Lockheed Martin has begun production of the first commercial freighter variant based on the C-130J Super Hercules military airlifter desig...
Lockheed Martin has begun production of the first commercial freighter variant based on the C-130J Super Hercules military airlifter designated the LM-100J.
The LM-100J is an updated version of the L-100 (or L-382) cargo aircraft, the commercial variant of the C-130 Hercules airlifter, produced from 1964 through 1992.
Wing production has begun in Marietta, which is home to the C-130J Super Hercules final assembly line. Other structural parts are in production at the Meridian and Clarksburg facilities.
Ireland-based ASL Aviation Group had signed a letter of intent for up to ten LM-100Js at the at the Farnborough International Air Show in England, on 16 July 2014.
The LM-100J is an updated version of the L-100 (or L-382) cargo aircraft, the commercial variant of the C-130 Hercules airlifter, produced from 1964 through 1992.
Wing production has begun in Marietta, which is home to the C-130J Super Hercules final assembly line. Other structural parts are in production at the Meridian and Clarksburg facilities.
Lockheed Martin officials submitted a Program Notification Letter to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Jan. 21, 2014, for a type design update for the Lockheed Martin Model L-382J airplane.
The LM-100J is expected to make its first flight in 2017, then enter into an FAA certification phase.
The LM-100J is expected to make its first flight in 2017, then enter into an FAA certification phase.
The LM-100J will perform as a commercial multi-purpose air freighter capable of rapid and efficient cargo transport, delivering bulk and oversize cargo, particularly to austere locations worldwide. Like its military counterpart, the LM-100J will be able to support multiple missions, ranging from fire fighting to medevac to VIP transport.
The technological improvements of LM-100J over the existing L-100s resulting from the years of C-130J operational experience, including more than 1.3 million flight hours by operators in 16 nations, will allow it to carry one-third more payload, with twenty percent or more greater range, and at ten percent faster speeds.
A total of 115 L-100s, were produced at the then Lockheed-Georgia Company facility in Marietta, Georgia. More than fifty-five of those airlifters are still in service worldwide used for civil airlift missions in places where jet aircraft operations are impractical.
The main exterior difference between its military counterpart is the lack of lower windows under the windscreen, which allow the C-130J pilots to look ahead and down to see drop zones.
The LM-100J will powered by the same Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 engines as the C-130J, driving the Dowty R391 propellers with six scimitar-shaped composite blades. These engines, rated at approximately 4,637 shaft horsepower each feature a full-authority digital engine controller (FADEC).
The LM-100J will also have the same automatic engine thrust control system as the C-130J. This system automatically adjusts for asymmetric thrust conditions—in other words, if one engine loses power, the other engines automatically compensate to keep the aircraft flying safely.
In the cargo compartment, the LM-100J has an unobstructed, flat floor with tiedowns and provisions for roller racks for palletized cargo.
Defensive systems present in every C-130Js, such as chaff and flare dispensers, secure communications and electronic warfare equipment, racks, and wiring are all eliminated.
Structurally, the LM-100J will have reinforced bird strike plates around the windscreen and a commercial standard, bird-resistant windscreen.
It will be capable of flying at 310 knots speed, carrying a 35,000 pound payload, with a max normal gross takeoff weight of 164,000 pounds; reaching a cruising altitude of 28,000 feet.
The C-130J was a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems that entered service in 1999.
The C-130J was a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems that entered service in 1999.
Ireland-based ASL Aviation Group had signed a letter of intent for up to ten LM-100Js at the at the Farnborough International Air Show in England, on 16 July 2014.
