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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Lockheed designed the Hercules for troops, freight and medical evacuation, with a high wing, four turboprops, a large cargo compartment and rear loading ramp. The airframe also supported tanker, weather, scientific and other specialist missions.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A ski-aircraft check ride ends with an unexpected overnight stay
Furlong’s exchange posting brought him from RAF transport flying to the specialised work of operating Hercules aircraft on Greenland’s ice cap. Training included supervised flights before a check ride, with more experienced crews helping newcomers learn the conditions. His own check ride ended badly when a ski encountered a hole in the snow. The aircraft was damaged, but nobody was injured.
C-130.net retrospective. RAF exchange pilot with the USAF 17th squadron in Alaska, 1968–1970; selected incident concerns ski-equipped C-130D 57-0492 in Greenland.
C-130.net · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Lockheed Martin · 9 min ·
INTO THE COCKPIT: Experience the C-130J Super Hercules Like Never Before
Lockheed Martin introduces the C-130J's cockpit and mission equipment.
Related variant · C-130J Super Hercules
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed designed the Hercules for troops, freight and medical evacuation, with a high wing, four turboprops, a large cargo compartment and rear loading ramp. The airframe also supported tanker, weather, scientific and other specialist missions.
The family spans several engine and cockpit generations. Classic Hercules and C-130J aircraft use different propulsion and crew arrangements, with further changes for specialist equipment.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed → · Explore the family →
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Wikipedia contributors · Lockheed C-130 Hercules ↗Laminar Research · X-Plane 11 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Ski-equipped transports keep remote stations supplied
Furlong’s interview describes C-130D ski aircraft supporting radar sites on Greenland’s ice cap. Crews rotated through Sondrestrom, carrying supplies and, during an intensive seasonal effort, fuel. The account records a specialised transport role distinct from the conventional wheeled Hercules.
C-130.net · Interview with Squadron Leader Charles G. Furlong ↗1968–1970 exchange-service recollection; not a capability assertion for every simulated variant
Development milestones
First flight: August 23, 1954 ( 1954-08-23 )
Wikipedia contributors · Lockheed C-130 Hercules ↗Lockheed C-130 Hercules · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1372392083
Pilot accounts
A ski-aircraft check ride ends with an unexpected overnight stay
Furlong’s exchange posting brought him from RAF transport flying to the specialised work of operating Hercules aircraft on Greenland’s ice cap. Training included supervised flights before a check ride, with more experienced crews helping newcomers learn the conditions. His own check ride ended badly when a ski encountered a hole in the snow.
The aircraft was damaged, but nobody was injured. A snowcat took the crew to the radar site for the night, and another Hercules collected them the next day. Furlong remembered the embarrassment alongside admiration for the engineers who repaired the aircraft in difficult weather.
C-130.net retrospective. RAF exchange pilot with the USAF 17th squadron in Alaska, 1968–1970; selected incident concerns ski-equipped C-130D 57-0492 in Greenland.
Read the full account · C-130.net ↗The loadmaster moves forward and finds a remarkable view
Bateman first knew the Hercules from its cargo compartment, where he worked as an air loadmaster. The aircraft seemed enormous when he joined the unit, and its noise and sparse comforts were hard to forget. Becoming a pilot later gave him a different relationship with the same family of aircraft.
From the flight deck, the many windows were a lasting pleasure. He valued being able to see above, beside and below the cockpit while manoeuvring. He also experienced the transition from the older K model to the J, with its different displays, automation and crew arrangement.
The War Zone interview · May 2024. RAF Hercules career spanning C-130K and C-130J; initially a loadmaster, selected for pilot training in 1997.
Read the full account · The War Zone ↗Command means looking after the people as well as the aircraft
Perini grew up visiting a flying club with his father, a leisure pilot, and eventually reached the Hercules after military training in Italy and the United States. By the Ostrava interview he was an aircraft commander, with duties extending beyond planning and flying the next sector. He described keeping a crew confident and settled during long periods away.
Supplying the Italian Antarctic base was a particularly happy memory. The crew operated from New Zealand and landed on sea ice in a landscape he found unlike anywhere else. At the airshow, meeting visitors brought another pleasure, even when the number wanting to see inside exceeded what the crew could manage.
