Lockheed C-130K Hercules W2, XV208 / 4233, Marshall Of Cambridge Aerospace Ltd.
This picture is © Martin Laycock and may not be used or published without permission.
Registration: XV208
Construction Number: 4233
Model Lockheed C-130K Hercules W2
Operator: Marshall Of Cambridge Aerospace Ltd.
Airport: Cambridge - Teversham (CBG / EGSC), UK - England
Photographer: Martin Laycock
Date Taken: 23/05/2011
Date Submitted: 26/06/2011
The one and only Hercules W. mk. 2, affectionately known as 'Snoopy', photographed parked up and missing her engines at Cambridge Airport. Originally delivered to the Royal Air Force as a standard C. mk. 1 in September 1967, she served with 48 Squadron at RAF Changi, Singapore until returning to the UK in 1973 with a damaged main spar. The aircraft was then repaired and modified by Marshalls of Cambridge to the unique W. mk. 2 configuration fitted with a spectacular 22ft long nose probe for use by the Meteorological Research Flight. Based at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, she joined the flight's existing Canberra PR3 in 1974. She remained at Farnborough until experimental flying ceased there when she moved to Boscombe Down where she was operated by DERA until her retirement in April 2001. It would not be the end of her flying career though as she was used as a flying test bed for the Europrop International(EPI) TP400 engine developed for the Airbus A400M military transport. She completed 18 test flights flying a total of 54 flight test hours with a TP400 fitted in place of the aircraft's standard number 2 engine. The TP400 is fitted with the largest propeller produced in the west, and actually produces more thrust at idle than the aircraft's standard Allison T56 does at take-off power! She flew her final test flight on September 30th 2009.
Picture ID:1298328