Lockheed to Develop Civil Version of C-130J

[pilotman6012]

Lockheed after spending the last few years focusing on the military version of the C-130J,is now looking at the launching of the LM-100J,the civilian version.Currently in talks with several Governments and other possible users of the aircraft.

[cHabu]

I wonder how many seats they can fit in one.

[Stratofreighter]

I wonder how many seats they can fit in one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_L-100_Hercules
unfortunately does not state how many seats could be crammed into the earlier civil variant.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/ ... nnel=11563 has this on the "new" one:

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp on Monday launched the civil variant of its C-130J Super Hercules military transport plane,
the LM-100J,
saying it expected to sell about 75 of the planes to mining and energy companies,
and other commercial and government customers in coming years.

Lockheed said it had asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to certify the LM-100J,
which will mirror the four-engine C-130J military workhorse,
but without military avionics and communications equipment.

Lockheed said it built more than 100 L-100s from 1964 to 1992, and many of those commercial and government customers were now starting to look for replacement aircraft.

Other plane-makers, including Brazil's Embraer, are also eyeing potential sales of large cargo planes.

He said the plane was ideally suited for use by oil and gas operators and mining companies, which needed to deliver generators and other heavy equipment to austere locations around the world.
The plane can also be used for aerial spray, firefighting, medical evaluations, humanitarian aid and VIP transport, Lockheed said.

Lockheed spokeswoman Stephanie Stinn said the civil variant was certified by the FAA in 1998, but Lockheed let the certification lapse as it focused the military C-130J variant, which has racked up over 1 million flight hours worldwide.

Crisler said it would take about three years to build the first LM-100Js, followed by about a year of testing before the civil version of the plane was re-certified.

Crisler told Reuters that Lockheed hoped to land an initial order for the new LM-100J aircraft this summer but declined to provide more details. He said the turboprop plane, aircraft would be priced in the mid-$60-million range.