Stars and Stripes reported today (April 25) that a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules four-engine turboprop established a new record by flying direct from Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) in Texas to Andersen AFB in Guam. The C-130J made a single fuel stop in Hawaii, with a total flight time of 26 hours, 33 minutes.
Since C-130s are not equipped for air-to-air refueling, the April 18 flight used a pair of external fuel tanks, according to the USAF 7th Bomb Wing press release. Two separate crews from the USAF 40th Airlift Squadron began shifting their circadian rhythms 49 hours in advance to help complete the marathon mission, meant to spotlight the Super Hercules’s maximum endurance capability.
USAF Captain and pilot Anna Santori said, “The external tanks have new capabilities for us, allowing us to fly farther without refueling. It gives us about 17,000 pounds of fuel, which translates to roughly four extra hours of flying.” The Super Hercules will now participate in exercises focused on enabling refueling and deployments in forward areas not previously accessible in the area near the Luzon Strait near Taiwan. The aircraft, whose internal and external fuel tanks can also serve as refueling assets for remote locations, can also transport U.S. Marines from Lal-Lo to Batan Island, “a strategically important island in the northern island chain that USAF mobility aircraft have not been to in over a decade,” according to the Air Force, which added, “Utilizing our external fuel tanks and ability to land in austere locations, we will be able to provide fuel for follow-on missions from USMC aircraft.”
