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This is a portion of an article entitled, "AN AIRPLANE HALL
OF FAME: 10 AIRCRAFT THAT CHANGED AVIATION," by Jon Bonne of MSNBC
(12/02/03):
Lockheed C-130
Claim to fame: A life-saving airlift that can land almost anywhere.
Big, bulky and never glamorous, the C-130 and its variants have provided a
half-century of unfailing service into some of the most hostile places on
Earth. It can carry over 41,000 pounds of people and cargo and has been used
for every imaginable task — from resupplying the DEW line in the Arctic to
evacuating casualties in Vietnam. A C-130 was the first plane to land after
U.S. troops stormed the Baghdad airport earlier this year.
Outside of military service, the Hercules flies cargo operations and even
firefighting missions for the U.S. Forest Service. In other configurations,
it has served as an air tanker (KC-130), flying command-and-control center
(EC-130) and hard-hitting gunship (AC-130). Loaded at nearly over 150,000
pounds, it can still land in about 2,000 feet — an astounding feat for an
aircraft its size. No runway? No problem — the C-130 can ease onto a dirt
strip.
Like the B-52, it serves as proof that the most durable technology doesn’t
need to be new.
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