Simviation Forums

The Orion outbound with Mt Shasta in the background............

H_Paul

Nice...very nice...

Now you know what a Herc...C130 pilot would say...

They have their engines on upside down again...

Thank you sir, and they do look a kinda upside down don't they................

Hi H_PAUL...

I was told by several aviators that the reason the Lockeed Electra installed the engines opposite to what the Lockeed C130 Hercules engines are installed is because the military version of the Lockeed Electra was used in the Maritime Defense Role.

The aircraft could fly closer to the water with the engines the way they are installed on the Lockeed Electra than if the engines were installed as they are on the C130 Herc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_CP-140_Aurora

FlyingTrucker wrote:Hi H_PAUL...

I was told by several aviators that the reason the Lockeed Electra installed the engines opposite to what the Lockeed C130 Hercules engines are installed is because the military version of the Lockeed Electra was used in the Maritime Defense Role.

The aircraft could fly closer to the water with the engines the way they are installed on the Lockeed Electra than if the engines were installed as they are on the C130 Herc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_CP-140_Aurora

No Doug, Some one was pulling your leg. The C-130 has the high mounted engines because it was intended to be operated from unimproved/unprepared runways (read DIRT) and the high mounting would help prevent FOD from being sucked up into the engines. The P-3 Orion doesn't fly any closed to the water than a C-130. Actually the "Hard Deck" for most operational scenarios in a P-3 is 200 Ft ASL. I know that from experience as a 2nd Mech (Flight Engineers assistant & coffee boy for the flight deck crew) in VP-8 way back when. Here are some other interesting tidbits I came across on these two birds:

The Korean War, which began in June 1950, showed that World War II-era piston-engine transports—Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars, Douglas C-47 Skytrains and Curtiss C-46 Commandos—were inadequate for modern warfare. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed as a replacement. **Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings,** the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft.
The initial production model, the C-130A, was powered by Allison T56-A-9 turboprops first developed specifically for the C-130. The three-blade propellers and original blunt nose of the prototypes distinguished the A-models. Deliveries began in December 1956.

The Lockheed L-188 Electra, from which the P-3 Orion is derived, is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957.
The prototype YP3V-1/YP-3A, Bureau Number (BuNo) 148276 was modified from the third Electra airframe c/n 1003

The first production version of the P-3A Orion, originally designated P3V-1 (under the U.S. Navy'a old designation system), was launched on 15 April 1961. Initial squadron deliveries to Patrol Squadron Eight (VP-8) and Patrol Squadron Forty Four (VP-44) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland began in August 1962.

Coincidently, I reported to VP-8 in April of 1970 and when I transferred out in May of 1973 the squadron was still flying the "A" model while most other squadrons had transitioned to the "C" model in the late '60's.

Another interesting tidbit of history... The first Navy P-3A Flight Engineer was ADC John Collis (but everyone including the CO and XO always called him "Captain John".) When I left VP-8 in May of "73 he was still in the squadron and flying. That's 11 straight years when he could have transferred after 3 years as the normal sea/shore rotation for his rate was 3 years sea duty and then 3 years shore duty. I don't know how many 1000's of flight hours he had but it was impressive.

Good morning all...

Thanks Hawkeye for the updated information and the very informative commentary...much appreciated...

Think I heard that from a spectator at Oshkosh Air Show in Wisconsin several decades ago and after a week of camping, hauling kids over a hot tarmac to look at aeroplanes his statement seemed to make sense...(more so than hauling kids around an airshow during one of the hottest summers in history and camping in a tent under the wing of our bird)...

FlyingTrucker wrote:Good morning all...

Thanks Hawkeye for the updated information and the very informative commentary...much appreciated...

Think I heard that from a spectator at Oshkosh Air Show in Wisconsin several decades ago and after a week of camping, hauling kids over a hot tarmac to look at aeroplanes his statement seemed to make sense...(more so than hauling kids around an airshow during one of the hottest summers in history and camping in a tent under the wing of our bird)...

You're welcome! And I think you should have been awarded an "AIR show MEDAL" for hauling the kids around an airshow during one of the hottest summers in history and camping in a tent under the wing