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The Mighty Herc and Hollywood...


P3_Super_Bee
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Did anyone happen to catch the last episode of "Covert Affairs"??? If the name don't ring a bell. It's a Summer Series on the USA Network. Plot and such don't really mater here. In the episode "Half Way Around the World" There is a C-130. The glaring error I seen was the CIA agent "snuck" on the aircraft via the Nose Wheel Well. Guy was a tad big to fit through the NLG window, not to mention all the crap right there. Any way It was a civilian painted C-130. White with Navy blue stripe The vertical was navy blue with with thing white vertical stripes(maybe 6 or 7) at the bottom of the vertical. Anybody have any idea who it was? Only thing that comes to mind are those "cover" companies that supposedly fly for the CIA, though I don't really think, they would use one of those for a CIA type fictional show...

There was a fight sceen within the cargo area. It looked like they had laid down plywood on the cargo floor, No not for the video shoot. There were cut outs in the plywood for the straps & rings. My question is, do you do this? I know in the "cargo area" in the P-3 we could, and did have a inch think piece of plywood laid down over the normal floorboard(honeycomb type) For us the plywood did two things. Gave a layer of protection for the normal floorboard, and two allowed us to be able to load and additional 500 lbs in the area. I really don't see this need in a Herc, but maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks.

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P3,

With the exception of the white vertical stripes on the vertical stab, it sounds like you're describing Tepper Aviation's N4557C (5027).

As for the plywood flooring, before Transafrik acquired roller systems for their Hercs, everything was floor loaded. The cargo floors were covered with plywood sheets with cutouts for the tiedown rings. Lots of Herc operators do that if they don't have rollers.

Don R.

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P3,

With the exception of the white vertical stripes on the vertical stab, it sounds like you're describing Tepper Aviation's N4557C (5027).

As for the plywood flooring, before Transafrik acquired roller systems for their Hercs, everything was floor loaded. The cargo floors were covered with plywood sheets with cutouts for the tiedown rings. Lots of Herc operators do that if they don't have rollers.

Don R.

Good info on the plywood flooring, thanks.

Maybe it was Tepper I was thinking about when I decribed the Navy Blue tail.. I was wrong. Looked at the episode again today. It's a white tail. Managed to get some screenies.

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There are several other companies (besides the pseudo-commercials) operating Hercs. These include the one for which I fly as loadmaster, International Air Response.

IAR is based in Arizona and operates three, soon to be four, C-130As. The primary uses include supporting U.S. Army airdrop testing at Yuma Proving Ground since 2002, and oil spill dispersant spraying under contract to the Mobile Spill Response Corp., and occasional movie and TV work. Some recent efforts were:

1. N121TG (ex-USAF 56-0511) and crew just returned from a several week stint in Inverness, Scotland filming the next Batman movie for Warner Bros.

2. We did a commercial recently for Advance Auto Parts, also with N121TG. This involved rolling Honda Civics off the ramp at 15,000 ft using a 13-ft ringslot parachute for load stabilization. The parachute and suspension lines were removed by computer magic in the final cut. We used three cars to get that 30 sec of film. Go to YouTube and search for "Advance Auto Parts Free Fall Training" if you haven't already seen it.

3. N118TG (ex-USAF 57-0512) was the first Herc to airdrop and control a UAV with the engine running and subsequently fire a Hellfire missile at the target the UAV located. This was done at YPG in Dec 2002 - Jan 2003 for the DOD "Killer Herc" program. The video can be viewed at www.1370th.org/rc130/512/512.htm

Some relevant websites:

www.internationalairrespone.com

www.msrc.org then click on the "Dispersant Program" button on the left

Another "A" model operator is TBM Corp. out of Visalia, CA.

John Limbach

Big Sky Aviation International

Billings, MT

[email protected]

www.bigskyaero.com

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John, I live in Columbus just 35 minutes away from Billings. Do you ever have any of the A Models in Billings? Is there ever a chance an old crew chief like me could someday get a chance to come down there and fondle one of them???? The last C-130 I ever saw on the ground was a Marine C-130 that was at an airshow in Billings quite a few years ago!

If that is possible, let me know,

Thanks,

Ken Carlson

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Ken:

Not much chance of them being up this way, although we did ferry one down to AZ last year from Greybull. Our owner bought it in the Hawkins & Powers bankruptcy a few years ago.

Now, you could come down to Yuma or Coolidge and fly with me sometime. Right now all our drops are going on at high altitudes (25,000 ft or thereabouts) but you can ride along on something below 10,000 sometime. I'll let you know when something likely gets on the schedule.

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John,

Thanks for the offer. If I was a little closer, I would be down there waiting for the chance to go for a spin!!

If you ever have one coming to Billings, let me know please. I will be on my way in a few minutes. better yet, bring one to Columbus, our airport would handle one of those beauties!!!

Thanks again,

Ken

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There are several other companies (besides the pseudo-commercials) operating Hercs. These include the one for which I fly as loadmaster, International Air Response.

Right you are. I just brain farted Lynden.(Hate to admit, but I should have never did this. Before I jacked my MS Flight Sim up, I flew the crap out of a Lynden Herc in Alaska all the time lol) The white with blue stripe watching a CIA show sent brain waves straight to Tepper. LOL

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