Anchorage to Denver in a C-130

I found an interesting X-Plane model of the C-130 four-engine turboprop transport, and decided to feel it out, by flying the same route from Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, to Buckley AFB in the Denver area. I didn't have any aircraft operating documentation when I started, but I later found a Flight Manual, Performance Manual, and Pocket Guide online - maybe too much information. Ground handling was intuitive and straight-forward, as long as I kept my speed down. The landing gear stance is very narrow, so this aircraft has a tendency to lean away from a turn at higher taxiing speeds. I took a guess at a rotation speed in the 120 knot range, with flaps at 20 degrees, and that worked out well, as the aircraft quickly lifted off and transitioned to climbing quickly. Gear up with positive rate of climb, and flaps up at about 140 knots also seemed to work well.

Here are some operating notes I made for myself:

Climb at 180 knots to 10,000 feet

Climb at 170 knots to 15,000 feet

Climb at 160 knots to 25,000 feet

Props want to run over 100% RPM so back them down after takeoff

Initial approach speed 170 knots

Final approach speed 150-140 knots

Avoid full flaps until landing is assured

Thrust reverse is crucial for stopping quickly on the runway

Autopilot works well for holding heading, rate of climb/descent, and altitude. It looks like Approach mode is also available.

Approaching the local mountains, and climbing into a broken cloud layer, at the same time, raises the pucker factor. The main question is, am I climbing fast enough to clear the hills, without seeing them?

The answer to the above question is yes, without a doubt. Of course, I was taking advantage of Foreflight's Hazard display, which shows close underlying terrain in yellow, and any terrain near or above my altitude in bright red, so it was easy to tell, even in the clouds, if I was above or below the terrain in front of me, and I had a plan to turn toward lower terrain, if it looked like I wasn't going to clear the terrain in my climb.

Climbing away from my initial cruise altitude of 22,000 feet. I wasn't sure what a good cruise altitude would be, for this aircraft, as I didn't have any kind of operating manual for it (I do now!), but 22,000 seemed intuitively to be well within the capability of this powerful turboprop transport. Once I'd leveled off at 22,000, and the airspeed had increased, I decided to see if I could climb higher.

Beautiful view of the Chugach Mountains behind me.

Passing Horsefly Lake, British Columbia. That sounds like a well chosen name, for a place to avoid, especially in summer clothes!

Approaching Lake Koocanusa, Montana.

Passing Canyon Ferry Lake, Montana.

Passing Yellowstone Lake, off to the right under the broken clouds.

I know it's Yellowstone Lake, and I know right where it is, because I'm using Foreflight to follow my flight path. I'm also trying the Synthetic Vision capability of Foreflight on the iPad. This shows me the equivalent of a Primary Flight Display on the split screen, and includes a portrayal of what the terrain in front of me might look like, on a generic day. In this case, it shows rolling green hills, which is a lot like the view out the windscreen.

Descending toward Buckley AFB in Denver, with the intent of intercepting the runway 32 ILS approach, which should help me get aligned with the glidepath to the runway.

On short final approach to Buckley AFB. I had "gotten behind the airplane" during the descent, so I was pleased to have things under control at this point. Not an impressive showing, but not awful, for my first time in this airplane.

Taxiing off the runway at Buckley AFB, with the Rocky Mountains in the background.