"C-130 flying for 80 more years!" Topic

The Air Force plans to fly its war-tested 1950s-era C-130 aircraft well into the 2030s and beyond through a sweeping, multi-pronged technical overhaul, designed to enable the propeller-flown aircraft to perform its high-risk troop transport and combat support missions for decades to come.

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Some designs simply work. The plane is still in production and with regular updates it could be around until a sufficiently major technological breakthrough finally renders it obsolete and then it may be many decades before the last ones are retired, CF the DC-3/C-47

Plenty of life still in the ol' gal. Way to go,Herc.

The BUFF deservedly gets all the attention for its longevity, but the steady "Herky Bird" had quietly built a reputation as one of the most enduring military aircraft in aviation history. There are more advanced transports like the C-17, but the versatility of the C-130 is unmatched. It can take off and land almost anywhere under any conditions, and its gunship variant Spectre is simply badass.

It can also claim something that the B-52 can't.

C-130 rolling down the strip
Airborne daddy's gonna take a little trip…

A running cadence popular in both the army and marines. Now that's immortality.

One of the noisest aircraft I've ever been onboard -
but she got you there and back again VERY reliably.

And watching the Herc' on a pallet-extraction supply
delivery is a sight to behold.

Ditto a 'skyhook' personnel recovery – if they still
do those !

I'd be willing to bet that the C130 is just as reliable-when-damaged as the B17 (despite not being a Boeing product).

I just hate the sound of them. 68Hz tonal.

Coolest plane rides I ever had