North American Aviation NAC-100 Centuryliner / General Aircraft Coporation GAC-100 / Commuter Aircraft Corporation CAC-100

[boxkite]

Did further North American civil designs exist between the SST NAC-60 (see http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1000.0) and the NAC-100 Centuryliner ("Der Flieger" 1/1966)?

 

[Jemiba]

Intended as a short-haul airliner to compete with the Boeing 737, the DC 9, the Fokker F70
and others, the NA C-100 Centuryliner would have been powered by to P&W JTF10A-6 and
fitted with between 60 and 66 seats in a four-abreast seating.

(from Flying Review 1/65)

 

[hesham]

Hi,

The General Aircraft Corporation GAC-100 was four engined low wing light
STOL transport aircraft,it can carried 36-40 passengers

In 1973 the General Aircraft Corporation decided to built the GAC-100
but it changed its plan as GAC-100-2,as twin engined 30-seat small version
but that never happened because The building company (Helio) was busy
by its H-550.

http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1968/1968%20-%202730.pdf

 

[Jemiba]

.. and some artist impressions from Aviation Week 9/1965 :

 

[circle-5]

Many years after abandoning the NAC-100 project, NAA (then Rockwell) revived its airframe for this seldom-seen AEW project. Does anybody know the NA- (or NR-) number and the year of this study? Many thanks...

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

According to an article in Interavia, 1982 NAC-100 turned into the General Aircraft Coporation GAC-100, then the Commuter Aircraft CAC-100.

It originally started as a Douglas design for a DC- 3 replacement which was taken over by North American and designated NAC-100. In 1968, the design was acquired by the General Aircraft Corporation (GAC) headed by Dr. Lynn Bollinger, former President of STOL aircraft manufacturer Helio.

Fuselage looks similar, but the GAC-100 has 4 turboprops, not 2 turbojets.

Not sure if this helps any

 

[Skybolt]

Rockwel (nèe NAA) participated in the studies on contract with NASA for short haul aircrafts in the early-to-mid '70s, STOL and VTOL. Search the NTRS for report "CONCEPTUAL DESIGN STUDY OF A V/STOL LIFT FAN COMMERCIAL SHORT HAUL TRANSPORT". No designation assigned, in the report at least. In my opinion, NAC-100 was a "marketing" designation, like L-2000 or B-2707.

 

[circle-5]

It originally started as a Douglas design for a DC- 3 replacement which was taken over by North American and designated NAC-100. In 1968, the design was acquired by the General Aircraft Corporation (GAC) headed by Dr. Lynn Bollinger, former President of STOL aircraft manufacturer Helio.

Fascinating. If the design was "taken over by North American and designated NAC-100", does Interavia indicate who initially came up with it? Attached are a couple of pictures of a GAC-100 model in USAF colors.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Douglas (read quote again). While fuselage is quite similar, wings are different on the GAC-100.

 

[hesham]

According to an article in Interavia, 1982 NAC-100 turned into the General Aircraft Coporation GAC-100, then the Commuter Aircraft CAC-100.

It originally started as a Douglas design for a DC- 3 replacement which was taken over by North American and designated NAC-100. In 1968, the design was acquired by the General Aircraft Corporation (GAC) headed by Dr. Lynn Bollinger, former President of STOL aircraft manufacturer Helio.

Fuselage looks similar, but the GAC-100 has 4 turboprops, not 2 turbojets.

Not sure if this helps any

My dear Overscan,

I think it is not true,and see its story in FLIGHTGLOBAL;

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%202730.html

 

[circle-5]

While there are visual similarities between the NAC-100 and the GAC-100, I believe the GAC-100 was a considerably smaller, commuter aircraft: note passenger capacity listed at 32 seats, vs. 60 for the Centuryliner. In addition, the GAC-100 has a circular fuselage cross-section, while the NAC-100 has slight twin-lobe configuration. Could Interavia be mistaken? And if so, was Douglas really behind the NAC-100?

