We may have seen skip-equipped Pipers, Cessnas, DHC Otters, Antonov Colts, and Douglas DC-3s etc., but how about a "75 ton" heavy-laden C-130 Hercules...(not a common sight)....[A (trivial) side note on weight: In American English, a ton is a unit of measurement equaling 2,000 pounds. In non-U.S. measurements, a ton equals 2,240 pounds. A tonne, also known as a metric ton, is a unit of mass equaling 1,000 kilograms. So, a 75 US ton heavy (C-130) would be approximately 67 metric ton (tonne) in weight.]

The primary mission of the the Ski Hercules (LC-130) is supporting the scientific community in Antarctica by transporting cargo and personnel to the stations and camps of Antarctica. The aircraft are equipped with retractable skis that allow the aircraft to land on snow and ice as well as on conventional runways. The aircraft also have provisions for using rocket-assisted-takeoff (RATO) rockets, four on each side of the aircraft (you can see them in the (SIM) images below), that are used in very specialized circumstances when the (LC-130) operates from rough, unprepared snow surfaces, sticky snow or when shorter takeoff runs are needed.

From the CS (C-130) Documentation:
"The LC-130 is the largest aircraft to be fitted with retractable ski–wheels. The main skis are 20 ft long and 5.5 ft wide. The nose ski is 10 ft long and 5.5 ft wide. The complete ski set weighs 2.8 tons (2.5 tonne)."

"Provisions are made for external mounting of eight solid-fuel ATO units of 1000 pounds thrust each, which supply additional thrust when it is desired to shorten take-off distance. The system is electrically controlled and operated from the assisted take-off control panel on the flight control pedestal. The units are fired simultaneously and give thrust until the propellant is exhausted.The ATO, in the SIM, is a visual effect only and does not supply any additional thrust. So, the JATO option is simulated (visually only) by CS and can be selected and saved using the ACE Configurator tool, which I've not got to utilize here yet."

[If interested, please search for "LC-130 jato takeoff" to see a short (RL) video-clip of it...quite amazing (along with the exhaust smoke after lift-off)...!]

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these few images, below, of the Ski-bird Hercules (from the SIM world) - with the last shot taken after retraction of the wheels!

[CS(LC-130)]

Edited February 23, 20206 yr by P_7878

WOW***Impressive*** Is there anything this Workhorse Can't Do?

On 2/23/2020 at 3:59 PM, Phantom88 said:

WOW***Impressive*** Is there anything this Workhorse Can't Do?

Patrick: Thanks for the comment! Very true. It appears there is not yet any outright replacement for this (do-it-all) aircraft except for more modern versions of itself (e.g. C-130J Super Hercules with updated engines, avionics, and systems etc.)...

 

And, today, I spent a few minutes, to test the JATO effects, that I'd mentioned above, in the post...

As noted earlier, in this SIM, the JATO is purely a visual effect (no real impact on thrust etc.)...and the effect is fairly short-lived too...In any case, for a bit of fun, please find 6 more images, of the Hercules (C-130T variant), under different lighting conditions, with JATO enabled (there is also included one image of the pedestal, along with the JATO control panel (Red Guard "Arm" switch and the "Fire" button), to the right of the Autopilot Panel...)

Unfortunately, however, in my case (could be my issue alone), the (prolific) exhaust "smoke" seems right here, but the "flames" do not appear as expected....I only see trailing sequences of bright spots...(I tried some bits of advice from the Internet, but without success...if anyone has any thoughts, kindly drop me a PM/note...)

Nonetheless, hope, you enjoy these few images, below, of the Blue Angels C-130 - all pictures taken at South Pole McMurdo's (NZIR) Ice Runway....

(Side Note: One of the Blue Angels Hercules (also a T model) goes by the name of Fat Albert, which has been the team’s pivotal support aircraft for over half-a-century, and also a beloved member during their annual performance shows. When JATO assisted, the (behemoth of a plane) Fat Albert is capable of lifting off using just 1500 feet of runway...!)

This pictures are are really inpressive. Thanks for showing usI

I love antarctic flying and have CS LC130 in the FSX version, but I didn't manage converting it to be running in P3DV4.

Can you give me a tip?

Thanks in advance

Peter

Peter:

My goodness...🙂....time flies, it has been year, already, since this post,...and, creating an account here, to make a (nice) comment, here,...🙂...you could have sent me a message, so, thanks..and, welcome, btw...!

I recall this C-130 series of mine well, it was the start of my fascination with (virtual) Antarctica. This C-130 purchase was my 2nd time purchase of the SIM, (had lost the C-130 "DVD" during my years of break from SIM...). I got re-triggered, for it, by another post, submitted, here, by a Pro, who had (previously) flown C-130 in RW...

Anyway, being only on FSX/SE, myself, I'm unable to provide you any tips, but, I noticed, there is a dedicated C-130 P3D Forum, over there, in Captain Sim. Post your inquiry over there...(for anything else, I can help with, please just send me a message)...

Good luck...!!

Thanks for your quick reply.

I`ll try to find help in the C-130 forum

Best regards

12 hours ago, P_7878 said:

it has been year, already, since this post,

May be an older post, but I don't remember seeing it so glad to see it got revived. Nice shots of yet another favourite plane.

 

15 hours ago, Pedder63 said:

but I didn't manage converting it to be running in P3DV4.

It's a default plane in v5, and I thought it was there in v4 as well, but maybe only in the later releases?

Gorgeous shots!

11 hours ago, andy1252 said:

but I don't remember seeing it so glad to see it...

Glad of your interest, Andy, and just as I started my existence here long long after the many marathoners...🙂...had started, you came into my view, just a little after I'd started posting here..🙂....

Agree, the plane is one of my all-time favorites, too, and, also, one of CS's best, if you ask me...I got their Combo pack, and it has pretty much all the Hercules variants...

 

1 hour ago, Alaska738 said:

Gorgeous shots!

Thank you..!!