naval air station "station aircraft" until 1990. The C-131 was primarily replaced by the C-9 Nightingale in regular USAF service, with the Air National Guard replacing their OSA with C-130 Hercules aircraft and the Navy with C-12 Hurons. Most of…. if not all the USAF, US Coast Guard and Navy Convairs where wfu and stored at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona.
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Conquest Air Cargo – Your Daily Air Freight Solutions
A subsidiary of Aero Group Holdings, LLC, Conquest Air is an FAA Part 135 cargo airline based out of Miami Lakes, Florida. We own and operate six Convair 440′s twice daily into Nassau, Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean. We also provide ad hoc charter services to Cuba, The Bahamas, The Caribbean, and within the eastern and mid-western United States. Our unique aircraft have large cargo doors and tremendous volume capacity. In addition, the Convairs are long-range aircraft with max 7,500 lbs payload. We also cater to the equestrian/horse industry. We transport them throughout the islands.
We operated a daily flight from Opa-Locka (Miami, FL) departing at 8.00 a.m. from Monday through Friday to Lynden Pindling International airport Bahamas, arriving at 09.00 a.m. Conquest Air Cargo management consist of Marc Wolff, CEO, Thomas Cooper, President, Claudia Rey, Office manager/Customer service and Carlos Gomez, COO.
Carlos Gomez has built a solid reputation in the aviation industry since buying his first cargo aircraft at the age of 23 in 1988, a Douglas DC-6. He has built a reputation throughout the world as the "round engine" expert. Because of this he is an integral piece in making Conquest Air Cargo THE reliable choice for air cargo transport. From automotive to military, medical and general cargo, our customers trust us with their most time-critical freight.
For more information check out the website: http://www.conquestaircargo.com/
