The recent Mount Sinjar episode with refugees in Iraq made me think.
Suppose that the task is to use a Hercules to drop VERY accurately a load but without flying low.
In the cargo hold, the load is on a rail which vertically constrains it and will allow it to roll freely when released.
Could a pilot, with the load locked in position and the cargo door OPEN, commence a stall turn overhead the target zone, pull back and ascend. When in the vertical plane, over the target zone, a lever would be pulled and the load would be released, sliding vertically down on its rails, out of the aircraft. When clear of the aircraft, parachutes would open and the load would descend as normal.
The load would have NO FORWARD COMPONENT OF VELOCITY, excepting any wind issue. It should fall with great accuracy.
The $64,000 question is: Can a Herc do a stall turn without losing its wings? Probably "Yes". See this remarkable video:
C130 Super Hercules Paris Airshow 2011 - Cockpit View
See timings at 1.25 and 4.47
Would these manoeuvres be possible with a half load or even a full load?
In the video, please note that he pushes the column forward, creating negative G, rather than doing a standard stall turn. I would have thought that this would stress the airframe more, rather than less. But it might be a better alternative in a military situation since height is conserved.
Whatever anyone may say about this idea, it is not as ghastly as the Khe Sanh approach, which I believe to be standard practice ( - or would still be if the Viet Cong were still being difficult).
I have never been either in or near a Fat Albert and ask if this idea is total cobblers or could it become a useful manoeuvre, with or without adaptation. There may be a better way of achieving the same end.
(p.s. i got this idea watching Stuka dive bombers in a WW2 documentary. I reckon they missed a trick).