Commercial freighter variant of the venerable Lockheed Martin C-130 military transport aircraft has completed maiden flight. Dubbed th...
Commercial freighter variant of the venerable Lockheed Martin C-130 military transport aircraft has completed maiden flight.
Dubbed the LM-100J, the civil variant is based on the C-130J Super Hercules version.
The first flight flew the same test flight route over North Georgia and Alabama that is used for all C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The LM-100J will complete initial production flight tests and then begin Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certificate update flight test requirements.
The LM-100J is the 17th different mission capability developed for the C-130J Super Hercules and it is an updated version of the L-100 cargo aircraft, 115 of which Lockheed Martin produced from 1964-1992.
Lockheed Martin officials submitted a Program Notification Letter to the FAA on Jan. 21, 2014, for a type design update to this aircraft, a civil-certified variant of the C-130J Super Hercules to be marketed as the LM-100J.
Through select design innovations, the LM-100J will perform as a commercial multi-purpose air freighter capable of rapid and efficient cargo transport. The LM-100J is an ideal airlift solution for 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 firefighting to medevac to VIP transport.
The LM-100J incorporates technological developments and improvements over the existing L‑100s that result from years of C-130J operational experience, including more than 1.5 million fleetwide flight hours.
The main exterior difference from C-130J 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 is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 engines as the C-130J. These engines, rated at approximately 4,637 shaft horsepower each, driving Dowty R391 propellers with six scimitar-shaped composite blades.
The crew in the LM-100J with a 35,000 pound payload will take off at a max normal gross takeoff weight of 164,000 pounds; reach a cruising altitude of 28,000 feet.
Hugh Flynn, the chief executive of the Dublin, Ireland-based ASL Aviation Group, 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 aircraft will be flown by SAFAIR, an ASL-associated company based at Johannesburg International Airport, South Africa and Air Contractors, also located in Dublin.
SAFAIR currently operates a fleet of six long fuselage L-100-30 aircraft. Air Contractors currently operates one L-100 under the Oil Spill Response, Ltd., brand.
