Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC
Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems hopes to demonstrate a new environmentally friendly application for the C-130 military transport as a potential airborne reforestation platform.
The US aerospace firm, with Boston-based Aerial Forestation (AFI), is researching development of a C-130 to drop large numbers of tree seedlings. If third party financial backing can be secured, it is planned to trial a pre-prototype system as early as next year.
The concept of "throwing trees out of an aircraft" has been around since the 1950s, but has never been considered cost-effective compared to hand planting, says Lockheed Martin. "We're now getting to the point where the cost per unit is pretty reasonable."
The key element is the availability of biodegradable plastic canisters that protect the seedlings during the drop and allow the tree to take root quickly. The cone-shaped canisters are aerodynamically designed to spiral during the 110kt (200km/h) freefall and penetrate the ground up to 150mm (6in) when dropped from 1,300ft (400m) at an airspeed of 130kt.
Lockheed Martin is looking at a modular system that could be installed quickly into a C-130. It would comprise three 463L cargo pallets capable of holding up to 5,000 canisters each weighing about 0.4kg (1lb), a controller pallet and a belt-fed six-tube launcher mounted on the aircraft's tailgate.
The pneumatic dispersal system Lockheed Martin is developing is based on a landmine air scatter system. It would be able to fire six canisters a second, each dispersed over 330m2 (3,600ft2) on landing.
AFI has also looked at installing the system on Russian transports, but, with 2,500 C-130s in service in 70 countries, the aircraft is the ideal airframe, says Lockheed Martin.
It is being targeted at regions with large tracts of deforested land, such South America, North and South Africa, northern Asia, Canada and the Scottish Highlands.
Source: Flight International
