Cargo plane was completed US Air Force in 1955 C130 Hercules a medium weight transport built

by the Georgia division of Lockheed aircraft corporation equipment to America's instruction of this
aircraft 1955 we're already under construction in January at that time the first play in serial number
3001 production the aircraft soon was moved to the final assembly position a check was made to
see that the actual weight of the engine and Allison T56 met specifications before installing it on the
plate meantime Curtis Wright propellers were uncrated reversible blaze were fitted into the hubs
and operation of the blade change mechanism was check hey preservative was added to the engine
fuel system until actual engine runs could be accomplished on the flight lines the engines were
turned by air ground power for the pickling process all engines were installed by mid February the
plane left the production line installations of personnel seats and equipment for checked and found
to be satisfactory the seats were removed and special first flight test equipment was installed the
first aircraft was then moved to the engineering flight test department for flutter and vibration test
by late March fueling operations and tests have been completed on all engines high speed taxi runs
were made to check the operation of different systems and equipment preparatory to flight the first
production C130 took off on its maiden flight on April 7th 1955 only about 800 feet of runway were
required for the takeoff the plane was in the air one hour and 7 minutes hearing this flight landing
gear and soil test were satisfied starting with this trip I have doesn't see one that is logged the total
of 94 hours and 17 minutes in test during the remainder of the year the landing on the 1st flight was
routine using reversible propellers the plane required only about 2000 feet of runway for the landing
the landing of few days later however from the failure of a fuel quick disconnect behind engine #2
firewall after the aircraft was repaired more test flights were conducted #3001 went through
production preflight and engineering flight testing static tests were being performed on airplane
#3002 the second aircraft had been designated as a static test article a Guinea pig for experimental
purposes in the C130 program the fuselage of the static test article was prepared for an air pressure
test that was filled with containers to protect against serious damage should the section fail the end
section failed at 12.74 lbs per square inch turn potential damage resulting from pressure tests
Lockheed proposed that further tests be conducted hydrostatically the Air Force concurred a
concrete pool was built for the hydrostatic or underwater tests of the afternoon sections the pool
cost approximately $20,000 and the water method has saved an estimated half million dollars a lot
of testing procedure was simple the fuselage section was bulk headed made watertight filled with
water and submerged the interior was pressurized with the conventional air pressure test method
when failure occurs the force of the exploding compressed air causes secondary damage which
sometimes makes it difficult to find the origin of the weakness damage to the section is less than the
hydrostatic test since water for all practical purposes is not compression the forward section was
pressurized satisfactorily the app section which failed in the air pressure test was replaced and
submerged in the pool the section was successfully pressurized to 15.1 lbs per square inch more
than twice the normal operating pressure the uniformity of the centerpiece of large section and as a
result of some previous testing at the California division it was considered type to test this section
with air the section was pressurized to the required £15 per square inch the outer wing flaps were
subjected to extensive fatigue tests as weaknesses were observed designs were improved until the
flaps successfully completed 8000 cycles when this began on wing down bending it was necessary
to use stop motion photography to speed up the slow bending of the wing the jumping movements
of the workers were caused by this camera technique the slowly bending wing withstood ultimate
load for three minutes without failure in the test for dynamic taxing a condition critical for the outer
wing panel it also listed ultimate low during the test on wing down bending and main gear load a
condition critical for the wing and main gear combination a number of other tests were performed in
an effort to improve the design of the C130 among these were the lateral gusts on the app fuselage
including simulated AirDrop that is with the cargo door open the J2 door test bring back test and the
test on the Cam followers on the flaps and the examinations disclosed any weaknesses
improvements were made until the parts were satisfactory separate tests were conducted on many
vital parts of the C130 for instance the hydraulic reservoir was filled to capacity with fluid and
slashed and vibrated simultaneously for 25 hours simulating the most severe operating condition
there was no leak during the year special tests were made on a new cargo floor design the new floor
was constructed of extruded stiffeners riveted to a metal skin which could be used to replace the
solid machine Stephen panels in event of need for wartime acceleration of the C130 program rolling
test consisted of a rubber tire under a load of 6500 lbs rolling back and forth across the floor 2000
times operation of the main landing gear was observed under extreme temperature and
environmental conditions and was also subjected to sand frozen mud and salt spraying temperatures
range from -65 to plus 160°F this time from landing gear is designed to enable the plane to operate
safely from semi prepared landing fields while the static test article was undergoing many rigorous
qualification tests under C130 is completed production airplanes were used for flight tests
demonstrations and briefings for key military personnel the first show was staged in July military
personnel newspaper reporters photographers and top television and radio people from all over the
nation who came to Maryland to see the new air freighter the demonstration began with an
exhibition of the flying characteristics off of Hercules the turboprop C130 is the fastest transport
plane in production for the US Air Force it can travel at speeds of more than 370 mph a fast
climbing aircraft the C130 can reach an altitude of 2500 feet and only 60 seconds aversive playing
the see 130 can fly with the stratojet that 40,000 feet altitude along missions or it can deploy enough
to drop her troops and supplies to advanced military base operations the reporters television and
radio men watched the Hercules backup over great distances the unique ability to travel such
distances in this makes the plane particularly useful in combat zones for time and space are limiting
factors the steerable nose wheel and the reversible propellers allow the aircraft to park in a very
limited area the writers and military personnel solar display of polluting capabilities off the cargo
transport men from the 18th Air Force Donaldson air base South Carolina staged the demonstration
a 5000 gallon jet fuel tanker was driven into the aircraft using the built in loading ramp which
serves as a rear door this ramp also can be put at truck floor level for straight and loading the plane
can accommodate 20 tons of heavy equipment the changeover from cargo to personal transport can
be accomplished in a matter of minutes 92 troops marched into the airplane during the
demonstration the C130 can make either aerial or ground deliveries of men and cargo in November
this C130 presented the demonstration of limiting general cargo at Dover DE or the military air
transport service a training program was inaugurated to prepare men to become crew members of
this prop jet plane Shepard shipments to the Air Force commands which are to receive the C one
30s were the head of schedule the Air Force decided to change from Curtis Wright propellers to
arrow products propellers arrow props were installed on engine number three of the six airplane and
tests were begun late in the year the cargo transport is to be used as a supply ship in the Arctic
regions development design was started on a ski video or the C130 the ski wheels were scheduled to
be flight tested late in 1956 in preparation for flights into snow labs the tail of the C130 was painted
red the standard Arctic marking the color makes the aircraft visible against the background of snow
covered or even desert terrain the testing and production programs were on schedule at the end of
the year 12 C one 30s have been completed some were at least to the Air Force for testing airplane
#3018 was starting on production line climatic aerial delivery desert wind tunnel and Arctic tests
were scheduled for the next year the highlight of the year came when the Hercules made its first
extended flight flying from Marietta to Philadelphia for the national air show by late 1956 the new
versatile cargo transport was scheduled to take its place as an operational unit of the United states
Air Force