Why does the Blue Angels C-130 have propellers instead of jets engines?

Answer 1

C130's are turboprop aircraft...they use a jet engine to turn the propellers. a very common and efficient type system.

Answer 2

The C-130H has four turbine engines (Rolls Royce T56-A-15) Each engine drives a gear box. The gear box has a propeller attached to it. The gear ratio is approximately 13:1 That is the engine turns 13 times for every one turn of the propeller.
It is a common misconception that all turbine engines are jet engines, this is just not so. If every turbine engine were a jet engine, turbine powered helicopters would not be able to hold in a hover because the "jet exhaust" would not allow the helicopter to stay in one place
The short answer is that a turbo propeller driven aircraft can be more fuel efficient. It also has better low and slow speed capabilities. C-130 burns on average 1100 lbs of fuel per hour per engine.
A propeller does not blow air over a wing to get an airplane to fly. A propeller "Pulls" an airplane through the air, much the same way as when you drive a screw into a piece of wood. The screw is pulled into the wood more than the wood is pulled onto the screw. As the airplane travels through the air, the wings generate lift. The wind created by a puller propeller is called resultant air, kind of like the wake from a boat propeller.

Answer 3

The C-130 is a cargo aircraft. When it was first designed the rest of the aeronautics industry was putting out swept winged sleek jets and bombers. Lockheed was given the task to design a versatile economical cargo and troupe lifter aircraft, with short field and unimproved field performance. The head of Lockheed was stunned when he saw the design that the engineers came up with. The utilitarian design was it's strong point and it turned out to be a winning design. Thousands have been built and it's still in production.

The turbo props were used for their thrust and ease of maintenance. The way a turbo works is neat also. When the pilot gives the gas to the engines the engine builds up to top performance. The propellers are adjustable so even though the pilot has configured the props for a certain speed the fact that the engine itself is always turning at top performance, the pilot has instant thrust available to him at all times.

Answer 4

The short explanation:
Turboprops are more fuel efficient than turbojets (or turbofans) for short distances or slow aircraft.

The long explanation:
When designing an aircraft, it is important to know its mission. In this case, the primary purpose of the C-130 is tactical airlift. Tactical airlift aircraft are used in theater (for example, to transport troops around inside Iraq) as opposed to strategic airlift (A C-5 from the USA to Iraq).

Seeing as they are short distances, it is not efficient to use jet engines, because the flights are not long enough to get high enough to where the jet engines become more efficient.

Keep in mind there is a difference between a *piston* propeller engine (used on small general aviation aircraft (cessna, piper, etc)) and a *turbine* propeller engine (turboprop). A turboprop engine actually has a LOT more in commong with a turbofan engine (used on big jets) than it does with a piston engine - they are both powered by a gas turbine, except the turboprop power comes from the propeller in front, whereas the turbofan power comes from the air blown through the turbine.

In other words - in a turboprop, the turbine *just* spins the propeller, but in a turbofan, the turbine creates your thrust as well.

Answer 5

Because the C-130A was designed that way. And the reason it was designed that way was for fuel efficiency nad the ability to land on unimproved runways. Although they tried to replace the C-130 with the C-17 they just couldnt do away with the old herc due to the astounding amount of engine damage when they tried to put it down in the same airfields that the C-130 was going in and out of all day with no problems. That and the C-130 can still land and take off in about 800 ft.

Answer 6

I met the Blue Angels and I asked the same question.
Props push air over the wings.
Jet exhaust provides thrust but no air over the wings to provide lift. Jet engines need speed which takes time and distance.
By pushing air over the wings it creates lift quicker than jet thrust and hence a quicker take off.
When landing it also provides a lot more reverse thrust for stopping power.

Make sense?

Answer 7

Because it's a C-130. All C-130s are turbo-prop aircraft.

Answer 8

All C-130 use Turbo-props as previously stated. The Turbo prop allows greater performance in Short Field take-offs and landings aka STOL. The 130 EXCELS at this for it's size and cargo capacity.

Answer 9

Props have been on the C130 since its inception in the late 1950's, first with three blades, then with four blade aluminum alloy props. The new J models are equipped with 6 blade composite props.

The huge advantage of the C130 is the short stopping distance made possible by reversing the props.

And to add onto what was said below, the props are not so reliable, they are a major source of headaches for us, as they are electric and hydraulic.

Answer 10

Because "Fat Albert" carries equipment and ground personell. They require an economical yet payload carrying workhorse.

Enter the USMC C-130 "Fat Albert".

Commonly called the "Herky Jerky"; the Hercules, accomplishes the simple mission of carrying the parts and tools of the show along with the ground crew that keeps the Blues in the air.

Your other answers pretty well explain turbo-prop.