Jump to content

MC-130 float plane?


Slater

Recommended Posts

On 5/20/2021 at 11:50 AM, spruecutter96 said:

It's a very interesting concept. I'm wondering if the final paragraph of the article is also available in English? What a great example of buzzword nonsense...

 

Chris.

“There is enough of a focus on peer and near-peer as we look at emerging threats. Is it going to be cost effective? That’s why we have several lines of effort early on and there will be plenty of off-ramp [opportunities] along the way to determine if we move forward,” he said.

 

It makes perfect sense to me. Clearly an example of blue sky thinking. They obviously had a thought shower outside the box but they'll need to peel the onion to examine all the layers. Then they need to touch base and once everyone is singing from the same hymnsheet they can hit the ground running. 

 

However at the close of play it'll have to wash it's own face. There's a question as to it's strategic fit. 

 

I wonder who originally floated the idea?  😂

 

 

Edited by noelh
  • Haha 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, noelh said:

I wonder who originally floated the idea? 😂

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you can tell it is getting late on a dull , wet  Friday afternoon !!

 

But regarding originality , not sure where it was but sure that I have seen a flying-boat hulled Herc drawing somewhere and sometime in the dim and distant.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Des said:

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you can tell it is getting late on a dull , wet  Friday afternoon !!

 

But regarding originality , not sure where it was but sure that I have seen a flying-boat hulled Herc drawing somewhere and sometime in the dim and distant.

Absolutely, yes sorry, it is a dull and wet Friday. Looking forward to my first beer. 🍺

 

The C130's shape does lend itself to the idea of a flying boat. As for floats. I can't help thinking that the drag and additional weight would restrict it's capacity. Plus in a special forces context it's likely to be needed at night. Imagine an open sea landing in the dark? Scary thought. 

Edited by noelh
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

1 hour ago, noelh said:

The C130's shape does lend itself to the idea of a flying boat.

 

As mentioned I cannot recall where I saw the drawing but the Convair Tradewind flying boat and the idea of transport flying boats supporting WWII style 'Island Hopping' operations was an active although perhaps increasingly unlikely concept throughout most of the 1950s and with the Hercules appearing around the middle of the decade it would not be too surprising if Lockheed was not interested in a slice of that pie especially at only at the cost of an artist's impression.     Will see if I can dig out the reference.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting thought, but not practical. MC130 can fly at very low altitudes - under Radar, to parachute in Special Forces without any need to land. Extraction is another question altogether and CV22 excels in that role. Subs can recover SEAL units, so no real need exists for a Herc on floats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Could the fuselage be modified to become an amphibian ? Of course you would need to include a set of wing floats to balance, but is it possible to redesign the lower half of the fuselage ? 

Lockheed serious looked into the concept in the late sixties and it all stopped after making a model of that idea...

 

I do like it enough to turn that into another model again..

 

51194004588_e59b11af48_b.jpg

 

cheers, Jan

 

 

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoever wrote the original press-release is going to have their bottom firmly spanked and sent to bed without any supper! I would volunteer for the task, but I am currently fully engaged in getting my Dobermann-Pincher converted in to a small, self-sustaining quantum-singularity.....

 

Chris. 

 

PS: Some parts of the previous statement might not be entirely true. I haven't left my house for over three weeks.

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

Here you go.....

 

Thanks for that , the HU-16 like nose area certainly rings some bells , just goes to show that there really is nothing new under the sun.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, janneman36 said:

Lockheed serious looked into the concept in the late sixties and it all stopped after making a model of that idea...

 

IIRC it was called the HOW Project - Hercules On Water.

 

There were a couple of B&W photos in an old copy of Profile Pubs on the C-130 - which showed that it also had a retractable hydroski.

 

Ken

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

If you follow the link provided by @Max Headroom you will have some very usefull information about how the hull was built/constructed around the original fuselage ...

A conversion is simpler than you might think!

 

cheers, Jan

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...