Lockheed L-100 Hercules
The Lockheed L-100 Hercules is the civilian variant of the prolific C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft made by the Lockheed Corporation. Its first flight occurred in 1964. Longer L-100-20 and L-100-30 versions were developed. L-100 production ended in 1992 with 114 aircraft delivered. An updated variant of the model, LM-100J, has completed its first flight in Marietta, Georgia on 25 May 2017, and was set to start production in 2018–19. Development. In 1959, Pan American World Airways ordered 12 of Lockheed's GL-207 Super Hercules to be delivered by 1962, to be powered by four  6,000 eshp Allison T56 turboprops. Slick Airways was to receive 6 such aircraft later in 1962. The Super Hercules was to be longer than the C-130B; a variant powered by 6,445 eshp Rolls-Royce Tynes and a jet-powered variant with four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-11 turbofans were also under development. Both Pan American and Slick Airways (which had ordered six) cancelled their orders and the other variants did not evolve past design studies. Lockheed decided to produce a commercial variant based on a de-militarised version of the C-130E Hercules. The prototype L-100 (registered N1130E) first flew on 20 April  1964 when it carried out a 1-hour, 25-minute flight. The type certificate was awarded on 16 February 1965. Twenty-one production aircraft were then built with the first delivery to Continental Air Services on 30 September 1965. Slow sales led to the development of two new, longer versions, the L-100-20 and L-100-30, both of which were larger and more economical than the original model. Deliveries totaled 114 aircraft, with production ending in 1992. Several L-100-20 aircraft were operated on scheduled freight flights by Delta Air Lines between 1968 and 1973. An updated civilian version of  the Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules was under development, but the program was placed on hold indefinitely in 2000 to focus on military development and production. On 3 February 2014, Lockheed Martin formally relaunched the LM-100J program, saying it expects to sell 75 aircraft. Lockheed sees the new LM-100J as an ideal replacement for the existing civil L-100 fleets. The launch operator for the LM-100J will be Pallas Aviation, from 2019 they will operate two aircraft from Fort Worth Alliance Airport in the United States. Variants. Civilian variants are equivalent to the C-130E model without pylon tanks or military equipment . Operators. Civilian operators. In March 2011, a total of 36 Lockheed L-100 Hercules aircraft were in commercial service. Operators include Safair (4), Lynden Air Cargo (8), Transafrik (5), Libyan Arab Air Cargo (3), and other operators with fewer aircraft. Military operators. In May 2011, 35 Lockheed L-100s were in use with military operators, including: Other users with fewer aircraft.