CL-130 SEAPLANES.
Carlton W. Meyer
The major weakness in our ability to rapidly deploy military forces is a dependence on modern airfields. Most areas of the world have few suitable runways. A smart enemy may target missiles at airfields and make them unusable with aerial mines or chemical weapons. CL-130 seaplanes, which can operate from airfields, rivers, or lakes, are the solution. The C-130 design already has high wings, and modern seaplanes are currently in production as the Canadair CL-415 and Japanese Shinmaywa US-1A. Current C-130s can operate from less than 0.001% of our planet, while seaplanes can operate from 70%.
Lockheed-Martin has recently developed a "low-cost floatplane" conversion kit which allow C-130 Hercules to operate from the water. The Special Operations Command and the Coast Guard may soon buy some kits. This floatplane has two major disadvantages compared to seaplanes. Firstly, the weight and drag of the large floats cuts payload and range by 30%. In addition, it takes several hours to modify a C-130. A lack of enthusiasm from the Marines and Air Force has discouraged the development of a CL-130 seaplane, which would require moving the engines on top of the wings, and a watertight fuselage with a floats and skirts attached to the rear ramp so it could open in the water.
The Marine Corps should be enthusiastic about this idea, especially after my article "CL-130 Amphibians" appeared in the May 1997 issue of the "Marine Corps Gazette". Several Generals acknowledged that CL-130s are a good idea, but the MV-22 is sucking up all aviation funds and CL-130s could threaten full funding since they can carry 3 times the payload and 3 times the range.
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E-mail May 1998