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Certainly they could be mistaken.

 

[circle-5]

Factory model of North American Aviation NAC-100 Centuryliner.

 

[Stargazer]

An article about the Commuter Aircraft Corp. CAC-100 (formerly GAC-100) from Air International dated September 1981:

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Love the models - the NAC-100 is quite sharp looking!

Thanks for sharing the model photos - really appreciate it!

Enjoy the Day! Mark

 

[car15]

Here is a Centuryliner that I recently found in an antique shop in California. I had no idea what it was until circle-5 identified it.

[Links now dead - Admin]

 

[MilwaukeeRoad]

Did further North American civil designs exist between the SST NAC-60 (see http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1000.0) and the NAC-100 Centuryliner ("Der Flieger" 1/1966)?

dead link, apparently.

 

[JimK]

Many years ago, a friend, knowing my interest in aerospace history, gave me a set of photographic slides used in marketing several North American projects to airlines. This probably saved them from the round file after Rockwell lost interest in that market. Although mounted in metal holders and carried in heavy plastic protective pages for 3-ring binders, upon examination they show their wear. I apologize for the "dirty" condition of the following images, but knowing how often what used to be the North American Aviation division of Rockwell moved about until they were acquired by Boeing, I would be surprised if the original artwork survives. The portion of the set showing V/STOL designs will be posted under a different topic.

 

[JimK]

Here are several more images from the slide set on the NAC-100. There are many more slides showing performance charts and economic projections. These show alternate interior arrangements, possible uses for a military version, and a four-engined version.

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Wonderful images - thanks for sharing! Mark

 

[Stargazer]

Thanks a lot for sharing, Jim K.

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

Commuter Aircraft Corporation CAC-100 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[hesham]

Hi,

I think there was a Model 90,because the beginning of this company
was Model G-1-80 ?.

 

[fortrena]

The following may perhaps be of interest.

In the summer of 1973, a small American company, General Aircraft, negotiated with certain Canadian interests to start production in Vancouver, British Columbia, of a twin-engine version of the GAC-100 commuter airliner, a short take-off and landing aircraft which would carry around thirty passengers. These Canadian interests would control the company involved in the production of the aircraft, presumably in a facility located on the site of Vancouver International Airport.

Interestingly, the GAC-100 was apparently born from the labors of General Aircraft, Boeing Airplane, Douglas Aircraft and North American Rockwell.

The GAC-100 was actually born in 1968. It was then a four-engine aircraft designed by General Aircraft with the help of another American company, Aircraft Engineering. An Australian crown corporation, Government Aircraft Factory, was to be involved in the production project as a sub-contractor. Towards the fall of 1969, Pacific Airmotive agreed to manufacture / assemble the GAC-100. This agreement was canceled in the spring of 1970, however, when the parent company of the small American firm, the detergent manufacturer Purex, decided to abandon aviation. As a result, General Aircraft was forced to put the GAC-100 on hold.

The aircraft resurfaced in late summer 1972 when the United States' Civil Aeronautics Board increased the maximum allowable weight of commuter airliners usable in the United States. It was this new situation which explained the Canadian factory project. Those discussions led nowhere, however.

General Aircraft became Commuter Aircraft around 1979. The CAC-100, by then a four-engine aircraft which could carry up to sixty passengers, was abandoned around 1983 when the company went bankrupt, before a prototype was completed.

 

[flateric]

Aircraft Design Wind Tunnel Scale Model of a Late 1960s GAC-100 Airliner For Sale at 1stDibs

For Sale on 1stDibs - A 1/10 scale wind tunnel model of a GAC-100 Commuter airliner. Wingspan: 7ft (214 cm) The model is constructed out of laminated mahogany, and is built

www.1stdibs.com

 

[VictorXL188]

I thought I would take a look at the profiles of the North American NAC-100 and the Commuter Aircraft Corporation CAC-100 and compare them just to see what differences there were. As you can see there are a few.