2 things I didn't know you could do in a plane

[LongBlade]

for the more flight savvy than me - why is there still a market for prop-engined military aircraft?

i thought it may be size but the A380 is parked here next to the AC130 and the commercial plane is much larger and obviously has jets - so why put props on AC130?

is it so it doesnt go too fast?

I can only address that by what I've managed to pick up.

A C-130 can land in a very short area and take off in just slightly longer. It has rocket boosters that can assist in tight conditions.

The engines will run on anything that can burnt - kerosine, diesel, even cooking oil. They'll need a major overhaul when they get back to base, but you can't do that with a jet engine.

Also, props don't go fast. That's a major plus if you want to loiter with intent.

[GDS_Starfury]

propeller driven aircraft are far more affordable to maintain and operate.  they can operate from much rougher areas with less support structure.  the lower speed and higher loiter time lets you get a better picture of the ground.  for an interesting aside:

Combat Dragon II Demonstrates OV-10G+ Bronco Capabilities

Written by: Robert F. Dorr on June 13, 2013

In recent months, the U.S. special operations community has been quietly evaluating two North American OV-10G+ Bronco light combat aircraft at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., and at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

The Combat Dragon II program, a Limited Objective Experiment (LOE), is aimed at demonstrating that a small, turboprop-powered warplane can be effective in "high end/special aviation" missions of the kind encountered in Afghanistan.
The experiment seeks similar information as Imminent Fury, which used a leased A-29B Super Tucano.

Congress tried to kill Combat Dragon II 18 months ago. Today, CENTCOM's Science and Technology Division is running the LOE in cooperation with SOCOM.

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/combat-dragon-ii-demonstrates-ov-10g-bronco-capabilities/

[bob48]

Now your talkin'

We did have a discussion a while back about 'em starting production of an up-dated OV10 again, although I have not checked to see if that has moved forwards. Whatever, its a damn fine aircraft.

[GDS_Starfury]

Im also a big fan of the Pucara.

[bob48]

It does look 'the business' but the OV10 is still the winna!

http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=147