Goodbye Mighty Herc

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

The Belgian Air Force is saying goodbye to these beautiful old ladies: we are replacing our trusty Lockheed C-130 Hercules with brand spanking new Airbus A400M Atlas planes. After almost 50 years of service–the 1st C-130 came into service in early 1970’s–it is time for the C-130 to retire.

The demo at the 2021 spottersday at Florennes AB may have been my last chance to see one of these birds up close in flight. I have grown up with seeing them everywhere. Not just at airshows, but also in daily operations. One of the coolest memories about the C-130 I have, is their demo of dropping cargo at low level in full flight. It was really spectacular to see them open up the cargo door at back, decent to almost on the deck and drop bags of supplies. Back in in the days, they used that technique to distribute food and supplies on humanitarian missions.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
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