Aero Vintage Books

While digging through online photo archives, I found this shot from June 7, 1965 of a PBY at Long Beach, CA being used for a rescue drill. Check out the extreme left of the picture:

(Source: CSUDH Archives)

That's the wing, boom and landing gear of C-82 N53228 propped up. There's no fuselage, so the rest of it must have been in use for The Flight of the Phoenix at that time.

INFO found here:

'Fairchild C-82 packet : the military and civil history' / Simon D Beck ...page 200

C-82A Packet N53228 .. "Fuselage leased to 20th Century Fox for 'Flight of the phoenix' (1965) for indoor studio scenes.
Placed back in open storage Long Beach Airport 1965.
Likely scrapped 1970-71".

no photo

do you have a link to this source

GOOGLE

Fairchild C-82 Packet. The Military and Civil History By Simon D. Beck

scroll down to this link (fourth one down)

books.google.com › Transportation › Aviation › General
Fairchild C-82 Packet - Google Books

"preview this book"

go to page 200 for info on N53228

(the preview only goes to page 202 of 315 pages, some pages omitted)

Scroll down to the FIFTH link for a different preview.

Several pages of info and photos of the "Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) movie starting on page 57.

(this preview only goes to page 72 of 315 pages, some pages omitted)

From David Legg at the WIX site is the tie in of the PBY to Tallmantz:

Hi Scott - this is what I have from FAA files ....

....to Carstedt Research Corporation Inc, Long Beach, CA 05May64; reported as a stripped and derelict hulk at Steward-Davis Inc, Long Beach, CA by 1967; to Tallmantz Aviation Inc, Santa Ana, CA 06May71 quoting reg N68623 but no CofR issued; to Steelyard Blues Productions Inc, Hollywood, CA 10May71 and used in filming of Steelyard Blues; letter from Warner Bros, Burbank, CA to FAA confirming aircraft totally destroyed in filming and no CofR required; canx from USCAR as “Dismantled or salvaged” 29Mar75.

In the lead photo to this thread, no registration is visible but I have a slightly later photo where the registration N68623 has been roughly daubed on the hull just aft of the rear wing lift strut and forward of the rear access hatch. It's certainly the same aircraft

Hope that helps a little.


I think it safe to presume Tallmantz was contacted by the film makers to find a PBY. Tallmantz did and owned it for four days. Not much of a connection but a little tidbit to throw in the soup. According to another site (http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=Steelyard_Blues ), an unidentified PBY from Sis-Q at Santa Rosa was also used in the film, presumably for the operational scenes. The LGB PBY was probably dismantled and cut up for the studio use, but more information will no doubt surface about the Santa Rosa PBY and whether it actually was the LGB PBY.

And I will also add that Simon Beck is the known expert on the first Flight of the Phoenix, at least in my book. And the C-82 also, thus how they all come together.

terveurn wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:56 pm no photo

do you have a link to this source

Sorry - here you go:
https://cdm16855.contentdm.oclc.org/dig ... 254/rec/26

One more:
https://cdm16855.contentdm.oclc.org/dig ... 257/rec/27

Hi, just joined up here!

Yep that's Phoenix movie C-82 N53228 at LGB - the date is correct as well,
the fuselages (+ N4833V) were leased from April to September 1965.