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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| C-130 Airlifter: The Most Successful Military Aircraft Ever |
| 2014-08-06 |
| Later this year, the U.S. Air Force will do something unprecedented. It will sign a contract to purchase more tactical airlifters from a program that first began turning out planes 60 years ago. The latest version of the plane is called the C-130J Super Hercules, and if you measure success in the military aircraft business by how many users a plane has, how many missions it performs, or how long it has been in continuous production, then Hercules is hands down the most successful military aircraft ever. This month marks the 60th anniversary of the plane's first flight on August 23, 1954. How long ago was that? Most of the music being sold in the U.S. back then consisted of 78 R.P.M. records. A majority of residential phones were on "party lines," meaning your neighbor could listen in on your calls. There were only three television networks that mattered, and they broadcast exclusively in black-and-white. Microwave ovens cost thousands of dollars -- tens of thousands in today's dollars -- and you couldn't get a deal on one at WalMart because WalMart didn't exist. The Worldwide Web would not appear for another 40 years. The idea that an Air Force contract awarded during the Truman Administration -- on July 2, 1951 -- could lead to a plane that not only is still in production today, but in high demand around the world, is simply incredible. But it's true: there are 2,000 C-130s of various vintages and configurations currently in use, and prime-contractor Lockheed Martin keeps finding new uses for the plane (the latest versions are for maritime patrol and commercial operations). All of the U.S. armed forces including the Coast Guard depend on Hercules, as do the vast majority of militaries in the Western Hemisphere, Southeast Asia, Western Europe and Arabia. Two things have made Hercules unique. First, it was conceived as a rugged, versatile airlifter that could meet the transport needs of diverse users by landing almost anywhere with 20 tons of cargo. Second, the Air Force and Lockheed continuously invested in new technology to improve the plane's performance for six straight decades. So over time it became more than just a mover of people and things -- it became an aerial refueler for the Marine Corps, a covert insertion/extraction asset for Air Force special operators, a search-and-rescue plane for the Coast Guard (as featured in The Perfect Storm), a gunship for supporting soldiers on the ground, and a hurricane hunter for the Weather Service. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #24 Of all my C-130 memories, the best is the day I was on (contractor) terminal leave and interviewing for my next job. I got the warning for the interview on a weekday in the afternoon at scout camp with my sons in Arkansas, excused myself and walked down to the scout chapel to take the call. Not long into it, a squadron of C-130's flew through the valley next to the chapel at about 200 feet. Needless to say, my interview took a hiatus. And the sound of dozens of aircraft tearing through there, defying gravity, was all the inspiration I could ever have hoped to have. God bless those planes, and their pilots, for all the good they have done for those in service, and for our country in addition to my small reverie. |
| Posted by: rammer 2014-08-06 23:34 |
| #23 Thanks OS, that was funny. Way too many hours crammed in one of those, taught me how to sleep sitting up with by head in the reserve. Now every tome I get on a commercial prop driven plane I'm asleep before take off. The part I miss is from the 30 second call to the open canopy. The rest is just work. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2014-08-06 23:02 |
| #22 Never flew in a C130 but a number of freight flights in Alaska in the commercial version L-100-30. They put a plug in and made it longer. Great freighter. Brought in D-7 dozers, Nodwells, drill rigs, anything. Alaska International Air had a fleet of them. One flew up to ice island T-3 toward the north pole. Landed hard, and pranged the spar. AIA bought it from the insurance company, patched it up enough to ferry and flew it back to Fairbanks. They did a major rebuild. Got to go all through it when they had its innards all opened up. It got fixed and started flying to pipeline camps and the North slope. At Galbraith Lake camp in the Brooks Range, it was delivering diesel fuel and caught fire on the ground and burned up. Very sad. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2014-08-06 21:48 |
| #21 Check can of peas.. Beat your boots... |
| Posted by: Omeater McGurque2790 2014-08-06 20:24 |
| #20 Part of me is glad I don't have to do this anymore, part of me misses it so damnedmuch, then my brain realizes that I'd probably exit wrong, hit the pl;at form and get a concussion, then break my 4th point of contact in a full gear jump these days. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-08-06 20:20 |
| #19 Don't fergit all of those International Copycats. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-08-06 20:18 |
| #18 Brings to mind this old video... Love how winds go from 20 to 7 magically, lots of little LOL bits in this. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-08-06 19:55 |
| #17 In 1963, Navy pilot James Flatley III flew a Marine KC-130F and completed 21 complete landings and takeoffs from the USS Forrestal http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c130_forrestal.asp and the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5AI3YSV3M |
| Posted by: Chantry 2014-08-06 19:18 |
