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Lockheed L-100 Hercules

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L-100 Hercules
A Saudia L-100-30 during RIAT 2011
General information
TypeTransport aircraft
National originUnited States
ManufacturerLockheed
Lockheed Martin (LM-100J)
StatusIn limited service for cargo transport (L-100)
Flight testing (LM-100J)
Primary usersIndonesian Air Force
Number built114
History
Manufactured1964–92, 2018– (LM-100J planned)
Introduction dateSeptember 30, 1965
First flightApril 20, 1964 (L-100)
May 25, 2017 (LM-100J)[1]
Developed fromLockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

The Lockheed L-100 Hercules is the civilian variant of the prolific C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft made by the Lockheed Corporation. Its first flight occurred in 1964. Longer L-100-20 and L-100-30 versions were developed. L-100 production ended in 1992 with 114 aircraft delivered.[2][3] An updated variant of the model, LM-100J, completed its first flight in Marietta, Georgia on 25 May 2017, and started production in 2019.[4] L-100 and LM-100J aircraft can be distinguished from the C-130 and C-130J military versions by the absence of side and forward windows underneath the main windshield.

Development

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In 1959, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) ordered twelve of Lockheed's GL-207 Super Hercules to be delivered by 1962, to be powered by four 6,000 eshp Allison T56 turboprops; however, Pan Am never took delivery of these aircraft.[5] Slick Airways was to receive six such aircraft later in 1962. The Super Hercules was to be 23 ft 4 in (7.11 m) longer than the C-130B; a variant powered by 6,445 eshp Rolls-Royce Tynes and a jet-powered variant with four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-11 turbofans were also under development.

The prototype L-100 (registered N1130E) first flew on April 20, 1964, when it carried out a 25-hour, 1 minute flight, the longest first flight of a commercial aircraft at the time.[6] The type certificate was awarded on 16 February 1965. Twenty-one production aircraft were then built with the first delivery to Continental Air Services, Inc (CASI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines,[7] on September 30, 1965.

A Tepper Aviation L-100-30 taking off from Mojave Spaceport, California
A Safair Lockheed L-100-30

Deliveries totaled 114 aircraft, with production ending in 1992. Several L-100-20 aircraft were operated on scheduled freight flights by Delta Air Lines between 1968 and 1973.

An updated civilian version of the Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules was under development, but the program was placed on hold indefinitely in 2000 to focus on military development and production.[2][3] On February 3, 2014, Lockheed Martin formally relaunched the LM-100J program, saying it expects to sell 75 aircraft. Lockheed sees the new LM-100J as an ideal replacement for the existing civil L-100 fleets.[8]

The launch operator for the LM-100J was Pallas Aviation: from 2019 they would operate two aircraft from Fort Worth Alliance Airport in the United States.[9] By early March 2022 the four LM-100J aircraft (tail numbers N96MG, N71KM, N67AU and N139RB) then owned by Pallas had begun flying numerous flights, numbering at least 522 by May 16, 2024 between Ramstein AB and secondary military air facilities at Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą (EPNM), Poland; Boboc (LRBO), Romania; Sliač (LZSL), Slovakia; Lielvārde (EVGA), Latvia and Aalborg (EKYT), Denmark.[10][11] A fifth and final LM-100J, N91BU, was delivered to Pallas Aviation in August 2023. In early June 2024, Larry Gallogly, Lockheed's director, customer requirements for air mobility and maritime missions said, “We have not seen robust demand for the commercial variant of the [LM-100]J, so we haven't had follow-on customers.”[12]

Variants

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A Lockheed L-100-20 of Delta Air Lines operating a freight flight from Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, Georgia
An SFAir L-100

Civilian variants are equivalent to the C-130E model without pylon tanks, side and front windows under the main winshield or military equipment.

