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CHAPTER 1
AIRCRAFT DESCRIPTION
GENERAL
The C-130, manufactured by the Lockheed Company, is a medium range tactical transport
powered by four T-56 turboprop engines. The C-130 can operate from short, unprepared
surfaces, can back up under its own power, and has been adapted for many missions, with cargo
hauling, airdrop, and medical evacuation as the most common. The aircraft has been in
continuous production since 1955 with over 2,300 examples delivered by 2009.
Development of the C-130 was a direct result of the Korean War, as the propeller powered
transports left over from WW II were unable to accomplish short take off and landings with
useful loads. A development contract was awarded to Lockheed, who produced the YC-130
prototype that first flew on 23 August 1954 from Burbank to Edwards AFB. Unlike transports
derived from passenger airliners, the C-130 was to be designed from the ground-up as a combat
transport with loading from a ramp at the rear of the fuselage
.
While the appearance of the C-130
was unremarkable, the design was innovative in introducing 3000 psi hydraulic boosted flight
controls, turboprop propulsion, and the high lift capabilities of the Lockheed-Fowler type wing
flaps.
DIMENSIONS
Wing span .............................................................................132 feet
Length
.....................................................................................98
feet
Tail height ...............................................................................38 feet
WEIGHTS
Maximum combat weight ........................................ 175,000 pounds
Max normal start taxi ............................................... 155,000 pounds
Max landing weight ................................................. 155,000 pounds
Normal landing weight ............................................ 130,000 pounds
Representative operating weight ................................ 88,000 pounds
Fuel capacity .............................................................. 61,364 pounds
While not considered a true short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, the C-130 can be operated
from runways as short as 3,000 feet, and can operate from unimproved surfaces. At weights less
than 135,000 lbs, up to 100 passes are permissible on an unimproved surface with a California
bearing ratio of 6 – soil consistency of a golf course fairway. The turboprop engines have
excellent foreign object damage (FOD) tolerance, and allow the aircraft to back up on its own
power, which is important for operations at airfields with limited ramp space. The low cargo
floor and ramp allow the aircraft to easily loaded, to include driving vehicles directly into the
cargo compartment and combat offloads – offloads of palletized equipment using the aircraft’s
own power.
The aircraft is normally flown with a crew of four; pilot, copilot, flight engineer, and loadmaster.
The flight engineer runs the aircraft systems, and the loadmaster runs the cargo compartment, to
include loading, unloading, center of gravity and weight calculation, passenger minding, and
airdrop rigging.