be at least 500ft longer than the aircraft’s
ground roll, ie the distance needed to stop the
aircraft at a given weight, plus a 300ft (91m)
over/underrun at each end of the runway.
Once the runway has been set up, the Z-team
makes a detailed report of the area surrounding
the landing zone, including the position of any
areas of high ground, tall buildings or structures
which might affect the aircraft during take-off
and landing. The report is sent to the pilots
who are scheduled to perform the landing and
they examine how an approach and departure
can be flown safely, given the surrounding area.
On the day of the landings, the Z-team makes
a few test CBR readings to make sure the load-
bearing capabilities have not changed overnight
due to the weather. The team informs the pilots
about the latest conditions, including wind
speed and direction and it is then up to the
pilots to bring the aircraft in for a safe landing.VFR landing
With the runway prepared and all paperwork
approved, the runway information received
from the Z-team – including length and load-
bearing capability – is entered into the C-130’s
flight management system (FMS). This data,
along with information about the aircraft
weight, will determine if the runway can
support the Hercules at the planned weight.
On arriving at the runway, visual flight
rules (VFR) are the order of the day for theapproach and landing. The Hercules crew
have head-up displays (HUDs) with a number
of aids to help them land. They can set the
flightpath angle indicator to the required
glide slope, and use the climb/dive marker,
which shows where the aircraft is heading, to
help guide them down to the landing box.
Once the aircraft has touched down, full
braking is applied, using reverse thrust on
the four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprops
and the powerful brakes on the main wheels,
which have an anti-lock braking system (ABS),
preventing the wheels digging into the surface.
After landing, the crew can choose to either
turn the aircraft round and taxi back to the take-
off end, or, which is more often the case, they
can open the cargo ramp and reverse back
down the runway with the help of a loadmaster.Real-world utility
RDAF Hercules pilots are fairly familiar
with landing on rough and unprepared
runways. When flying supply missions
over Greenland, many of the runways
comprise gravel or snow and ice.
In recent years, RDAF Hercules aircraft have
also been deployed around the globe, either
to support Danish and coalition troops on
the ground, or on UN operations following
natural disasters. Many of the runways
used during these operations will need to
be set up first by the Danish Z-team.Above: After performing a touch-
and-go on the beach, C-130H
G-988 ‘Willem den Toom’ of 336
Squadron, Royal Netherlands Air
Force, climbs out while Danish
and Dutch troops look on.
Above left: The final approach
to the beach runway as seen
from the flight deck of an RDAF
Hercules. The pilots now just
need to clear the large body of
tidal water in front of the runway.
Left: Royal Danish Air Force
C-130J-30 B-538 lifts off from
the beach, with members of
the Z-team watching in the
background. All photos Søren
AugustesenAFMhttp://www.airforcesmonthly.com #361 APRIL 2018 // 43