TheLockheed L-100 Hercules is the civilian variant of the prolificC-130 Hercules militarytransport aircraft made by theLockheed 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 inMarietta, 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.
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 6,000eshp 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 toContinental Air Services, Inc (CASI), a wholly owned subsidiary ofContinental 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]
Deliveries totaled 114 aircraft, with production ending in 1992. Several L-100-20 aircraft were operated on scheduled freight flights byDelta Air Lines between 1968 and 1973.
An updated civilian version of theLockheed 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 fromFort 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 betweenRamstein 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]
A Lockheed L-100-20 of Delta Air Lines operating a freight flight fromAtlanta Hartsfield Airport, GeorgiaAn 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.[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]
In March 2011, a total of 36 Lockheed L-100 Hercules aircraft were in commercial service. Operators at that time includedLynden Air Cargo (10),Transafrik (5),Libyan Arab Air Cargo (3), and other operators with fewer aircraft.[18]
A passenger version of the L-100 configured with 97 coach seats was operated byMerpati Nusantara, an airline operating scheduled services that was based inIndonesia.[37] This version of the L-100 was modified with passenger windows.[38][39]
On 4 October 1986: aSouthern 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 atKelly Air Force Base, Texas. All 3 people on board died.[47]
On 8 April 1987: aSouthern Air Transport L-100-30 (registration N517SJ) crashed due to loss of power in two engines, during an attempted go-around atTravis Air Force Base, California. All 5 people on board died.[48]
On 2 September 1991: aSouthern Air Transport L-100-20 (registration N521SJ) was written off after hitting a mine while on takeoff fromWau Airport. The 5 occupants survived with injuries.[49]
On 23 September 1994: aHeavylift Cargo Service[a] L-100-30 (registration PK-PLV), leased from Indonesia-based Pelita Air Service, crashed offKai Tak International Airport in Hong Kong after the number four propeller oversped, killing six of the 12 on board.[50]
On 25 August 2008: aPhilippine Air Force L-100-20 (serial number 4593) of 220th Airlift Wing based inMactan,Cebu, crashed into the sea shortly after take-off inDavao City. The aircraft lost contact after taking off fromFrancisco Bangoy International Airport shortly before midnight. Nine crew members and two passengers were on board when the aircraft crashed.[51]
On 20 May 2009: anIndonesian Air Force L-100-30 (serial number A-1325) of 31st Squadroncrashed 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 ofYogyakarta. The plane was carrying more than 100 passengers and crew on route fromJakarta to the eastern province of Papua via Magetan.[52]
On 23 June 2021: anEthiopian Air Force L-100-30 (MSN 5022) was destroyed in an accident nearGijet, Ethiopia. Unconfirmed reports suggest the aircraft was downed by theTigray Defense Forces (TDF) during the armed conflict known as theTigray War that started in November 2020 between Ethiopia and the Tigray Region.[53]
^"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)
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