Lockheed L-100 / LM-100J Hercules

Lockheed L-100 / LM-100J Hercules

The Lockheed L-100 is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft, derived from the military C-130 Hercules.

The original military C-130 first flew on 23 August 1954 and since then more than 2,500 have been built. The aircraft is still in full production at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Georgia, plant.

As a demilitarised C-130 demonstrator aircraft the L-100 (Model 382) performed its maiden flight on 20 April 1964, followed by certification on 16 February 1965. Lockheed delivered the first production aircraft (model 382B) to Continental Air Services on 30 September 1965.

The L-100 was essentially the commercial version of the C-130B. It has a high mounted wing, four turboprop engines with four-bladed propellers and a rear loading freight ramp. Specific military equipment that is not necessary for civil operations, was eliminated from the L-100. The main exterior difference is the lack of lower windows under the windscreen.

The aircraft was not a big sales success, but Lockheed introduced two more popular, longer and more economical versions, the L-100-20 (Model 382E/F) and L-100-30 (Model 382G). The L-100-20 is 2.52 m longer and the -30 has a 2.03 further stretched fuselage. The -30 became the most successful variant. L-100 production ended in 1992 after delivery of 114 aircraft. The L-100 is a civil aircraft, but several are flying for military operators.

LM-100J

In the late 1990s, Lockheed began the development of an updated civilian version based on the C-130J-30 Super Hercules, the LM-100J. However, the project was put on hold because Lockheed wanted to concentrate on military versions first. In February 2014, Lockheed Martin formally relaunched the LM-100J. The airframer considers the aircraft as an excellent replacement for existing civil L-100s, of which around fifty are still operational worldwide.

The renewed civil Hercules includes many improvements, like modern Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (Allison) AE-2100D3 turboprop engines which are less fuel-thirsty and less noisy, a new two-crew flight deck (EFIS), six-blade composite propellers and better performance.

The first flight of the LM-100J took place on 25 May 2017 (Photo: Lockheed Martin). Deliveries should begin in 2018.

L-100 Specifications

Wingspan: 40.4 m (132 ft 7 in). Length: 34.35 m (112 ft 9 in). Height: 11.66 m (38 ft 3 in).
Empty weight: 35,260 kg (77,740 lb). Max. take-off weight: 70,300 kg (155,000 lb).
Payload: 23,150 kg (51,050 lb). Range: 2,470 km (1,334 nm). Cruising speed: 541 km/h (292 kts).

Engines: four Allison 501-D22A turboprops (3,360 kW - 4,510 shp).

LM-100J Specifications

Wingspan: 40.38 m (112 ft 9 in). Length: 34.37 m (112 ft 9 in). Height: 11.81 m (38 ft 7 in).
Empty weight: 36,650 kg (80,800 lb). Max. take-off weight: 74,389 kg (164,000 lb). Payload: 21,863 kg (48,200). Range: 4,537 km (2,450 nm). Max cuise speed: 660 km/h (355 mph).
Engines: Four Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 turboprops (3,423 kW - 4,591 pshp).
(Photo: Lockheed Martin)