Capabilities & Services
C-130
SERIES AIRCRAFT ENHANCEMENTS AND MODIFICATIONS
As the world has come to realize the Lockheed C-130
is the major aircraft type that can operate
worldwide in any weather or physical conditions.
Snow Aviation LLC International (SAI) has prepared their
C-130 series of standard and optional modifications
to allow the aircraft to fly safely and meet the
conditions being demanded by the circumstances
facing their operators worldwide today. Many
potential customers cannot afford the cost of new
versions of the C-130J aircraft series which are
running well in excess of $97 million each to solve
the requirement to replace wing components that are
running out of time, old avionics, electrical
equipment, mission systems updates, etc. on the
older C-130 models. Removal of this older C-130
installed equipment is being demanded as the safety
upgrades on these older aircraft by the countries
that are experiencing tremendous flight increases on
their flight control agencies and the added mission
requirements to meet the potential customers
military operational demands of today. The C-130
Series of Aircraft need to be able to fly at slower
speeds and work with requirements based on minimum
developed runways, mountainous terrain and other
demanding situations that the current terrorist’s
look for their training and continuing operations
areas to penetrate a country. Many of these SAI
modifications listed herein have been successfully
demonstrated to the US Government during a series of
demonstration contracts flown by SAI under military
contracts from 2005 to 2007. The following listings
describe the proposed C-130 modifications SAI
intends to offer for the 850+ C-130B/E/H Series
aircraft not being serviced by Lockheed today, but
still needed by these older aircraft in over 70
countries worldwide today. Not all of these SAI
offerings will be bought by every potential
customer, however, over 450 of these customers are
considered as being prime for selecting most of the
items listed below as their C-130s are still the
aircraft relied upon to perform the required
operations against the current terrorist and
insurgent situations and natural disasters being
demanded of them worldwide
SAI Installation of an Auxiliary
Power Unit (APU) and Removal of the Older C-130 GTC/ATM
Components
The current Gas Turbine Compressor (GTC)
installation in the earlier C-130/L-100 aircraft
supplies the compressed bleed air to power the AIR
Turbine Motor (ATM) which in turn powers the DC
electrical generator in the upper fuselage portion
of the center wing which supplies electrical power
while the aircraft is on the ground without the
aircraft’s engines running.
SAI Dual Battery Installation
SAI has developed and flown a dual battery
installation for the C-130 that meets the current US
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US
Military Electrical Power/Emergency Service Time
Requirements in case of a complete power generation
failure on an aircraft
SAI Electrical Control and
Distribution System
SAI has also designed, produced, ground and flight
tested a new electrical control and distribution
system that has also been issued a US FAA
Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for this new
system on a C-130/L-100. In addition, the USAF has
issued a Technical Order (TO) 704E that requires all
of their aircraft to meet the provisions for proper
power levels and power stability for the new
aircraft and support system requirements for retro
equipment still in use on the older aircraft.
ABS Dorsal Fin HF Antenna Mount
Installation
This installation removes the two long line HF
antenna wires from the front top of the aircraft
thus reducing the aerodynamic drag on the aircraft
by approximately 3% while improving the HF
transmission and reception capabilities and
significantly lowering of the associated system
maintenance requirements.
SAI Enlarged Dorsal Fin
The SAI enlarged dorsal fin was designed, built and
installed by SAI and then flight tested under
contract with the USAF on our prototype C-130E.
SAI Enlarged Rudder
The SAI enlarged rudder was designed, built and
installed by SAI and then flight tested under
contract with the USAF on our prototype C-130E.
SAI Wing Tip Fuel Tanks and Associated Outer Wing
AND Fuel System Modifications
The new SAI Wing Tip Fuel Tanks installation were
designed, built and installed by SAI and then flight
tested under contract with the USAF on the SAI
C-130E prototype aircraft.
SAI Aft Fuselage Strakes
SAI also has designed a set of C-130 Aft Fuselage
Strakes that they will build and flight test with
installation on their demonstration aircraft. Aft
fuselage strakes have previously been installed on a
C-130 fuselage and they did reduce aft fuselage drag
and provide a contribution to the airframe’s
stability at slow airspeeds.
UTC Carbon Brakes and Lock Ring
Wheels
The UTC carbon brakes, and lock ring wheels allow a
minimum of 8 times as many braking operations as the
current multiple steel disk brakes before they need
to be changed. The lock ring wheels allow a tire
change in 28 minutes versus 23 hours for a similar
tire change on a standard C-130/L-100 tire and wheel
installation.
SAI Glass Cockpit Modification
Installation
SAI has improved its original glass cockpit over the
last 17 years since we installed it in our company’s
C-130A Testbed Aircraft.
Engine Upgrades
SAI can accomplish engine upgrades for replacement
of the earlier T56-A-7A/B series engines with the
more powerful T56-A-15 or LFE version of the T56-A
Series engines. The T56-A-15 series engines offer
Shorter Airfield Take-off and Landing and faster
climb and cruise airspeed capabilities for the
earlier C-130B/E Models.
