Hercules

Orange and pistachio cake was absolutely delicious. It was bigger than this to start with.
I took a quick photo inbetween snapping the planes, mainly to check the camera was working by listening to it click when I pressed the shoot button! Explanation later....

Yesterday M and I were out for coffee and cake when planes suddenly started flying overhead. At first I thought it was to celebrate the King's official birthday. One of the many perks of being the reigning monarch is having two birthdays each year. The British monarch’s official birthday is celebrated on a Saturday in June, usually the first or second weekend. Why? well mostly because of the weather. Queen Elizabeth was born in April and King Charles was born in November, months when the weather could be chilly for outdoor celebrations. 

This birthday tradition was started by George II in 1748 when his November birthday was too cold for a celebratory parade, a celebration of the monarch

as well as the armed forces - the annual Trooping the Colour Military Parade.

M then said that she thought this spectacular flypast across the country was to mark the retirement of one of its most iconic planes. The C-130 Hercules is one

of the RAF's most important aircraft, used for tactical transport.

Who would want to build a stubby turboprop cargo aircraft

at the dawn of the jet age?

It was 1951, and the U.S. Air Force wanted aircraft capable of hauling large bulky equipment, including artillery pieces and tanks, over long distances. It had to land in tight spaces, slow to 125 knots for paratroop drops and fly, if need be, with one engine. What the Air Force wanted, in other words, was a tough, versatile heavylifter with plenty of “trunk” space.

Hall Hibbard, Lockheed’s chief engineer, viewed the request and saw potential. Design genius Kelly Johnson, however, saw potential disaster, a diversion from the high-speed, high-performance jet fighters that were his focus. “If you send that in,” Johnson told his boss, referring to an early proposal for the aircraft, “you’ll destroy the Lockheed Company.”

It’s a good thing Hibbard didn’t listen. When the prototype YC-130 taxied for its inaugural flight on August 23rd 1954, it was clear to all - even Johnson - that the Lockheed engineers had created something timeless.

Later officially nicknamed Hercules, the prototype had a cargo deck that was capable of carrying an astonishing 300 pounds per square foot, lifted into the air after a ground roll of a mere 855 feet, an astoundingly short distance considering most aircraft of that size required 5,000 feet.

Since its first flight in 1954, the Hercules has been everywhere and done just about anything. Aircrews have flown it to both poles, landed or airdropped military supplies to hot spots from Vietnam to Afghanistan and performed countless humanitarian relief operations around the globe. Hercules planes were also used for crucial refuelling pit stops.

There were more planes that I wasn't fast enough to capture, or I wasn't pointing in the right direction! but I did see them all, they were magnificent. I'm really pleased with the ones I did photograph because I couldn't see my phone screen - the light was very bright, I was just pointing and hoping for the best!

∼ Be safe and well ∼

Polly x