Carrier ops

[helldog]

Does anyone know what is the biggest aircraft to land on a carrier? I hear a story that they landed a C130 on one but it had to be dissmantled ie it could not take off again. I am not sure if this is true.

[vintage ATCO]

Not true! :D

A quick search on Google found this:


Okay, the straight dope on the C-130 carrier trials is as follows:

The trials were conducted aboard USS Forrestal (CVA-59) in
October, 1963. The aircraft involved was a USMC KC-130F.

Modifications to the aircraft comprised the installation of an
improved antiskid braking system and the removal of the external
fuel tanks. A sink rate of 9 feet per second was employed, with
the first landings made with a 40-knot wind over the flight deck.

The crew included a pilot, copilot, flight engineer and a Lockheed
flight test pilot. Twenty-nine touch and goes and 21 full-stop
landings were made without the benefit of arresting gear. The
propellers were reversed while the aircraft was still a few feet
above the flight deck. These were followed by 21 unassisted
takeoffs at gross weights ranging from 85,000 to 121,000 pounds.
(To put that into perspective, the maximum takeoff weight for
the C-130E, on which the KC-130F is based, is 135,000 pounds,
with 155,000 pounds permitted in emergency wartime situations.)

At the lower weight, the airplane came to a stop in 270 feet, which
was just over twice its wingspan of 132 feet. At the higher gross
weight, landings required 460 feet. Takeoffs required 745 feet.
A special offset "centerline" was painted on the flight deck for
the trials.

Reference: _C-130 Hercules_, by Arthur Reed (Ian Allen, 1984)

[Mr_Grubby]

Try this link.

http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c130_forrestal.asp

Mr G.