RR-Allison Engine Upgrades to the
T56-A-15, Series 3.5 Standard
SAI believes that the T56-A-15, Series 3.5 is the
most efficient means for the early C-130B/E/H
operators to gain additional power, capability and
reliability for their aircraft to meet their growing
market demands. SAI believes that the installation
of the T56-A-15, Series 3.5 on the older C-130 plus
installation of the appropriate SAI Modification
Programs for their missions will give these
operators the best return of economy and reliable
productivity they can have from their C-130s.
SAI Nacelle and Associated Nacelle
Structures
SAI has designed and analyzed new forward and aft
engine nacelle components to reduce the stress
concentrations between the current engine mount and
the front spar of the wing. SAI’s analysis shows a
loads concentration reduction of approximately 50%
for this mounting area utilizing the new SAI engine
mounts, QEC and aft engine nacelle designs.
Hamilton Sundstrand 8 Bladed
NP2000 Composite Propellers and Electronic Propeller
Control
SAI was the first company to install the Hamilton
Sundstrand NP2000 8 bladed composite propellers on
its C-130E test aircraft in 2006. The NP2000
propellers increased the thrust at the start of the
takeoff roll by 28% while still producing 12%
increase in thrust at aircraft lift off during
takeoff.
SAI install C-130H Nose Gear and
Installation Package
The C-130H component and mounting structure can be
overhauled, tested and installed in 30 days. The SAI
nose gear installation of the C-130H Nose Gear
Mounting Structure and Nose Gear Component is
superior or earlier variants.
New Cockpit Seats
The seats are smaller, lighter and much more
comfortable than the traditional C-130 cockpit
seats. The seats have over 30 adjustments and
provide a very comfortable and functional seating
arrangement. The seats mount in the traditional
cockpit seat rails and allow much more free space in
the immediate area of the cockpit seats than with
the standard C-130 cockpit seats.
C-130 Airframe Overhaul
Because of the amount of update and modification
work being accomplished on this aircraft it makes an
overhaul of the airframe a very economical operation
if accomplished along with the other referenced work
being accomplished.
Electrical Cockpit Air
Conditioning
SAI designed the installation kit and installed the
original smaller Electrical Cockpit Air Conditioning
unit from their selected sub-contract manufacturer
in our prototype demonstration C-130A aircraft and
it cooled our cockpit on a 104-degree day at Eglin
AFB to 70 degrees and kept it there while the
aircraft was on the ground and the unit running on
power from a ground aircraft power unit. This
air-conditioning unit is electrically powered and
can be run from a ground power unit or the
aircraft’s electrical system while airborne.
SAI Newly Developed Cargo Handling
System
SAI has designed and engineered a new cargo handling
system for the C-130 and L-100 series of sircraft.
The system features fold down outer locking system
rails that can be rapidly folded down or moved up to
provide maximum width for loading wheeled equipment
or placed up to horizontally and vertically
stabilize the outboard portions of
pallets/containers.
A New Sub-Cargo Floor Mounting
Winch System
SAI is aware of the standard times it takes with the
older C-130s for an aircrew to unload and reload
their aircraft with different types of loads while
supporting their military missions in the field.
Positioning a winch and attached cables on top of
the cargo floor to be moved by the loading crew
assists the loading of a heavy load which is tiring
and time consuming with a 300-pound winch.
Aircraft Cockpit Galley
Aircraft galleys with the plan to upgrade the C-130
cockpit of the older C-130 series aircraft with a
new galley utilizing new solid state and state of
the art components. The proposed unit will be
lighter, require considerably less power, operate at
temperatures on the outside of the galley components
installation that are cooler than the current C-130
galley units, have more capacity and require
significantly less maintenance.
SAI Horsals
SAI has designed, will build and test the new aft
fuselage horsals for the C-130 as soon as a customer
requests them, or a decision is made by SAI to
include them on their demonstration aircraft.
SAI’s C-130E/H – L-100 Fuselage
Stretch
The C-130 and L-100 fuselage stretch engineering was
initiated by the commercial L-100 operators to
increase their cargo cubic payloads.
C-130 Lightning Protection System
SAI has designed a new lightning dissipation system
for the C-130. The system concentrates on lightning
hits on the nose, wing tips and vertical fin areas
of the aircraft.
SAI Trailing Arm Nose and Main
Landing Gear
SAI originally designed its trailing arm landing
gear components for its SA-200 series aircraft
design which was subsequently modified to withstand
the added physical loads associated with the
heaviest C-130s currently in use or as demonstrated
by the SAI prototype aircraft to the USAF under
contract.
C-130 Wing Work
A real concern for many of the older C-130 operators
is the total time on their aircraft’s center wings.
If the center wing is out of time or approaching
major restrictions on its operation the time to
address the problem is when SAI is doing all the
work described in a proposal. SAI only replaces
center wings with the heavy weight USAF center wing
components or a rebuild of the center wing to the
same heavy weight specifications.