Originally Posted by
SpringHeeledJack
Thank you MAC 40612 for the update. As no-one seems to have any info on 'why' a VC-130 was made, I have come to the conclusion that in years past Saudi royals used them to go on hunting trips in various locales, desert or otherwise. Enough room for a vehicle or two and accommodation/supplies/camels/horses. I think any race horses or camels for that matter would be in more luxurious quarters on a freighter of some kind.
I think you're probably correct about that. Like most of the Middle East VIP aircraft they were just 'playthings' and status symbols and a lot of rivalry and one-upmanship between the various countries in the Middle East. If one got an airliner, suddenly they were all getting them. Then one got a larger, more-modern airliner and they were all 'trading up'
The one story about this was regarding the B747SP. One of the Emirates decided they wanted a brand new Boeing 747SP, the only problem [for Boeing] being that they had finished production of the model a number of years earlier and were concentrating at the time on their new model Boeing 747-400 series and wanted to sell them a Boeing 747-400. The particular Gulf state was insistent though and wanted not only a new Boeing 747SP but one with RR engines. Boeing thought they would 'persuade' the particular customer away from the 747SP that hadn't been built for a while and would disrupt their production line by quoting an extremely high price for the particular aircraft to be built, only to find the customer accepted the price and Boeing were left to build said aircraft. If you look on the unofficial Boeing 747SP website you will note this aircraft was was line number '676' over a hundred airframes after the previous Boeing 747SP had been built! The aircraft went on to Dee Howard to have a VIP interior and various other systems added at the cost of over $100 million just for the refit [at 1986 prices!!]
https://www.747sp.com/747sp-production-list/23610-676/