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originally posted by: Sammamishman
a reply to: intrptr
Pretty hard to use for covert insertions from an aircraft with no engines.
originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: intrptr
So could a C-130, which is a much better platform to jump from.
If SOCOM is going for a long distance jump they use HAHO, not HALO, and use an airfoil chute, not a wingsuit. They can stay airborne longer with that than with the suit. And the 727 is still a lousy platform to jump from.
originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: intrptr
There are almost none flying anymore and jumping from those stairs was extremely dangerous. In 2013 there were less than 200 flying worldwide, out of almost 1900 built.
A C-130 on radar would look like just another aircraft, if it was picked up on a Primary radar. If they were pretending to be an airliner, they would file a fake flightplan, and no one would even think twice about it. Like any aircraft, they'd have to slow to jump speed for less than a minute while they went out the back, but other than that, it wouldn't appear different from any other passenger flight.
originally posted by: Bedlam
And for very short jumps, they use LANO, but only once, and generally not by intention.