Fat Albert set to return to UK for major wing-box overhaul

By George Allison

The US Navy’s well known C-130 Hercules, Fat Albert, will return to Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge later this year for a centre wing box replacement that will add decades to the aircraft’s service life, the company stated.

The aircraft supports the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels demonstration team and undergoes significant structural stress due to its high operating tempo and aerobatic display profile.

Fat Albert functions as both a logistics aircraft and a display performer. According to the company, it routinely carries personnel and equipment across the United States and covers more than 100,000 miles each season. It also opens Blue Angels events with a 15 minute routine that includes steep climbs, sharp banks, low passes and combat-style landings.

This combination of long range movement and demanding manoeuvres places unusual fatigue on the airframe.

The centre wing box is described as a “lifed article” that must be replaced at the end of its certified service life. As the core structure linking the fuselage to the outer wings, it carries substantial loads on every flight. The company stated that installing a new enhanced service life centre wing box designed by Lockheed Martin will add more than 20 years of operational life but requires an invasive and complex engineering process.

Marshall highlighted its long track record with this work. According to the company, it has carried out nearly 80 centre wing box replacements on C-130 variants since the 1970s and was designated by Lockheed Martin in 2024 as the first authorised Centre of Excellence for the procedure.

Alongside the wing box installation, Fat Albert will receive routine maintenance, including a complete strip and repaint in the Blue Angels’ signature livery.

Fat Albert set to return to UK for major wing-box overhaul