Quote Originally Posted by RJ View Post
Are their C-47's dropping troops inthe 21st Century? What was the combat load for a C-130 a venerable air craft still being flown and utilized as a troop carrier and airborne delivery system.
Somebody somewhere is almost certainly dropping people from one of Donald's masterpieces. Last time I noticed, Colombia still had a few. Nothing gooney about that bird...

The H model 130, the largest production run, ACL is ~35,000 pounds, range dependent. 90 pax or 62 jumpers for the base model. In combat, take the seats out, stretch nylon tiedowns across the bird at about five foot intervals and let people sit on the floor and you can load over 150 combat equipped troops on one -- and plop 'em into a ± 1,000 meter strip. Great bird.