L-100 (Model 382)
One prototype powered by four Allison 501-D22s and first flown in 1964
L-100 (Model 382B)
Production variant
L-100-20 (Model 382E and Model 382F)
Stretched variant certified in 1968 with a new 5 ft (1.5 m) section forward of the wing and 3 ft 4 in (1.02 m) section aft of the wing.
L-100-30 (Model 382G)
A further stretched variant with an additional 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) fuselage section.
L-100M-30 (Model 382G)
A Military Conversion of L-100 With Stretched 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) fuselage section.
LM-100J (Model 382J)
An updated civilian version of the military C-130J-30 model.[13]
L-400 Twin Hercules
A twin-engine variant of the C-130. It was advertised in at least one publication that it would have "more than 90% parts commonality" with the standard C-130. The aircraft was shelved in the mid-1980s without any being built.[14][15]

Operators

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Civilian operators

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In March 2011, a total of 36 Lockheed L-100 Hercules aircraft were in commercial service. Operators at that time included Lynden Air Cargo (10), Transafrik (5), Libyan Arab Air Cargo (3), and other operators with fewer aircraft.[16]

Past civilian operators

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Past operators include Delta Air Lines, which owned three L-100 aircraft that were assigned to their cargo division during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[17][18][19][20] The April 27, 1969 Delta system timetable listed scheduled L-100 cargo flights with service to Atlanta (ATL), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (served via Love Field, DAL), Los Angeles (LAX), Memphis (MEM), Miami (MIA), New Orleans (MSY), New York City (served via Newark Airport, EWR), Orlando, FL (MCO) and San Francisco (SFO).[21]

A number of other air carriers based in the U.S. and Canada also operated L-100 aircraft on cargo services in the past including Alaska Airlines,[22][23] Alaska International Air (AIA),[24] Continental Air Services, Inc,[25] First Air,[26] Interior Airways,[27] MarkAir,[28] Northwest Territorial Airways (NWT Air),[29] Saturn Airways[30], Southern Air Transport[31] and Transamerica Airlines[32]

A passenger version of the L-100 configured with 97 coach seats was operated by Merpati Nusantara, an airline operating scheduled services that was based in Indonesia.[33] This version of the L-100 was modified with passenger windows.[34][35]

Military operators

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In May 2011, 35 Lockheed L-100s were in use with military operators, including:

Other users with fewer aircraft.[36]

Specifications (L-100-30)

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Data from International Directory of Civil Aircraft,[2] Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[38]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3–4: (two pilots, navigator, flight engineer/loadmaster)
  • Capacity: 51,050 lb (23,150 kg)
  • Length: 112 ft 9 in (34.35 m)
  • Wingspan: 132 ft 7 in (40.4 m)
  • Height: 38 ft 3 in (11.66 m)
  • Wing area: 1,745 sq ft (162.1 m2)
  • Empty weight: 77,740 lb (35,260 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 155,000 lb (70,300 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Allison 501-D22A turboprops, 4,510 shp (3,360 kW) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 308 kn (354 mph, 570 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
  • Cruise speed: 292 kn (336 mph, 541 km/h)
  • Range: 1,334 nmi (1,535 mi, 2,470 km)
  • Ferry range: 4,826 nmi (5,554 mi, 8,938 km)
  • Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,830 ft/min (9.3 m/s)

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 8 April 1987: a Southern Air Transport L-100-30 (registration N-517SJ) crashed due to loss of power in two engines, during an attempted go-around at Travis Air Force Base, California. All 5 people on board died.[39]
  • On 2 September 1991: a Southern Air Transport L-100-20 (registration N521SJ) was written off after hitting a mine while on takeoff from Wau Airport. The 5 occupants survived with injuries.[40]
  • On 23 September 1994: a Heavylift Cargo Service[a] L-100-30 (registration PK-PLV), leased from Indonesia-based Pelita Air Service, crashed off Kai Tak International Airport in Hong Kong after the number four propeller oversped, killing six of the 12 on board.[41]
  • On 25 August 2008: a Philippine Air Force L-100-20 (serial number 4593) of 220th Airlift Wing based in Mactan, Cebu, crashed into the sea shortly after take-off in Davao City. The aircraft lost contact after taking off from Francisco Bangoy International Airport shortly before midnight. Nine crew members and two passengers were on board when the aircraft crashed.[42]
  • On 20 May 2009: an Indonesian Air Force L-100-30 (serial number A-1325) of 31st Squadron crashed into homes and erupted in flames, killing at least 98 people. The wreckage of the Hercules was scattered in a rice paddy near Magetan, East Java, about 160 kilometres east of Yogyakarta. The plane was carrying more than 100 passengers and crew on route from Jakarta to the eastern province of Papua via Magetan.[43]
  • On 23 June 2021: an Ethiopian Air Force L-100-30 (MSN 5022) was destroyed in an accident near Gijet, Ethiopia. Unconfirmed reports suggest the aircraft was downed by the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) during the armed conflict known as the Tigray War that started in November 2020 between Ethiopia and the Tigray Region.[44]

