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A Model


bobdaley
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I remember seeing them at Naha on the A's and possibly on some of the E's at CCK. They were located permanently on the wall near/fwd. of the left paratroop door.

Right behind the landing gear section. (forgot what station it was). As if I ever knew!!!!!

I saw them in use a very few times, and they didn't work. Out came the slide-rules!!

They were about as handy as the gun-boxes that some of the A's had on them. Remember them????

Ken

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  • 2 weeks later...

What was it: You could tell an A Model loadmaster by the screwdriver sticking out of his flight suit...to close the GTC door...Did they end up removing the door in SEA at some point? There was another saying...something about on takeoff from Naha, SOP with the A make a right turn on departure and end up in the drink...something like that anyways...Anyways, all versions of the 130 are first class and probably the best transport that the Air Force ever invested in right up to present day Even the J with the 6 bladed fans (tho, at some point, in combat, they will miss the FE and, even the Nav...) and finally some -30s' in AF inventory, tho, we usually grossed out on weight before we maxed out on cube...My pilots (E guys) allways said that the A model was a lot closer to flying a high performance plane the the B or E ever could be...

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Often wondered how usless systems such as stall warning and 463L weight & balance got so far as to be installed on the acft. LMs didn't trust it and maintenance could not keep it operational. Each landing gear axle had a very fragile transducer glued to the inside of the axle. Firm/hard touchdowns would break one or more of these transducers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We had those useless gray boxes on the E's we had at Langley. If I remember, there was a pre-flight check list section dealin' with it, even though they never worked. I can't remember if all the CCK birds had them or not. Good old 'load adjuster". slip stick, slide rule, or, perhaps how high the crew entrance door was above the ground ( rumor has it :-)) did the trick.......

giz

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was the project test LM for the LMI while stationed at the Tactical Air Warfare Center in the early 70's. As noted above, the transducers were on the axles so after it was calibrated it worked great......................until the first landing. What a piece of junk. Not sure how it got into production.

At about the same time we were testing the angle of attack indicator. This was a great device and was super reliable on the C-123 (which I served on in Vietnam). It was the primary instrument used on approaches to short fields. Reason being that you needed to be as slow as possible on touchdown to get the beast stopped. The 123 had a super-clean wing (having been designed as a glider) so there was no aerodynamic indication of an approaching stall. Thus the AOA indicator and also a stick shaker, of all things. According to a flight test report I read, in the approach to landing configuration your first indication of a stall is when the aircraft liesurely rolls over onto its back. Not a good thing on short final. But, I digress. The AOA was wonderful on the 123 but it just wouldn't work reliably on the C-130. Not sure why but one could obtain the old TAWC test report if really interested.

By the way, I still fly as LM on "A" models once or twice a month doing airdrop tests at YPG. Loading an "A" model light to heavy like we did in the "E" will get you killed. In the "A" there is much less stuff up front, e.g. no crew bunk, galley, armor, etc. etc. They are naturally tail heavy compared to the later models. So, the quick rule of thumb for the "A" is heavy to light.

It's correct that in the old days you could recognize an "A" model LM by the screwdriver in his flight suit pocket. Thank God we don't have that inlet door anymore but you can still tell one by a right forearm like Popeye The Sailorman from pumping the ramp and door up and down all the time. My kingdom for an aux pump!!

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  • 5 months later...

Yeah, don't knock the A model since I still fly it several times a month doing airdrops for the Army at YPG. You're right, don't need the screwdriver anymore. Still miss the Aux Pump a lot. Never arm wrestle for beers with an A model load.

We have three flying and one more being built up to flight status. Average flight hours are around 15,000. We are flying a '54, '56, and '57 model at the moment. Not sure what year the "new" one is.

Good to still have the FE but our NAV is twin Garmins. Much better since they never get lost, never talk back, and don't steal your flight lunch.

John Limbach

LM since 1964 (C-119; C-124; C-123); C-130 LM since 1968 (A, B, E, and back to A models)

www.internationalairresponse.com

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Jim

Saw this one on the net this AM. Are they tearing 138FF up or rebuilding it?

Thanks

Bob

It's being rebuilt to flight status. Ex Tanker 88. Take a look at the last picture in the previous post. That's it at the bottom of the picture with the "88" on the vertical stab.

The work is being done by the owner, International Air Response, at their base in Coolidge, AZ. The rest of the fleet is operating out of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport after a hangar fire last year at Coolidge.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

The rebuild is coming along. According to the latest schedule, it's to be ready for a ferry flight by the end of August to Mesa-Gateway airport where the refurbishment will be completed. The new registration is N119TG. Here's a picture I took just last Sunday ( 4 Mar 12)

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Edited by jflimbach
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Three Chevy Sonic cars dropped from N121TG (ex-USAF 56-0511) at Coolidge, AZ on 5 Mar 12 for Top Gear Korea. One car had a real parachute, the other two fakes. I'm pretty sure you can tell which was which from the before and after photos. Drop altitude was 11,000 feet.

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