[Chris Heal]

Hello - first post
Can anyone help me with working out a maximum freight payload for a Constellation L-749A. The aircraft has nine passengers and crew and a flight distance of 4,250 km without reserve.
Thank you.

[riverrock]

You are looking for max payload at max range? 20,476lb from https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFA ... 201716.PDF
However, doing the maths doesn't seem to quite work:

From Wikipedia It has a reported empty weight of 56,590 pounds (25,668 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 107,000 pounds (48,534.4 kilograms).
So a lifting capacity of 22866.4kg
Max range means max fuel, so 4920 Imp Gallons = 22366litres with a specific gravity of 0.70 gives 16006kg of fuel
So payload capacity of 6859.92kg or 15123.5 lbs
Various other things would bring that practical number down (like crew).

Clearly something doesn't work there, so someone else will have to correct me.
The "A" variant had a stronger landing gear and fuel capacity, perhaps it has a higher MTOW.

Question is - why ?

Welcome to the forum!

[Chris Heal]

Thank you, riverrock, for the prompt information and welcome. A good start. These calculations are all a bit new to me so thank you very much for guiding me through. These numbers are from an actual flight in 1969. Hopefully, as you say, someone else can take it to the end. Ideally, I will end with a nearly confident maximum payload after the eight passenger / crew and, presumably, some personal baggage, and fuel, have been deducted.
Best wishes
Chris Heal