See also

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Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Now defunct UK company, not to be confused with the current Australian company
Bibliography
  1. ^ Lockheed Martin's LM-100J commercial freighter makes successful first flight, Lockheed Martin, May 25, 2017
  2. ^ a b c Frawley, Gerald. The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003/2004. Fishwick, Act: Aerospace Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-875671-58-7.
  3. ^ a b Lockheed L-100 Hercules. Airliners.net
  4. ^ Grady, Mary (May 30, 2017). "First Flight For Lockheed Freighter". AVweb. Retrieved May 30, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ René J. Francillon: Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1987, ISBN 0-85177-805-4, p. 372.
  6. ^ "Service news" (PDF). Lockheed martin. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "Maverick: The Story of Robert F. Six and Continental Airlines" by Robert J. Serling, published 1974 by Doubleday & Company, page 235 (reference to Lockheed L328G cargo planes operated by Continental Air Services)
  8. ^ "Lockheed launches civil version of C-130J military transport plane". Reuters. February 3, 2014.
  9. ^ John Hemmerdinger (October 12, 2018). "Lockheed lands low-profile launch customer for LM-130J". FlightGlobal.
  10. ^ @Osinttechnical (April 2, 2022). "In March, N67AU and N71KM, run by Pallas Aviation made 39 trips between Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Nowe Miasto Nad Pilica Airport in Poland. https://t.co/HDGiqfLhl5 https://t.co/LCHAqwOzCt" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Gerjon | חריון | غريون | ኼርዮን [@Gerjon_] (July 26, 2022). "They are the following two aircraft, both hidden on @flightradar24: 🇺🇸N71KM #A97AA1 🇺🇸N67AU #A8D972 *I counted these by hand so there might be a slight difference between my numbers and reality" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Robust demand should safeguard C-130J production through 2030s, Lockheed says".
  13. ^ "Lockheed-Martin to Update Civilian Version of the Hercules". AV Web. February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Code One Magazine". Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "L400 half Hercules". C-130 Hercules.net – The internet's No. 1 C-130 resource. April 15, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  16. ^ "World Airliner Census". Flight International, 18–24 August 2009.
  17. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/730782/N9268R
  18. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/146327/N9259R
  19. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/358120/N9268R
  20. ^ "Aircraft by Type".
  21. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/dl/dl69/dl69-03.jpg (click to enlarge)
  22. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/146146/N9227R
  23. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Alaska-Airlines/Lockheed-L-100-Hercules-L-382B/121834/L
  24. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/622913/N106AK
  25. ^ https://www.c-130.net, Photos & Patches, C-130 Photos, Civilian Hercules Photos, photo of Continental Air Services L-100
  26. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/First-Air/Lockheed-L-100-30-Hercules-L-382G/5151239/L
  27. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/662473/N921NA
  28. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/MarkAir/Lockheed-L-100-30-Hercules-L-382G/1476257/L
  29. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Northwest-Territorial/Lockheed-L-100-30-Hercules-L-382G/6630391/L
  30. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/638486N15ST
  31. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Southern-Air-Transport/Lockheed-L-100-30-Hercules-L-382G/6258209/L
  32. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/743594/N15ST
  33. ^ http://avgeekery.com/rare-c130-airliner-l100
  34. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Merpati-Nusantara-Airlines/Lockheed-L-100-30-P-Hercules-L-382G/2597201/L
  35. ^ https://www.airhistory.net/photo/678918/PK-MLT
  36. ^ "World Military Aircraft Inventory". 2009 Aerospace Source Book. Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 2009.
  37. ^ US notifies Congress of potential Libyan C-130J sale – FlightGlobal, 11 June 2013
  38. ^ Donald, David, ed. "Lockheed C-130 Hercules". The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Barnes & Nobel Books, 1997. ISBN 0-7607-0592-5.
  39. ^ Report of the crash of L-382G N-517SJ, at Travis AFB, California (PDF), NTSB
  40. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules N521SJ Wau Airport (WUU)". Aviation safety.
  41. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules PK-PLV Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG)", Aviation safety
  42. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules 4593 Barangay Bukana, San Pedro Extension, Davao City". Aviation safety.
  43. ^ Olausson, Lars, "Lockheed Hercules Production List – 1954–2005", 22nd ed., self-published, page 104.
  44. ^ "Accident Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules , Wednesday 23 June 2021".
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