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Meet the aircraft
The C-46 grew from Curtiss's CW-20 airliner design into a military transport. Its broad fuselage gave it substantial cargo capacity, while two large radial engines supplied the power. It worked alongside the C-47 but was a larger aircraft with a different airframe and systems. The Commando continued into civilian freight operations after the war.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗The big transport feels unexpectedly light on the controls
Ethell approached the C-46 expecting the weight of its controls to match the aircraft’s size. His experience of other large wartime aircraft made the actual response a surprise: he found the controls pleasantly light, including at lower speeds. That contrast between appearance and feel became the centre of his immediate comments after flying China Doll.
Post-flight impressions, Camarillo, February 1997. Ethell flew the CAF’s China Doll; he explicitly reported having no crosswind during this introduction.
CAF Southern California Wing · Read more ↗Prepare a cold cockpit or a secured aircraft on the ground
The overhead Cold/Dark Start control provides a starting configuration. A separate Secure Aircraft control manages the parked scene with wheel chocks, flags and boarding steps. The manual identifies these as simulator cockpit controls.
C-46 Commando · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Just Planes · 20 min ·
In the COCKPIT of a 65 YEAR OLD C-46
An Everts Air C-46 cockpit film celebrates an aircraft still working decades after delivery.
Real aircraft · Curtiss C-46 Commando
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Curtiss C-46 Commando
The C-46 grew from Curtiss's CW-20 airliner design into a military transport. Its broad fuselage gave it substantial cargo capacity, while two large radial engines supplied the power. It worked alongside the C-47 but was a larger aircraft with a different airframe and systems.
The Commando continued into civilian freight operations after the war. Its period flight deck includes systems that predate modern route-following automation; the simulator manual's Sperry Gyropilot is best understood in that historical context.
Curtiss C-46 Commando
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
China Doll’s long route into preservation
Deakin identifies China Doll as a 1945 C-46F that passed through airline and agricultural spraying work before becoming derelict. The CAF acquired it in 1981 for restoration. Its surviving military appearance does not mean this particular airframe flew wartime combat missions.
AVweb · Pelican’s Perch 47: The Old Commando ↗Airframe history in Deakin’s 2001 account
Production testing could bring unexpected problems
Fisher’s son places the 1942 incident in the early production programme at Buffalo. A visiting fighter pilot joined a routine flight that developed into hours of troubleshooting.
Aviation History / HistoryNet · Buffalo, We Have a Problem ↗Attributed retrospective; no independent accident findings inferred
Development milestones
First flight: 26 March 1940
Wikipedia contributors · Curtiss C-46 Commando ↗Curtiss C-46 Commando · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1373606151
Pilot accounts
The big transport feels unexpectedly light on the controls
Ethell approached the C-46 expecting the weight of its controls to match the aircraft’s size. His experience of other large wartime aircraft made the actual response a surprise: he found the controls pleasantly light, including at lower speeds. That contrast between appearance and feel became the centre of his immediate comments after flying China Doll.
The lightly loaded aircraft also impressed him with the power available for the flight. He was careful to identify a limit to his experience, noting that he had not encountered a crosswind. His enthusiasm therefore describes the conditions of this particular introduction. The flight also reinforced his appreciation of the transport’s historical role and of the people preserving one in flying condition, giving the handling impressions a clear connection to the surviving aircraft.
Post-flight impressions, Camarillo, February 1997. Ethell flew the CAF’s China Doll; he explicitly reported having no crosswind during this introduction.
Read the full account · CAF Southern California Wing ↗Returning to the left seat after nearly thirty years
Deakin’s fascination with the C-46 began as a child visiting the airport at Sarasota. Years later he flew it professionally for Air America, where difficult weather and transport work gave the aircraft a much more demanding place in his life. After leaving that flying behind, he expected the Commando to remain a memory.
A conversation with Randy Sohn eventually led him back to a preserved aircraft at Camarillo. Returning to the left seat in 1996 brought a striking sense of familiarity, and he went on to instruct and conduct checkrides. Flying through nearby valleys also recalled his earlier years overseas. His account makes room for veterans who recognised the aircraft at public appearances and quietly revisited their own memories, connecting his personal return with the experiences of others.
AVweb · September 2001. Deakin recalls Air America service and his 10 March 1996 return to the C-46 at Camarillo with Noel Merrill Wien.
