U.S. Army Sherpa
 

the box!!!

Nice shot of the Irish Concorde, that is as attractive as is gets.:)

Here's another one I took yesterday...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/...1e11d67c_o.jpg

...I was talking with one of the pilots, and he said they're taking delivery of their first C-27 Spartan. I knew the Army was getting Spartans, but I didn't know it what it was replacing until yesterday. These guys are glad to get rid of the Sherpa though. Here's a fairly recent shot I took of the C-27.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/...5bfdd858_o.jpg

With those props, it looks like a new J model.

The C-27 came about after the incursion in Central America. The -130s were too big and the gov needed something that could get into smaller strips. had to be pressurized and the ONLY one that met all requirements was the Alenia G.222 which had a very unusual history. During the evolution of the airplane design it had at one time 8 engines. Two turboprops and six puffer engines to allow very low speed handling. Needless to say, the 8 engine version never left paper.

The original engine was the same as on the C-130 but when orders came from Libya, the US said our engines couldn't go to Libya and thus the version with RR engines was created.

A number of years ago I got to fly a C-27 and was surprised at how it handled, especially on the ground. With its narrow track one had to be very aware of strong direct crosswinds which could cause problems taxiing.