Jump to content

What units and how many aircraft were modified with AWADS?


Herkeng130
 Share

Recommended Posts

Here is the list of aircraft that were modified from the APQ122V(1) to the APQ-175.

63-7885, 64-0495, 64-0496, 64-0498, 64-0499,

64-0501, 64-0502, 64-0517, 64-0525, 64-0527,

64-0529, 64-0531, 64-0537, 64-0539, 64-0540,

64-0550, 64-7681, 64-8240, 68-0934, 68-0935,

68-0937, 68-0938, 68-0939, 68-0940, 68-0941,

68-0942, 68-0943, 68-0947, 69-6566, 69-6582,

69-6583, 70-1259, 70-1260, 70-1261, 70-1262,

70-1263, 70-1264, 70-1265, 70-1266, 70-1267,

70-1268, 70-1269, 70-1270, 70-1271, 70-1272,

70-1273, 70-1274, 70-1275, 70-1276.

There were 50 kits built

0501 crashed in a lake, 1992

There was another crash at Bragg during a drop, I don't recall tail #, not on this list.

1269 was a designated SOLL II bird, would have cost too much to bring back as AWADS

Since there were 3 kits left, A/C 64-0504, 64-0570, 69-6580 were converted to AWADS birds, at quite a pretty penny.

These aircraft were the original Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System platforms. There were some newer APN241 LPCR birds designated as AWADS capable. I never saw the LPCR Map function, but I know the APQ122 Ka was pretty good, and the APQ175 Ka was even better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here's a pic of the sensor in question I believe

http://herkybirds.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4221&c=76

AWADS was/is the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System. Easiest way to tell an old AWADS bird was the nipple on the radome that sprayed the anti-ice chemical whose name escapes me. Most of these planes were already grounded by the time I got to Pope in 05 so my knowledge is not too extensive.

Hope the pic helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not all the airplanes with the glycol anti-ice spray nipples were AWADS. The anti-ice capability was primarily there for the Ka-band portion of the APQ-122 radar. AWADS airplanes had the APQ-122(v)1 multimode radar system.

Talon 1s have a different radar version, the APQ-122(v)8, but were not designated as AWADS. The Talon 1s have the anti-ice system on both the Fulton and the non-Fulton nose radomes. The Talons have no SKE system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AWADS was/is the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System. Easiest way to tell an old AWADS bird was the nipple on the radome that sprayed the anti-ice chemical whose name escapes me.

This is what i was thinking of. I was not aware that later C-130s (H3s and so on) were also AWADS

Thanks for the help.

What units had the old system?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Only Pope and Rhein-Main/Ramstein had them. I worked the system when it was just a few years old, and it was a piece of $hit already. This was especially true with the antenna and the pilot scope-sweep generator. Actually, the nav scope sucked too.

Maybe I'm being too kind...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tiny,

Your critique of the original displays is pretty much on the button.

Those systems that were upgraded to replace the scopes and sweep generators with the digital scan converter faired much better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone happen to know where Tony Holmes is now...he was the FE on 945 that crashed at Bragg...one of the two that survived. Last I saw him, he was the club master at arms at Yokota in 94-95

He started some sort of a fish farm (rasing/storage/supply) around '97 to '99, then dropped out of sight & sound. Let me know if you find out anything else. Some other friends have been asking about him as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tiny,

Your critique of the original displays is pretty much on the button.

Those systems that were upgraded to replace the scopes and sweep generators with the digital scan converter faired much better.

That said, the APN59 scope and power supply blows too. We're still using a frikkin' mechanical rotating yoke display in the 21st century???? That would have been money well spent, putting a converter and CRT video screens on the APN59. I think they did it on the KC135.

The original H models were modified from APN59 to APQ122V(5), just X-band, and they paid to put the APN59 back on those.

Edited by tinyclark
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Snowstorm was the ALE-40 install on the Slick C-130s, where the flares were up in fillet panel area above MLG. These were later upgraded to ALE-47. The system that you see on some air deflector doors, usually ANG or AFRC C-130s, is the -157 IR jammer system. It's an older system that is rapidly being phased out by one of the AAQ-24 systems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here's a pic of the sensor in question I believe

http://herkybirds.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4221&c=76

AWADS was/is the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System. Easiest way to tell an old AWADS bird was the nipple on the radome that sprayed the anti-ice chemical whose name escapes me. Most of these planes were already grounded by the time I got to Pope in 05 so my knowledge is not too extensive.

Hope the pic helps.

(old) ALQ-157 IR Jammer (Loral)

Snowstorm was an a different mod

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tiny,

Did you ever get the s*** knocked out of you trying to adjust the centering on one of the IP-268 scopes. I did, three times in a row setting at Cam Rahn Bay. I was cpvered with sweat and told the shop chief I quit for the day my hands were shaking so bad.

Gary Robinson

Many a times, even with F4 tape on the other end of the scribe. That deflection voltage was a sumbitch. I've been nailed with worse tho. I'm surprised I'm still alive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 AWADS C-130Es were sent to U-Tapao RTAFB from the 317th TAW at Pope in 73. Crews from Pope, and then Little Rock, both rotated crews to fly missions in Thailand and Cambodia until 1974. PB tail code painted out and replaced with a playboy bunny when crews from Little Rock replaced the original Pope crews. Sns were 70-1270, 1271, 1272, and 1274.

Best wishes,

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...