The C-130 is an undeniably badass plane. With a history dating back to the 1950s, and four enormous turboprop engines, it’s a flying behemoth designed to carry whatever needs carrying, whether it’s a tank or 452 desperate passengers. But that’s not all: It can also do a loop. Related StoryWhy the C-130 Is Such a Badass PlaneAt the Farnborough International Airshow this past week, a LM-100J—the new civilian model of the C-130J Super Hercules—pulled exactly that stunt in an acrobatics display that’s frankly hard to even believe. View full post on YoutubeRelated StoryThe C-130 Just Never DiesCivilian versions of the C-130 have been around almost as long as the C-130 has, with the first LM-100 flying in 1964 and 114 aircraft delivered before production ended in 1992. The new LM-100J, with a list price somewhere upwards of $60 million, has the same Rolls-Royce AE 2100 D3 turboprop engines and six-blade Dowty R391 propellers as its military C-130J counterpart, along with features like Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) so that civilian fliers don’t need to worry about having a flight engineer. Oh, also it can do loops, not that you or your cargo are likely to need that. Source: Lockheed Martin
