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Continued |
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Having completed the tests,
preparations were begun to leave for home. However, because the other C-130BL
aircraft were still flying operational missions to Byrd Station, the Navy
requested that the test aircraft stand-by for use if an emergency arose. On
Saturday, February 18, 17 Lockheed and USAF Task Force Slide III personnel
departed McMurdo aboard a Navy C-121. Fitzwater and his flight crew took off
for Christchurch in the test aircraft on February 21. After a 7 hour and 12
minute flight, the crew remained over night (RON) in New Zealand before
departing for Hickham AFB, Hawaii, via the Fiji Islands on February 22.
Again, after RON at Hickham, the crew flew a 13 hour and 54 minute flight and
arrived at Wright-Patterson AFB on February 23. An air speed system
re-calibration was performed there during a 3-hour flight on March 3.
Finally, the aircraft was ferried to the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in
Georgia on March 10, where the test instrumentation was removed and rework
was performed to return the plane to the latest production configuration.
Thus, the flying portion of Task Force Slide came to an end. The Lockheed Engineering Flight Test
Operational Report, dated May 26, 1961, stated, "The C-130BL is
considered operationally suitable for use in the Antarctic under the
conditions the U.S. Navy intends to operate the airplane." Lockheed
employees continued the deduction of the aircraft loads oscillograph data
obtained during the testing and forwarded the results to the Air Force in
September 1961. In
the Air Force Flight and Engineering Test Report, prepared by the group at
Wright-Patterson AFB and dated November 16, 1961, the following conclusions
were reached: |
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a. |
The e.g. limits of the C-130BL (those used during the tests) are satisfactory for operation of the C-130BL from semi prepared skiways. |
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b. |
Takeoff performance is greatly reduced by deep, wet snow, and one of the following techniques should be used to obtain the best possible performance: |
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(1) |
Use RATO and fire the rockets at the stagnation airspeed; |
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(2) |
Taxi back and forth to pack a takeoff track; |
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(3) |
Rock the aircraft longitudinally, using a pumping motion on the control column, to increase lift, reduce drag, and therefore accelerate the aircraft to lift-off speed. |
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c. |
Exact takeoff performance on skis is unpredictable and varies greatly from day to day. |
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It was also noted that the nose ski was relatively ineffective for steering on any snow surfaces. |
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