USAF Readies For C-130 Engine Upgrade Tests

Flight tests of a fuel-saving upgrade to the Rolls-Royce T56 are set to begin at Edwards AFB, Calif., in July.

The modified engine will be fitted to an Air National Guard-operated Lockheed Martin C-130H and is aimed at demonstrating flying qualities data as well as verifying overall improvements in performance. Flight tests are expected to run through August.

Tom Hartmann, Rolls-Royce vice president for customer business, says flight tests mark the final qualification stage for the upgrade kit, which is attracting interest from domestic and international C-130 operators. The T56-15 Series 3.5 “enhancement” kit originally was launched in response to U.S. government calls for reduced dependence on foreign oil, and if adopted could extent the operational life of the C-130H to 2040.

Hartmann says the kit is designed to reduce fuel burn by 8% and increase overall engine life by around 10%. Alternatively, as a trade-off against the extended-life option, he adds the upgrade also can be used to generate up to 9% more power for improved hot-and-high performance. The overall performance of the kit was recently verified in a test cell in Indianapolis, Hartmann says.

The kit, which can be fitted as part of a standard overhaul, consists of remanufactured compressor blades, single-crystal first-stage high-pressure turbine blades, and aerodynamically redesigned blades and vanes throughout the low-pressure turbine. According to an Air Force analysis report, the Series 3.5 upgrade could contribute to overall long-term savings of $3.5 billion over the lifetime of the fleet. Rolls has previously stated that the kit also could be potentially adapted for the T56-14 version that powers the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.

Flight tests also will assess if the engine can deliver on estimates that it will increase the range of the C-130H with a 20,000-lb. payload to more than 3,180 nm, from 2,845 nm, compared with a standard Series 3-powered aircraft under identical conditions.

A Day in the Life of X-47B UCAS – Video

Northrop Grumman just posted this video which is a visual summary of activities associated with the recent flight testing of X-47B Air Vehicle Two (AV-2) at Edwards Air Force Base, California.The testing marked the completion of the airworthiness test phase of the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) programme.

X-47B Carrier Drone Passes Air Worthiness Tests; Carrier Takeoffs, Landings Next Year

The unmanned aircraft most likely to become the first to takeoff and land on aircraft carriers is moving to the next phase of testing, moving from Edwards Air Force Base to the Navy's main operational test site at Patuxent River, Md.

The X-47B, also known as the Navy's UCAS-D, soared higher than 15,000 feet and flew at a speed of 180 knots during more than 23 flights and 50 tests. The aircraft moved to Maryland yesterday. It also "demonstrated multiple maneuvers relevant to carrier operations, including extending and retracting a tail hook, completing an autonomous 'touch-and-go' landing – an aviation first – and performing landings at a high sink rate and in a heavy weight configuration," according to a Northrop Grumman press release.

The tests also "proved that the X-47B will perform properly at all speeds, weights and altitudes" required by the Navy, the release says.

The flights included tests of several aircraft maneuvers required in the carrier environment, helping to reduce risks associated with operating a tailless, unmanned aircraft from a Navy aircraft carrier.

Carrier suitability testing begins later this summer. That will include catapult launches, arrested landings and wireless remote deck handling of the aircraft. The first actual carrier landings and takeoffs will occur in 2013. The Navy and Northrop Grumman plan to demonstrate aerial refueling in 2014.

The first X-47B is undergoing electromagnetic interference testing in Maryland to show it can function in the very electrically noisy environment of an aircraft carrier.