NATO Days interview published December 2025. Italian Air Force C-130 commander; the article does not explicitly identify the precise variant.
Read the full account · NATO Days in Ostrava ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 11Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Laminar Research · Released
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Laminar Research · Released
MSFS 2024C-130J ADV
Blackbird Simulations · Released
C-130J ADV
Blackbird Simulations · Released
X-Plane 12C-130H / L-100-30 Hercules
X-Hangar · Released
C-130H / L-100-30 Hercules
X-Hangar · Released
X-Plane 12C-130H Hercules
X-Hangar · Released
C-130H Hercules
X-Hangar · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 97 ft 9 in (29.79 m) |
| Wingspan | 132 ft 7 in (40.41 m) |
| Height | 38 ft 3 in (11.66 m) |
| Wing area | 1,745 sq ft (162.1 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 75,800 lb (34,382 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 155,000 lb (70,307 kg) |
| Powerplant | 4 × Allison T56 -A-15 turboprop engines, 4,590 shp (3,420 kW) each |
| Propellers | 4-bladed Hamilton Standard 54H60 constant-speed fully feathering reversible propellers, 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) diameter |
| Maximum speed | 320 kn (370 mph, 590 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) |
| Cruise speed | 292 kn (336 mph, 541 km/h) |
| Range | 2,050 nmi (2,360 mi, 3,800 km) |
| Service ceiling | 33,000 ft (10,000 m) empty |
| Rate of climb | 1,830 ft/min (9.3 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Pilot account
A ski-aircraft check ride ends with an unexpected overnight stayC-130.net retrospective. RAF exchange pilot with the USAF 17th squadron in Alaska, 1968–1970; selected incident concerns ski-equipped C-130D 57-0492 in Greenland.
Furlong’s exchange posting brought him from RAF transport flying to the specialised work of operating Hercules aircraft on Greenland’s ice cap. Training included supervised flights before a check ride, with more experienced crews helping newcomers learn the conditions. His own check ride ended badly when a ski encountered a hole in the snow. The aircraft was damaged, but nobody was injured. A snowcat took the crew to the radar site for the night, and another Hercules collected them the next day.
Charles G. Furlong
C-130.net · Read the source ↗The loadmaster moves forward and finds a remarkable viewThe War Zone interview · May 2024. RAF Hercules career spanning C-130K and C-130J; initially a loadmaster, selected for pilot training in 1997.
Bateman first knew the Hercules from its cargo compartment, where he worked as an air loadmaster. The aircraft seemed enormous when he joined the unit, and its noise and sparse comforts were hard to forget. Becoming a pilot later gave him a different relationship with the same family of aircraft. From the flight deck, the many windows were a lasting pleasure. He valued being able to see above, beside and below the cockpit while manoeuvring.
Scott Bateman
The War Zone · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
C-130J ADV — product listingC-130J ADV · MSFS 2024
Product listing captured 2026-09-23; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
blackbirdsims.com · Read the source ↗C-130H / L-100-30 Hercules — product listingC-130H / L-100-30 Hercules · X-Plane 12
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
store.x-plane.org · Read the source ↗C-130H Hercules — product listingC-130H Hercules · X-Plane 12
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
store.x-plane.org · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
X-Plane 11 Desktop ManualLaminar Research X-Plane aircraft and avionics manualsLaminar ResearchAircraft background
Lockheed C-130 HerculesWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1372392083 · retrieved 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Product
C-130J ADV for MSFS2024blackbirdsims.com · Product listing captured 2026-09-23; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue C-130H Hercules-xhangar-c130Hstore.x-plane.org · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 5 profile choices
Blackbird C-130J ADV Short
Blackbird Simulations · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2024
Blackbird C-130J ADV Short: Hydraulic boost motivates a powered-control approximation.
Blackbird C-130J ADV Long
Blackbird Simulations · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2024
Blackbird C-130J ADV Long: Hydraulic boost motivates a powered-control approximation.
X-Hangar C-130H Hercules
X-Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
X-Hangar C-130H Hercules: Hydraulic boost motivates a powered-control approximation.
X-Hangar L-100-30 Hercules
X-Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
X-Hangar L-100-30 Hercules: Hydraulic boost motivates a powered-control approximation.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
Lockheed C-130 Hercules: Hydraulic boost motivates a powered-control approximation.
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