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MIGHTY PLANES: HEROIC HERCULES


P3_Super_Bee
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Discovery Canada's latest episode (aired on the 28th of September 2014) of Mighty Planes is a two hour special on the C-130 Hercules for the 60th Anniversary. Though will not be aired in the US until the Spring of 2015. Looks like it will be on the Smithsonian Channel.

Here is a little 3 min preview;

Pretty neat to see people you work with on TV. I make an appearance around 1:50 mark. I'm the tow coordinator.

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I remember working on 56-475 at Naha for several months after I got there and kept thinking man I'd like to go for a ride on one of those things. I started by asking if I could go with my plane on a check ride after it came out of phase dock. A FCF they called it. Boy, did I get a ride!!! They asked me to get on a headset and climb up on on the ramp and let them know when the relief valve opened etc. It all worked out and I was hooked!! I volunteered/begged to go on every taxi check, etc. from then on!!

The rest is history.

Ken

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My first flight out of Dyess I wore a winter flight suit because they hadn't issued me a regular one yet. I looked like an idiot in 80 degree weather. I was told I could wait until they got some in and I said no way, I wasn't going to miss a chance to fly on the Herc. We did a training mission out over the Gulf of Mexico and back. Pretty exciting for a kid who had just turned 18 and I can still remember the flight. Found my spot by the rear door and claimed it for the next 4 years.

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Fortunate for me, I worked the TF RADAR on the Blackbirds (Talon Ones), and they always took a crew chief, ECM, and RADAR troop on just about every TDY.

At Evreux it was SOP that if an acft. was slated to land anywhere other than home base,a crewchief or assistant C/C must be aboard.There was one exception.So crewchiefs and assistants got alot of flight time.Some of us got hours in the "middle "seat.It was no problem getting hours to draw your H/D pay.As already said by many-Herk's the best!

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  • 2 weeks later...

My first airplane ride in the Air Force was out of Dyess in 1966 - we took 63-7880 (it was silver) from Dyess to Sewart to be painted camouflage. Memorable for me - I was sitting on the bottom bunk and I got sick and threw up down the stairs! Got to help the Crew Chief clean it up! I ended up with 3000+ hours on Hercs and loved every minute of it (after the first flight, I only got sick on the low level training missions!) John Conner can probably relate to that - 100+ degrees in the back with drop loads made from creosote logs (lovely smell), 500 feet, 250 knots, lots of turbulence ... yep, great times!!

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My first airplane ride in the Air Force was out of Dyess in 1966 - we took 63-7880 (it was silver) from Dyess to Sewart to be painted camouflage. Memorable for me - I was sitting on the bottom bunk and I got sick and threw up down the stairs! Got to help the Crew Chief clean it up! I ended up with 3000+ hours on Hercs and loved every minute of it (after the first flight, I only got sick on the low level training missions!) John Conner can probably relate to that - 100+ degrees in the back with drop loads made from creosote logs (lovely smell), 500 feet, 250 knots, lots of turbulence ... yep, great times!!

Jim, If that would have been on my plane, you would have had to help me clean up my puke also!!!!

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Got a picture of my class of LM school at Sheppard in front of the C-130 that belonged to the school. First one I ever saw, but not the last. It was big, silver, and I was impressed. After several months of assault landings and drop training on the C-130 I was really impressed. There is nothing in the inventory to replace them yet! My old ass is still around because of their dependability and the great expertise of the ones who lived in front of bulkhead 245.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

My first airplane ride in the Air Force was out of Dyess in 1966 - we took 63-7880 (it was silver) from Dyess to Sewart to be painted camouflage. Memorable for me - I was sitting on the bottom bunk and I got sick and threw up down the stairs! Got to help the Crew Chief clean it up! I ended up with 3000+ hours on Hercs and loved every minute of it (after the first flight, I only got sick on the low level training missions!) John Conner can probably relate to that - 100+ degrees in the back with drop loads made from creosote logs (lovely smell), 500 feet, 250 knots, lots of turbulence ... yep, great times!!

Great to read a post from you.  I enjoy Ed's 924th newsletters that you help with keep up the good work.

Bob Martin 924th LM

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Love reading these histories!  I first saw the C 130 when I was at Chanute AFB.  They were doing touch and go training and one of the troops there said they were from Sewart ( don't know how he knew that).  I left Chanute to go to B58's at Little Rock.  Those ol bombers would fall apart if you walked in front of them!  As a 3 level trainee seemed all I could do was prime generators all the time or replace anti skid conduits on these birds.  When I finally got my 5 level I got orders to go to CCK.  Our shop was really over manned and the C 130 never broke.  When you did get a write up, 5 of you went out to fix it.  Usually a simple fix.  I did learn to repair the inverters in shop, test the alternators on the shop test stand.

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