Read the full account · AVweb ↗A short demonstration becomes a long test of patience
Fisher planned a brief flight in an early production C-46 with visiting fighter pilot Clive Caldwell, who expected to have time for golf afterwards. A landing-gear problem changed the day. Technicians aboard the aircraft and engineers on the ground joined a prolonged effort to understand the fault, while the two pilots faced an increasingly uncomfortable wait.
The account by Fisher’s son includes Caldwell’s very different perspective: an experienced combat pilot worried about the unfamiliar transport and the situation developing around him. Fisher eventually brought the aircraft down without injuries, despite the gear collapsing. The relationship outlasted that alarming introduction, with Caldwell later visiting the Fisher family.
6 August 1942 production flight with visiting fighter pilot Clive Caldwell. Recounted by Fisher’s son Herb Fisher Jr., with extracts from Caldwell’s recollection; one joint incident account.
Read the full account · Aviation History / HistoryNet ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024C-46 Commando
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
C-46 Commando
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020C-46 Commando
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
C-46 Commando
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 76 ft 4 in (23.27 m) |
| Wingspan | 108 ft 0 in (32.92 m) |
| Height | 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m) |
| Wing area | 1,360 sq ft (126 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 30,669 lb (13,911 kg) |
| Gross weight | 45,000 lb (20,412 kg) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each |
| Propellers | 4-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propellers |
| Maximum speed | 270 mph (430 km/h, 230 kn) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) |
| Cruise speed | 173 mph (278 km/h, 150 kn) |
| Range | 3,150 mi (5,070 km, 2,740 nmi) at 173 mph (150 kn; 278 km/h); 1,000 mi (870 nmi; 1,600 km) at 237 mph (206 kn; 381 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 24,500 ft (7,500 m) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Prepare a cold cockpit or a secured aircraft on the groundC-46 Commando · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The overhead Cold/Dark Start control provides a starting configuration. A separate Secure Aircraft control manages the parked scene with wheel chocks, flags and boarding steps. The manual identifies these as simulator cockpit controls.
Gathered C-46 manual · PDF p.4
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Panel access and radio power have their own controlsC-46 Commando · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
A main-panel switch toggles the yokes for visibility. The Avionics Master powers the documented radio installation, which includes COM1, VOR, ADF and a transponder. The manual’s numbered panel illustrations and custom views help locate these controls within the large flight deck.
Gathered C-46 manual · PDF pp.4–5
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Attitude and direction control from an earlier eraC-46 Commando · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The C-46 manual describes the Sperry Gyropilot and hydraulic instrumentation. The Gyropilot maintains attitude and direction; route management remains separate.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.4,6-7
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The original MSFS 2020 releaseC-46 Commando · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The July 2024 Local Legend 17 announcement records the MSFS 2020 release and four liveries, including an explicitly fictional Olive Drab scheme.
2024-07-02 · release and package scope
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Pilot account
The big transport feels unexpectedly light on the controlsPost-flight impressions, Camarillo, February 1997. Ethell flew the CAF’s China Doll; he explicitly reported having no crosswind during this introduction.
Ethell approached the C-46 expecting the weight of its controls to match the aircraft’s size. His experience of other large wartime aircraft made the actual response a surprise: he found the controls pleasantly light, including at lower speeds. That contrast between appearance and feel became the centre of his immediate comments after flying China Doll. The lightly loaded aircraft also impressed him with the power available for the flight.
Jeff Ethell
CAF Southern California Wing · Read the source ↗Returning to the left seat after nearly thirty yearsAVweb · September 2001. Deakin recalls Air America service and his 10 March 1996 return to the C-46 at Camarillo with Noel Merrill Wien.
Deakin’s fascination with the C-46 began as a child visiting the airport at Sarasota. Years later he flew it professionally for Air America, where difficult weather and transport work gave the aircraft a much more demanding place in his life. After leaving that flying behind, he expected the Commando to remain a memory. A conversation with Randy Sohn eventually led him back to a preserved aircraft at Camarillo.
John Deakin
AVweb · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Curtiss C-46 Commanndo ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Curtiss C-46 CommandoWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1373606151 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases Local Legend 17: The Curtiss C-46 CommandoMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 2024-07-02 · release and package scopeType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
Curtiss C-46 Commando
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Curtiss C-46 Commando: The profile supplies sustained yoke resistance around this large piston transport.
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