Lockheed L-100 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.

Quick Facts L-100 Hercules, General information ...

L-100 Hercules
A Saudia L-100-30 during RIAT 2011
General information
Type	Transport aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Lockheed Martin (LM-100J)
Status	In limited service for cargo transport (L-100) Flight testing (LM-100J)
Primary users	Indonesian Air Force Safair Lynden Air Cargo Transafrik International
Number built	114
History
Manufactured	1964–92, 2018– (LM-100J planned)
Introduction date	September 30, 1965
First flight	April 20, 1964 (L-100) May 25, 2017 (LM-100J)^[1]
Developed from	Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

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.

The stretched L-100-30 version was certificated in October 1970.^[8] In addition, Lockheed rebuilt some L-100-20s to L-100-30s.^[9]

Thumb — A Tepper Aviation L-100-30 taking off from Mojave Spaceport, California

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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12]^[13] 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.”^[14]

Variants

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.^[15]
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.^[16]^[17]

Operators

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Civilian operators

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.^[18]

Past civilian operators

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.^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22] 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).^[23]

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:

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.^[37] This version of the L-100 was modified with passenger windows.^[38]^[39]

Military operators

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

Indonesian Air Force (10 ordered, 8 current with 6 in service, 2 destroyed in accidents)
Libyan Air Force (5)
Algerian Air Force (3)
Ecuadorian Air Force (1)
Kuwait Air Force (3 – L-100-30)
Mexican Air Force (1)
Peruvian Air Force (3)
Philippine Air Force (4)
Saudi Arabian Airlines (3 L-100-30 for Royal Flight)

Other users with fewer aircraft.^[40]

Gabon Air Force (2 – 1 L-100-20 and 1 L-100-30)
United Arab Emirates Air Force (1 – L-100-30)
Argentine Air Force (1 – L-100-30 – LV-APW, later TC-100)
Free Libyan Air Force (1 L-100 following Libyan civil war)^[41]

Specifications (L-100-30)

Data from International Directory of Civil Aircraft,^[2] Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft^[42]

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

On 10 October 1970, Saturn Airways Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules registration N9248R on a flight from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base became disoriented on approach to McGuire Air Force Base due to fog and glare and crashed into trees about a mile short of the runway, killing all three crew on board.^[43]
On 23 May 1974, Saturn Airways Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules registration N14ST was en-route from Alameda, California to Indianapolis when the left wing failed due to metal fatigue, causing the aircraft to crash near Springfield, Illinois. Three crew and a Navy courier perished and the aircraft was destroyed.^[44]^[45]^[46]
On 4 October 1986: a Southern Air Transport L-100-30 (registration N15ST) crashed due to the use by the carrier of a non-approved device designed to raise the elevator during loading operations at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. All 3 people on board died.^[47]
On 8 April 1987: a Southern Air Transport L-100-30 (registration N517SJ) 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.^[48]
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.^[49]
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.^[50]
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.^[51]
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.^[52]
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.^[53]

References

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