Moroccan RC-130H

[Old Viper Tester]

Pictures taken at Mojave Airport in 1982. This is a commercial sale C-130, no 382-4888, call no. CNA-OP for the Moroccan AF. I think it was at Mojave for the installation of the side-looking aperture radar (SLAR) pod. The pod looks much like the one carried by OV-1 Mohawks.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking,

Sven

Edited April 6, 2018 by Old Viper Tester

[Red Dot]

that's very unusual to see Sven. I've never heard of a C-130 carrying something like that, especially as an asymetric load. Why didn't they use an underwing pylon?

 

And

[Old Viper Tester]

4 hours ago, Red Dot said:

especially as an asymetric load. Why didn't they use an underwing pylon?

Red Dot,

As close as this pod is to the centerline, the asymmetry is probably not a big deal for the Herk.

 

As for putting it on a pylon, I don't really know. It is possible that a store this long and slender would be a flutter risk on an outboard pylon. Or maybe it's an electrical interface/power thing. I don't know what the SLAR pod draws, but if it required re-wiring the wing, that would make the fuselage mounting a simpler modification.

 

Sven

[F-32]

Great shot, always liked the Herk in that scheme

[Des]

Nice catch of an unusual conversion on one of the more colourful Hercules camouflage schemes.

 

Recall reading up on the Moroccan Air Force some time ago when I was researching for an RF-5A conversion and discovered that with border disputes and other issues that it is an air force with a lot of combat experience going back for decades predating the current Islamist problems across the Saharan region.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

On 07/04/2018 at 4:25 AM, Red Dot said:

that's very unusual to see Sven. I've never heard of a C-130 carrying something like that, especially as an asymetric load. Why didn't they use an underwing pylon?

 

And

I found an image of the aircraft with the same SLAR pod on the other side.

 

So not asymmetric.

[Red Dot]

On 07/04/2018 at 12:09 AM, Old Viper Tester said:

Red Dot,

As close as this pod is to the centerline, the asymmetry is probably not a big deal for the Herk.

 

As for putting it on a pylon, I don't really know. It is possible that a store this long and slender would be a flutter risk on an outboard pylon. Or maybe it's an electrical interface/power thing. I don't know what the SLAR pod draws, but if it required re-wiring the wing, that would make the fuselage mounting a simpler modification.

 

Sven

hi Sven,

 

You know what? I should have thought about the electrical connections as i work on car wiring!! You're probably right about wire lengths and having to rework over a shorter distance

 

Andy

[Red Dot]

On 09/04/2018 at 4:10 AM, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

I found an image of the aircraft with the same SLAR pod on the other side.

 

So not asymmetric.

How weird? It is assymetric unless they carry two at once, but why unless it only looks outwards away from the plane?

 

Andy

[Phantom726]

A SLAR is designed to look outward and slightly underneath the aircraft for mapping purposes. Some aircraft will carry a centerline or under-fuselage version designed to cover both sides of the aircraft with one antenna. Other aircraft may carry two separate antennas to cover one side of the aircraft each.. 

Very simple, the standard SLAR (usually) generates a picture of the terrain as it passes perpendicular to the aircraft. Thus, the platform need to be as stable as possible, and any aircraft maneuvering and instability (such as the antenna being mounted on the wing) will degrade the image produced.

 

A Goggle search for “Airborne SLAR mapping” will give some interesting hits.

 

The USCG tested a C-130 way back with a SLAR mounted under the tail planes. 

[Red Dot]

thanks for the informative reply

 

Andy

Edited April 11, 2018 by Red Dot