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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1654.PDF
464 FLIGHT International, 12 September 1963 Geometrically the C-I4I and the commercial Lockheed 300 are identical. This three-view drawing may be compared with those published in earlier issues of this journal when the design was still being developed; overall length has varied from 143ft to 146ft, and settled at 145ft C-141 ROLL-OUT Lockheed's long-term production, giving the purchaser a better break on price. When in full production, the aircraft is expected to cost about $4m (£1,425,000) a copy. In the commercial version, the engines will be derated so that they may be operated at lower cost. Lockheed-Georgia is confident that the L-300 will have a direct operating cost of only four cents per short-ton mile over a 2,000-mile range. This figure is arrived at by using standard Air Transport Association methods. But as Lock heed-Georgia sees it, the big payoff for commercial operators will be the time the aircraft saves on the ground, and the fact that it can operate from several hundred more airports than present-day jet transports. The L-300 will take bigger loads than are at present being shipped commercially by air, and therefore it is expected to make air cargo more interesting to shippers. In the US at present, the largest single air cargo shipment rarely exceeds 2,000 to 3,0001b. With the L-300 much larger loads, containerized or pre-packaged for shipment before the aircraft arrives, can be rolled on board and taken to their destination without intermediate handling. While the present market for air cargo may not be big enough to command the services of an L-300, it is felt by many in the industry that it will have grown sufficiently by 1965 (or soon after) to make it a very useful commercial aircraft. For example, international air cargo has grown at an average rate of 12 per cent over the past ten years, and Lockheed-Georgia see the rate stepping up in the years ahead. From 1958 to 1962 international air cargo weights went up 15 per cent per year, and in 1961 and 1962 the increase averaged 19 per cent. A rate of about 20 per cent per year is the expectation for the next few years, and with such volumes on both domestic and international runs, an aircraft especially suited for cargo handling in large volume is expected to command a market all its own. ROLL-OUT QUOTES Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense: An important element of our military posture is the ability to react quickly to aggression which may occur in any part of the world. Swift and dependable means of airlifting troops and equipment wherever needed are basic to achieving that capability. This new all-jet C-I4IA will add significantly to the responsiveness of our military airlift force. Eugene M. Zuckert, Secretary of the Air Force: The C-I4IA represents a dramatic step forward in the Air Force's airlift modernization program. It will give our nation a new order of airlift power through greater mobility for the armed Services. The C-141A has been designed to do the work of peace as well as the tasks of war. It will meet the needs of national defense by providing the nation with rapid, reliable, efficient and flexible long-range airlift for use around the world. As an instrument of national policy, the C-I4IA will serve the MATS motto of "any thing, anytime, anyplace," from combat teams to relief supplies. General Curtis E. LeMay, US Air Force Chief of Staff: The C-141 A opens a new era of speed and efficiency in the deployment and employment of US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine combat personnel and battle equipment to overseas opera tions. The roll-out of this aircraft, the first all-purpose jet cargo transport designed specifically to meet military operational requirements, comes at a time when the nation's need has never been greater for rapid airlift of military personnel and cargo to all parts of the globe. General Bernard A. Schriever, Air Force Systems Commander: The occa sion of the roll-out of the C-I4IA marks a major milestone in Air Force-Feoera Aviation Agency-industry co-operation. From inception the C-141 has been de signed to meet global military airlift requirements as well as those of civil al!\?:ar" riers, and has done so without sacrifice of performance or operational capability- It is an accomplishment that everyone cornected with this program can well o proud of. It is also gratifying to note that the C-I4IA is being rolled out on time —virtually on the very day scheduled some two years ago. In our global cont:es with Communism, time has become a most precious commodity; and, in the tm^ analysis, our effectiveness in managing time, as well as our other resources, wi the determining factor in winning that contest. General Joe W. Kelly, Commander of Military Air Transport Service: The C-I4l's unique payload and range combinations will be directly responsive no: ony to the normal world-wide airlift requirements of the Army, Navy, Air Force a Marine Corps, but also to meet specific Joint Chiefs of Staff emergency P»r'* :, all the US Services. MATS combat aircrews will be fully trained to exploit tnc wio spectrum of capabilities offered by the C-141. These capabilities include batt":'* airdrop of paratroopers, airlift of other fighting personnel, aerial delivery of coi equipment, long-range airlift of hi-value items of material and a'1""'' of.1"'* from manufacturer to launch sites. This aircraft will also be invaluable in • ^ medical and humanitarian airlift missions on a global scale. Complemented y USAF 463L materials handling system, the C-141 promises to be the fastest, m efficient and flexible airlift system in the world. Maj-General R. G. Ruegg, Commander of the Aeronautical 5ytteS"s®"£ •ion: The Lockheed-Georgia Company, and the many industrial firms who c.^ buted to bringing the C-I4IA transport into being, merit heartiest eongratu<a.^ Working together under the management of the ASD C-141 sy"en\ *L of Director, they have reached a major milestone in extending the spee d an d ras our military airlift capability—and have done so with an austere and reiia transport of conventional modern design and construction. C-141 Timetable December 20, I960 Air Force called for bids to design and buiW »'fc™'month identified as "Logistics Transport System 476L. r,|jmi-later, Lockheed-Georgia Co, which had been doing p jjnce nary design work in preparation for this competiti ^ 1957, submitted its proposal. [Continued on W
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