Quite a good looking aircraft and fills the void between the C130J and the C17 if that niche needed to be filled. Faster and carries more than the C130, slower and carries less than the C17.
Interestingly, as I understand it, these aircraft have the most powerful engines fitted to any Western turboprop aircraft. Again, as I understand it, these engines are "free turbines" which means that the power turbines are free to rotate from the rest of the engine and have brakes. Practically this means that the engines can run with the props stationary.
Quite a good looking aircraft and fills the void between the C130J and the C17 if that niche needed to be filled. Faster and carries more than the C130, slower and carries less than the C17.
Unfortunately, the RAF have now got rid of all their C-130, so in our case the A400M is a bit of a pointless purchase. The A400M can't do the tac stuff the C-130 can, so we should have bought some newer C-130J and more C-17 instead of the A400M.
The A400M is really a smaller more economical start lifter for the smaller European countries that didn't/couldn't afford a fleet of C-17. The RAF didn't really need to buy it.
The RAF now have a medium and heavy start lifer and now no tac lift.
Just the thing for putting round holes in square heads.
The Luftwaffe was at our airport with an A400 last year. The Pilot told me the French and Germans share a squadron of C-130’s because the A400 is not really meant to be a rough field aircraft.
I was also told the C-160 is missed because it was a good performer.
The Luftwaffe was at our airport with an A400 last year. The Pilot told me the French and Germans share a squadron of C-130’s because the A400 is not really meant to be a rough field aircraft.
Yep.
The A400M is also very noisy, so hardly suitable to more covert SF type tactical rough field ops, which is what the UK were using its C-130J's for before retiring them due to the MOD's two types ruling.
(not sure why I was typing start in post above instead of strat...... old age, and brain integer coordination issues )
Just the thing for putting round holes in square heads.
I spent many an hour playing Euchre in the back of C130's, both Canadian and American when we were deployed as a unit. Fortunately individual travel was done on commercial jetliners as the mesh seats and high noise levels made C130 travel less than comfortable. The **** tubes were fun too.
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Originally Posted by Sapper740
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