Monday, November 11, 2019

Lockheed Martin delivered the 2,600th C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter last week, the customer was the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command.


The plane first entered service in 1956.  I'd call that a successful platform.
The C-130J Super Hercules is the current C-130 production model and the global fleet recently surpassed 2 million flight hours.
The aircraft has had a low accident rate in general. The Royal Air Force recorded an accident rate of about one aircraft loss per 250,000 flying hours over the last 40 years, placing it behind Vickers VC10s and Lockheed TriStars with no flying losses.

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8 comments:

  1. TsquaredNovember 11, 2019 at 3:58 PM

    #3 is "The City of Savannah" at the 165th Air Wing. It is the oldest C-130 flying. I got to take a trip from Charleston SC to Brunswick GA in November after 9-11. My 3 week training mission setting up Comms at Bright Star Egypt went real world logistics mission where I provided communications for 3 months.

    The only policy the company I worked for had was they would give regular paycheck during two-week annual field training. I had another two weeks of comp time built up so I could take a couples days off on the front end and back end. They paid my salary the entire time I was gone. I became the company poster boy for the War on Terror till they went under a year and a half later.

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  2. LLNovember 12, 2019 at 2:11 AM

    CW, your grandson (possibly the unborn son of the LT) may be flying C-130's

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  3. AnonymousNovember 12, 2019 at 7:47 AM

    First time I saw one of those, on the apron at NAS/NCS Argentia NFLD in the spring of '65, my reaction was what an ugly aircraft, I wonder if it flies well. I guess 2600 would indicate it flies pretty well indeed.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 12, 2019 at 7:50 AM

      Ooops, make that spring of '66.

      Nemo

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  4. capt fastNovember 12, 2019 at 8:59 AM

    does a marvelous side slip if you boot in full rudder at 180kts and drops like a stone off a cliff; not for the faint of heart. just be sure the loadmaster has everything locked down. assault landings are an absolute thrill. a most enjoyable maneuver is the low altitude parachute extraction drop which can pop the full load out of the ADS rails in about four seconds. Smokin

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  5. AesopNovember 12, 2019 at 10:43 PM

    To get the full effect of that longevity, imagine someone still building Wright Flyers in 1977, or Butterfield's Abbot stagecoaches in 1932.

    Some versions of a thing are the ne plus ultra pinnacle of design.
    Like the Colt 1911, The C-130 is in that sweet spot.

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  6. rickn8orNovember 13, 2019 at 9:29 AM

    Dang. And I thought Ed Heinemann's designs (A-1 Skyraider, A-3 Skywarrior and A-4 Skyhawk) were long-lived.

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