USAF LC-130 Hercules take off in snow

[Liberator]

Anyone interested in C-130 Hercules operations may like this film of a NY ANG LC-130H Hercules doing a departure from Mcmurdo in Antartica where the crew use oxygen on flying duties and JATO bottles.

Impressive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSKE2Ecb ... creen&NR=1

[Ken]

I'm a bit prejudiced, but the Herk is one of the finest airplanes ever built. It can't carry everything nor is it the fastest, but it fills its niche so well and is a joy to fly.

Incidentally, I'm halfway through "The Guts to Try" regarding the 1980 Iranian hostage rescue mission. The peacetime max gross is 155K, with a wartime emergency max placed at 175K. Some of the bladder EC-130s were reportedly at 190K; groaning some, but hauling the mail. I never knew they were successfully flown so heavy. What a wonderful machine.

Ken

[12XU2A3X3]

my good buddy is a crew dog in that unit, very cool!

[The Inspector]

Must be why it's still in production 60+ years later-

[Warbird Kid]

Must be why it's still in production 60+ years later-

The plane or the JATO bottles? I heard they've stopped production of them. No?

Last edited by Warbird Kid on Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[The Inspector]

Must be why it's still in production 60+ years later-

The plane or JATO?

Sure-

[Tanker 336]

I agree with the previous posts.....the Herc was and still is one of the best types built. My father logged 5500 hours as a Flight Engineer on the C-130 and it delivered him safely from many incidents that would have destroyed other aircraft. He flew the airshow circuit back in the early 1970's performing the LAPE & JATO maneuver and never suffered any problems.

[CoastieJohn]

I believe it's the New York 109th C-130's that still do ice cap landings in Greenland.

That pic above reminds of this C-130 mishap from 1987.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgIqv6vKJks

[APG85]

Some of the bladder EC-130s were reportedly at 190K; groaning some, but hauling the mail. I never knew they were successfully flown so heavy.
Ken

Actually, they were heavier. Probably in excess of 200K. The take-offs from Masirah Island were harrowing and actually used the runway over-run. This is addressed more thoroughly in "The Praetorian Starship, The Untold Story of The Combat Talon". Downloadable from Air University Press (free) as a PDF (I'm not sure if the hard copies are available anymore). Link below...

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/au/thigpen.pdf