C97 and KC97L 1/72

Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog thus far. Here is my second post. please comment.

I recently built a C97 military cargo plane and decided to put both it and it's aerial tanker into the same post. Like most of my models, these two are 1/72 scale and built by Academy. These two are easy to build, well easier than the KB29, and I would recommend them for anyone who is rather new to models, but wants to build big because it is easier to fix mistakes on a large aircraft. I also put on some unused parts on the C97. Bellow the wings you can see two external fuel tanks. These were not in the instructions to add, but I did because it makes the plane look cool.

I built the KC97L because I was drawn to the look. The aircraft is based off of the B29 which is a personal favorite aircraft for me. I bought the KC97L first because it had a long service life due to the addition of jet engines. The aircraft served well into Vietnam. I built the C97 because I wanted to test out spray paint made specifically for models. Before I either painted the plane with a brush or used other sprays from Wal-Mart . I say that it does look much better than the KC97L, the finish is amazing.

C97 Specs 
Crew: 4 (Pilot, Copilot, Navigator, Flight engineer) 
Capacity:96 troops or
69 stretchers or

• • tanker equipment
• Length: 110 ft 4 in (33.7 m)
• Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.1 m)
• Height: 38 ft 3 in (11.7 m)
• Wing area: 1,734 ft² (161.1 m²)
• Empty weight: 82,500 lb (37,410 kg)
• Loaded weight: 120,000 lb (54,420 kg)
• Useful load: 37,500 lb (17,010 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 175,000 lb (79,370 kg)
• Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360B Wasp Major radial engines, 3,500 hp (2,610 kW) 28-cylinders each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 375 mph (603 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 260 knots (300 mph, 482 km/h)
• Range: 4,949 nm (4,300 mi, 6,920 km)
• Ferry range: 5,000 nm (5,760 mi, 9,270 km)
• Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
• Wing loading: 69.2 lb/ft² (337.8 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.117 hp/lb (192 W/kg)

specs for a KC97L

• Crew: five (two pilots, navigator, flight engineer, boom operator)
• Capacity: 9,000 gal (34,000 L) of jet fuel
• Length: 117 ft 5 in (m)
• Wingspan: 141 ft 2 in (m)
• Height: 38 ft 4 in (m)
• Wing area: ft² (m²)
• Empty weight: 82,500 lb (kg)
• Loaded weight: 153,000 lb (kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 175,000 lb (kg)
• Powerplant:
  • 2 × General Electric J47-GE-23 turbojets, 5,790 lbf (kN) each
  • 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-59 radial engines, 3,500 hp (kW) each
   Performance
  
  • Maximum speed: 400 mph (km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 230 mph (km/h)
  • Range: 2,300 mi (km)
  • Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (m)
  • Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
  • Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
  • Power/mass (prop): hp/lb (kW/kg)
  
  
  

 I think the USAF should redesign this plane to have jets only then bring it back into service. The plane peculiar shape makes it a good transport and tanker. I think it would make a better remastered tanker than transport. This planes shape makes it possible to have fuel on the bottom and the top levels of the plane. That's a lot of fuel. I would recommend this aircraft be used by coast guard units and not over combat zones as it's shape would also make it slow.