DC10FE

I may have missed something in one of the above replies, but wasn't there a video narrated by John Wayne about flying out of CCK and Vietnam? I remember watching it during commander's call back in the 1960's. In it, there was a C-130 taking off and disappearing from sight and then reappearing zooming overhead. Also, a crew was interviewed after landing long and having to back out of a minefield, if I remember correctly. CRS, ya know. Don R.

Check your email. Don R.

I'll have to be more viglant in the future.. Siphil's bio is a good one. I'm disappointed when I get there and there's not even a name on the profile. Don R.

Muchas gracias, Bob

As a retired FE (military & commercial), I have a lot of time on my hands & am easily amused. One of my daily rituals is to come visit this forum. The last thing I do before signing off is to check any new member's profile. If I'm the first there, I feel I've accomplished something for that day. For those of you who don't check members' profiles, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. For those of you that do (Larry, Sonny, Mt crewchief, etc), you know exactly what I'm talking about, right? Don R.

Bob, do you have an msn for CG2007? Don R.

I remember a rote in the summer of 1976, it did not rain one day while I was there -- although I wasn't there that much. That's the rote I spent celebrating America's bicentennial drinking Heniken beer at the US Consulate in Dharahran, Saudi Arabia. If I remember correctly, the next day, we loaded up the airplane with all the empties (there were a lot) and dropped them in the middle of the desert. Don R.

Here I go hijacking my own thread. A few years ago, I learned that members of the USAF bands enter the Air Force as TSgts and bypass the usual basic training. Check out some UTube videos of the band -- they're almost all Top 3. WTF? OK, back to Moldyhole. I wonder if the RAF will move in? I'm sure Brize Norton is pretty crowded with the C-130's & C-17's based there. Don R.

I passed through there in my DC-10 a few times on AMC trips out of Charleston and McGuire. Even thoough I'm not flying anymore, I'm really gonna miss that place. Don R.

The ned of an era. Many fond memories. Too many rotes to count. The Bird in the Hand, Mickey's Tea Room, Top 3 Club, Sherwood Forest. Click here: Huge US airbase to close - ITV News Don R

A very rare photo of the FE panel on the prototype DC-8. Don R.

Bob, Any info on when and where? No engines -- not a good sign. Don R.

Bob, Could you contact the photographer, or is he the one requesting help? The only thing I can say is that it's an A-model by the cabin window configuration. Don R. Don I e mailed him, no answer yet. Bob

Thanks, Helsie. A great tribute to Fred, a true legend in the commercial Herc world. BTW, for those reading this thread, Fred got out of the USAF as a 2-striper instrument specialist. I really can't picture that! Still trying to send you some photos of the St. Lucia days. Don R.

Yep, pretty similar to Tepper. Don R.

Here is a literal translation of the caption from the article that SonnyJ posted. Of course, in Africa, nothing goes as planned. Don R. "The exceptional convoy C130 of the Gabonese army did not go as planned. Initiated Friday late night, the plane that was heading to the port of Owendo, has been blocked in Libreville Lalala exchanger until morning. Causing traffic problems and many onlookers rather stunned."

I'll never understand why the African aviation community lets their airplanes detiorate in the heat and humidity for years and then move them to places like OGMA or Marshall's to be refurbished. After spending millions of dollars, TR-KKB will probably be flown back to Libreville, greeted by government and military dignitaries, flown for a time and then parked again. As a South African captain I flew with at Transafrik used to say when he'd see a derelict or crashed airplane, "AWA, Africa Wins Again." Don R.

Bob, There seem to be an awful lot available for display at AMARG. Some things never change -- we'll always be "Little MAC." Don R.

From my 1C-130H-1, dated 19 March 1985. A lot has changed since then, but I doubt if this has. My commercial Lockheed OM 382G, dated 12 October 1990 has the same illustration. Don R.

I can't verify the accuracy of this article, although I have read in other forums that the WWP is not what it appears to be. Don R. Bernard Goldberg I recently pointed out in an article that I thought it was obscene that the executive director of Wounded Warriors is paid well over $300,000-a-year. I also wondered how the group could afford to advertise as extensively as it does on Fox News. But, I recently received an email from Dr. Richard Stiso that exposed exactly how the charity spends the money it receives from patriotic Americans. According to Guidestar, a group that investigates charities, the Wounded Warrior Project might as well be run by the Mafia. In 2012, the WWP received an astronomical $154,958,901, with a measly $4,857,084 going out in grants to veterans’ organizations and $671,194 to individuals. That means that the group only used 3.5% of the money it received for the purpose intended. In the meantime, the Officers, Directors and Trustees hauled in $15,415,666 million, with Employee Benefits ($2,226,457), Office Expenses ($12,451,303), Travel ($4,086,509), Promotional Items ($4,055, 567) and something called Outside Services ($20,915,404) accounting for roughly50% of what’s listed as “Overhead Expenses.†So just in case you thought it was just the V.A. that was filled with back-stabbing traitors ripping off military veterans, you didn’t know the half of it. Finally, novelist Margaret Atwood once observed that “Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate.†It’s a cute line and I have no doubt it applies to Ms. Atwood, as I know it does to most writers. But I’m the exception. I know that to be a fact because every time I’ve had occasion to rhetorically ask: “What am I, chopped liver?†the answer I invariably get is a resounding “Yes!†- See more at: http://bernardgoldberg.com/template-87/#sthash.RHKEsPpd.dpuf

Ken, I'm very ignorant about the VA benefits. I have never filed a claim with them, but after reading all the different threads about hearing loss, I'm tempted to do so. I know I have a hearing loss -- my girlfriend has a hard time watching TV with me because I keep the volume so loud, but even with that, I miss a lot of the dialogue/ I guess 23 years on mostly C-130's as a crew chief and FE would cause that. That $130.00 youreceive from the VA -- is that a check or some kind of credit? Thanks. Don R.

A friend suggested I post this photo. It was taken in December 1985 at the end of our contract flying famine relief flights in the Sudan. Fred is on the far right with the sun glasses. BTW, I'm toward the left with the Lockheed ball cap & the moustache (long gone). Don R.

Knowing how airplanes fare in 3rd world countries, I'm pretty sure their C-130's will wind up derelict in some remote area of the airport. Don R.

"Non-Sked Fred" Kreppein, an icon in the commercial Herc community passed away early this morning after a long fight with cancer. He was the first captain I flew with as a commercial FE. Fred started his aviation career as a Connie FE flying on the North Slope of Alaska. He was also an Electra FE with Saturn Airways. He then moved to a window seat with them. For a time, he also flew USAF C-130E's for Byrd Air into Phnom Penh, Camodia. He then went to fly Khadaffi's C-130's back a forth between Libya and Nicaragua. From there, he flew for Southern Air Transport and Transamerica. I flew with him at St. Lucia Airways, Transafrik and Frameair. His last flying job was flying C-130B's for the Botswanan AF. Don R.

Ernie, That's some pretty major structural work for a lease. I emailed Chris L. about it, but he's notorious for not replying. Don R.