| #16 Well, since we talking airplanes.... |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-08-06 17:42 |
| #15 Appears to be damn few nasty legs on the Burg. I always suspected this was the case. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-08-06 17:29 |
| #14 My first jump at Benning, was honest to goodness, out of a C-119 Flying Boxcar...dripping oil, smoking exhaust and more patches in the sheet metal than an old quilt...I had no hesitation jumping out of that thing...I wanted to live and I thought the damned thing was going to fall apart in the sky. I got my Jump Wings from the Bundeswehr and I thought the German jump committee was the craziest bunch of bastards I'd ever seen...they were nuttier than the Mountain Committee in Ranger School. Jumping from a chopper is a real pucker factor the first couple of times. No air blast to blow you backwards, it is all straight down and the ground comes up at you like an elevator...I figured you fall about 650 of the 1350 feet of altitude in the four seconds till the chute opens. A beautiful cross between sex, a car wreck and a carrier landing. My Hollywood jump at Benning was from a C-141. I got spun around going out the door and when my chute opened I was looking back at the plane watching people spill out the door and chutes opening...I wish I had a camera that day. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2014-08-06 16:03 |
| #13 I love the C-130. Fun to jump from and not a bad ride to go somewhere. Can land almost anywhere, low stall speed and very forgiving handling. Everything a cargo plane could ask to be and excel at. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2014-08-06 15:54 |
| #12 I've spent a few hundred hours in C-130s, even made a few more takeoffs than landings, and agree with everything said about the grand old bird. They did leave out a few things, such as being one of the first launch vehicles for reconnaissance drones (Vietnam), the recovery vehicle for de-orbited science experiments, ski-landing capability, reconnaissance, and intel collection. Came home from Panama once aboard a C-130 from Howard to Lockborne, Ohio. Looooonnnggg flight! |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2014-08-06 13:22 |
| #11 My second jump at Benning was from a C-127, I ran out the door of that thing. Black hats swore after our jump it was flying to AZ for mothballing. |
| Posted by: Beavis 2014-08-06 12:52 |
| #10 C-130? Precisely 43 more takeoffs than landings, split between ramp and door, mostly door. Some from a C-141 (quite an experience), all door, and all mass drops. A sight to behold, all those parachutes, nothing quite like a big unit drop. (showing my age too, C-141 been gone for a while now). Most of my jumps have been ramp jumps from CH-47 (easy to do, quickest way to stay qual), although I did have the opportunity to do a few static line hollywood hop-n-pops from blackhawks - hang your feet off the side sitting down (no rail like the Huey), then just fling yourself out into space. Unlike any other jumps I've done. Oh, I got my German jump wings from a Bundeswehr Jolly Green (CH53). Never understood why the Army never flew those - they are nice birds. FSJ good troops. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-08-06 12:44 |
| #9 oh by the way, this is before McNamara and his whiz kids thought of the great idea of multipurpose airframes. OK, it's a cool plane. But can it *really* do anything that could not be accomplished with a suitably large number of Hornets? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-08-06 11:56 |
| #8 Exact same number of takeoffs and landings, perhaps 30-40 in a career thatasted 29 years. Only complaint is at 220 kts cruising speed and web seats, a cross country flight at max pax is really, really uncomfortable. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2014-08-06 11:50 |
| #7 Like Besoeker and Bill I've taken off many more times in the Herky Bird than landings. Doing the tailgate thing on a moonless night in a C-130 is a surreal experience. One of the few things I really miss. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2014-08-06 10:52 |
| #6 The Herky Bird is a classic. Designed and developed before Generals and Admirals could throw every conceivable crazy crap add on under the sun at the airframe...and oh by the way, this is before McNamara and his whiz kids thought of the great idea of multipurpose airframes. Like Besoeker I've taken off many more times in the Herky Bird than landings. Doing the tailgate thing on a moonless night in a C-130 is a surreal experience. Of course with the improvements in engine design, fuel economy, navigational aids, instrumentation and controls, not to mention improvements in manufacturing technology and quality control, these newer C-130s are going to be far superior in every way to the earlier ones. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2014-08-06 10:45 |
| #5 I've had many, many more takeoffs than landings. The old Herc never let me down. Money well spend I'd say. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-08-06 09:16 |
| #4 Flew one time in early to mid '70s, worst crew flight ever! From Connecticut to Charleston, SC. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2014-08-06 09:11 |
| #3 There was also a serious proposal for a Special Forces flying boat version; other than the hull, the other major exterior difference was the engines were mounted on top of the wing. didn't progress past the model/ prelim drawing stage however. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2014-08-06 08:29 |
| #2 No mention of congress. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2014-08-06 08:07 |
| #1 Excellent! Thanks Beavis. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-08-06 04:37 |