A nice article on the almost unnoticed retiremen of a legend

[eccles]

Recently the last of the original C-130's went out of service. After well over 40 years service all over the world in conflict and humanitarian roles there was barely a mention in the mainstream press.....
Here's a short article about the last few to leave service

http://globalaviationresource.com/v2/2013/12/04/fe...

[perdu]

A good article, thanks.

Gone but not forgotten noisy old beasts.



I loved 'em.

[MartG]

I do hope some of them get passed on to museums

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

The K was a cracking a/c to fly and served for 46 years.

The Mk3 in the Museum at Cosford I flew several times during the wee fracas in Bosnia. Sadly I think that's the only one liable to be preserved.

I've also flown all the airframes recorded in that article.

Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Friday 6th December 23:22

[perdu]

So you won't have driven me around in the seventies GG, pity.

I think I rode in 202 a couple of times, once certainly.

Happy if unsettling days.

[hidetheelephants]

An impressive aircraft; considering UK PLC was palming the RAF off with Argosies etc when Lockheed were bringing this out puts the essential rightness of the design in perspective. That's a bloody big shed they've got there.

[The Nur]

They flew over me a little while ago when I was walking the dog. I'm not sure exactly when so I'm not sure whether it was the retiring lot on one of their last flights or not but I am in the right area and they were 130's.

Awesome things.

[uncinqsix]

They're barely run in! The RNZAF's C130Hs were delivered in 1965 and are still going strong. Last I heard they were going to replace them after 2020...

Wonderful machines

[Eric Mc]

hidetheelephants said:

An impressive aircraft; considering UK PLC was palming the RAF off with Argosies etc when Lockheed were bringing this out puts the essential rightness of the design in perspective. That's a bloody big shed they've got there.

Don't forget the Belfast.

[aeropilot]

Eric Mc said:

hidetheelephants said:

An impressive aircraft; considering UK PLC was palming the RAF off with Argosies etc when Lockheed were bringing this out puts the essential rightness of the design in perspective. That's a bloody big shed they've got there.

Don't forget the Belfast.

You mean Belslow

[hidetheelephants]

Eric Mc said:

hidetheelephants said:

An impressive aircraft; considering UK PLC was palming the RAF off with Argosies etc when Lockheed were bringing this out puts the essential rightness of the design in perspective. That's a bloody big shed they've got there.

Don't forget the Belfast.

Apples and oranges though; C130 was and is a tactical lifter par excellence, the Belfast was never intended for anything other than strategic lift. It was also a bit mediocre(although not as mediocre as the Argosy looked compared to the C130.) and doomed commercially as no-one other than the US was likely to buy it as the other possible customers all either had no need of strategic heavy lift or simply couldn't afford it, and the US wouldn't buy it as they had the Starlifter.

[paul_y3k]

Live in Swindon .... We miss them now they have moved to Brize.
Do see them every so often, fairly low and I guess heading to and from Lyneham for some reason.

[Chrisgr31]

How big is that hangar to get all those in?

[eccles]

uncinqsix said:

They're barely run in! The RNZAF's C130Hs were delivered in 1965 and are still going strong. Last I heard they were going to replace them after 2020...

Wonderful machines

I bet they have a lot less miles on them than the uk ones!

[uncinqsix]

eccles said:

I bet they have a lot less miles on them than the uk ones!

You'd be amazed - they only have 5, and they get taken absolutely everywhere. Antarctica, Afghanistan, the Gulf, all over the Pacific etc etc. I heard somewhere that they have among the highest hours of any C130 in the world.

[hidetheelephants]

uncinqsix said:

eccles said:

I bet they have a lot less miles on them than the uk ones!

You'd be amazed - they only have 5, and they get taken absolutely everywhere. Antarctica, Afghanistan, the Gulf, all over the Pacific etc etc. I heard somewhere that they have among the highest hours of any C130 in the world.

High hours isn't the issue, it's take-off/landing cycles that knock the hell out of them; the RNZAF ones may be the equivalent of a rep-mobile that's racked up 250k purely on motorways.

[steve j]

Chrisgr31 said:

How big is that hangar to get all those in?

Chris, I see that hangar every day, I used to work in it too, there are 3 hangars combined to make one huge storage/servicing facility. search google images for Red Dragon Hangar.

[eccles]

uncinqsix said:

eccles said:

I bet they have a lot less miles on them than the uk ones!

You'd be amazed - they only have 5, and they get taken absolutely everywhere. Antarctica, Afghanistan, the Gulf, all over the Pacific etc etc. I heard somewhere that they have among the highest hours of any C130 in the world.

To be fair, as some of the oldest continuously active ones in the world, they will have high hours on them, but the RAF 'E' models were of a similar age and probably equally high hours.
The oldest C-130 in Europe used to be Sweden's '841', that was built in 1961. South Africa bought some ex USAF Viet Nam veteran 'B' models. They still had bullet holes in them, single plate brakes and the cargo door in the side of the fuselage! They were quite different structurally as well.

[uncinqsix]

eccles said:

uncinqsix said:

eccles said:

I bet they have a lot less miles on them than the uk ones!

You'd be amazed - they only have 5, and they get taken absolutely everywhere. Antarctica, Afghanistan, the Gulf, all over the Pacific etc etc. I heard somewhere that they have among the highest hours of any C130 in the world.

To be fair, as some of the oldest continuously active ones in the world, they will have high hours on them, but the RAF 'E' models were of a similar age and probably equally high hours.
The oldest C-130 in Europe used to be Sweden's '841', that was built in 1961. South Africa bought some ex USAF Viet Nam veteran 'B' models. They still had bullet holes in them, single plate brakes and the cargo door in the side of the fuselage! They were quite different structurally as well.

They're the aircraft equivalent of a Toyota Hilux. You can't break them and they last forever

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

It's not just the T/O and Landings that cause the fatigue problem (actually, with Albert T/Os and landings are very minimal in their use of Fatigue when compared to other types), but the Pressurisation Cycles too.

uncinqsix said:

They're the aircraft equivalent of a Toyota Hilux. You can't break them and they last forever

Sadly you can. While the RAF K models shared the beefed up wing components with the H model as used by the RAAF (as well as the Alison T56-15 engines), especially the wing shoulder joints, it is the latter that wear out relatively quickly. You'd generally figure on about a 20 year life of average use for these components before they require replacement.

It is rather telling, therefore, that the RAF's J models were already suffering problems after a mere 10 years in service.

Having said that, the airframe that I did my first crew solo on is still flying, now in service with the Austrian Air Force!

Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Wednesday 11th December 18:15