Plenty of interesting and exciting things happen every year at Farnborough. Even though there are plenty of impressive military aircraft flying displays and thrilling display team performances, everyone is talking about the demonstration flight of the latest model of an airlifter that has been in production for 64 years- Lockheed’s LM-100J Super Hercules. Soon-to-retire Lockheed Martin Chief Test Pilot Captain Wayne Roberts holds the only FAA Acrobatic Competency Card for C-130 aircraft. Watch as he expertly loops his aircraft! The video was uploaded to YouTube by C-130 MRO. Impressed yet? Bonus videos await after the story below.
The LM-100J (Model 382J) is a derivative of the C-130J-30 Super Hercules. 16 nations currently operate the aircraft. LM-100J operators benefit from years of C-130J operational experience, including more than 1.2 million in the air. The first LM-100J was built in 2016 from components assembled at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics plants in Marietta in Georgia, Meridian in Mississippi, and Clarksburg in West Virginia, with final assembly taking place at Marietta.
The LM-100J made its debut during early 2017. Lockheed Martin builds on those 64 years of Hercules experience. Like the C-130, the LM-100J can operate from short, unprepared airfields without ground support equipment. It requires minimal material handling equipment and enables rapid onload and offload at truck-bed height. Growth provisions built into the LM-100J will enable it to support a variety of future missions including aerial spray, aerial firefighting and delivery, medevac/air ambulance, humanitarian aid and VIP transport.
The LM-100J is the modern commercial version of a C-130
The LM-100J boasts a modern two-pilot cockpit, CNS/ATM compliant integrated digital avionics, an integrated Head-Up Display (HUD), new engines and propellers yielding more power in high field elevations/hot temperatures, increased block speed, reduced fuel consumption, increased gross weight/payload, automated maintenance and fault reporting, reduced maintenance per flight hour, and superior dispatch reliability. Lockheed Martin’s list of roles for the aircraft includes oversized cargo transport, oil dispersion/aerial spraying, oil and gas exploration, mining logistics operations, aerial fire fighting, aerial delivery, medevac/air ambulance, humanitarian relief operations, VIP and personnel transport, austere field operations, and search and rescue (SAR).
Bonus: These videos of the first LM-100J were uploaded to YouTube by Lockheed Martin Videos.
First Look at the LM-100J from Lockheed Martin
First Flight of the LM-100J from Lockheed Martin
