I saw a large plane taking off from Andrews AFB the other day and it was a four propeller monster. I thought, why use propellers with something that big? Why not make everything jets propulsion? Is it cheaper?
What you saw was likely a C-130, a design that dates back more than 50 years. It survives because it’s still unsurpassed for operations out of short & rough airfields.
As a general rule, propeller planes are good at flying slow. So something like a C-130 is able to fly slow and land on short airfields. Also, planes like the P-3 are good at flying slow for missions that involve searching for submarines.
Ahhh, the venerable C-130. Mentioned in several Army cadences I sang during long, onerus road marches and company “fun runs” (they aren’t fun).
But yeah, what you said is true, as well as the fact that they are very reliable.
Hell, it took forever to phase out the Huey (and they might even still be used in some cases today, IDK anymore) becuase of it’s reliabilty and parts inventory.
Ditto for the B-52 bomber (I know, it has jet engines, but it’s o l d…).
This is one area where the military gets it right. You can hang onto a proven vehicluar asset for a long time, all the while upgrading controls, computers, etc.
It’s cheaper than building a new alternative, especially when you factor in that new platforms require a lot of training, assessment, de-bugging, etc.
A pure jet engine is essentially like having a car that is stuck in high gear. It goes fine on the freeway, but has trouble getting out of it’s own way from a stop. Such are used only on very high speed aircraft these days.
Adding larger and larger fans to the engine “lowers the gearing” and makes them work much better at lower speeds. Most of the air bypasses the turbine that powers the fans, and these engines are known as “high bypass engines” or “fan jets”
At some point it makes sense to lose the duct around the fan, and then you have a propellor. Note that in most larger modern aircraft, the propellor(s) are driven by turbine engines, so enjoy the reliability of “jet” engines.
Seems to me that high-mounted turboprops are less susceptible to FOD. Important from primitive airstrips.
I recall reading years ago about the daily check for FOD on jet strips. It’s not just the grunts that do it - everybody gets to walk the strip.* A prop plane that can utilize short, less-than-perfect strips is invaluable in times of need.
I had a chance around 1981 to climb aboard a B-52 (last produced in 1959?). Up close, those things look like junk. They are all wrinkly from the stresses and skin-loosening over the years. But if they are the best available for a particular mission or missions, and can be updated for future missions…
*I also saw an F-16 starting up pretty close. Standing still, its jet engine created a tornado coming up from the tarmac. Anything up-suckable would have been. Not good if a random nut or bolt is within said suckage.
OK, let’s speak English here. What’s FOD?
Foreign Object Debris
Friend Of Dorothy
Thanks. Saved me asking.
No, those have no problem with suckage.
As above.
The idea of a “FOD walk” is that any kind of rubbish lying on the ground is capable of causing damage if it’s ingested into an engine or contacts a spinning propellor. In civilian life everyone is encouraged to keep an eye out for FOD and remove it if seen.
As the others have implied, everything in aviation is a compromise. A wing that is designed to go fast will not fly well at low speed, an aeroplane designed to get in and out of short strips will necessarily not be particularly fast, and a jet is good for high speed and high altitude but very inefficient at low speed and low altitude. Propellers aren’t “worse” than jets, they are just suited to a different role.
Heh, that and where do you think those FLIR images of drug-running go-fast boats come from?
Or people. Yep, it’s happened and even been caught on video. In the case of the guy in that vid he actually managed to survive his close encounter with an A6 Intruder jet engine (near as I could find out his helmet came off and jammed up the turbine while he managed to hold himself mere inches away from the blades…talk about scary!).
Too bad the ass-chewing that he and whoever else got was not caught on video. I’m sure that was equally dramatic.
Ya know…I was thinking about that. I would think if I were his commanding officer an ass chewing would be unnecessary. Getting sucked into a jet engine and hanging on for dear life mere inches from a blazing Cuisinart would be lesson enough. What could a pissed off CO really add to that?
C-130 rolling down the strip,
Airborne daddy on a one way trip!
Mission top secret, destination unknown
We don’t know if we’re ever coming home!
Airborne, airborne, have you heard?
We’re gonna jump from a big-ass bird!
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door!
Jump right out and count some more! 
It says the P-3 will be replaced by the P-8 soon. The P-8 is a jet aircraft based on the Boeing 737.