Andrew Douse
A Lockheed Martin flight crew, flying a production-standard, unmodified C-130J Hercules transport, has claimed 50 world aeronautical records in two distinct aircraft categories.
The records were set in four flights on two days and broke 16 existing world marks.
A further 34 standards were established in other categories where there had been no previous sanctioned attempt.
A total of 21 records were set in the Class C-1.N Turboprop category for speed over a closed course and for altitude with payload.
Altitude
The other 29 records were set in the Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL), Class N Turboprop category for speed over a closed course, altitude with payload and time-to-climb.
"We didn't just set records for the sake of setting records," says Lyle Schaefer, one of the two pilots in command of the flights.
"We took a payload that represents a military usable cargo, flew a distance that is a realistic representation of a typical military mission, and we did it at a high speed."
Source: Flight Daily News
