DC10FE

David Clark & Bose headsets? Are the issued now? What ever happened to those gray plastic headsets? I hated them! I thought I died & went to heaven when I bought myself a David Clark headset when I went to commercial aviation.

BTW, I have 2 of them for sale.

Don R.

Just as a quick aside: do the new generation Herks have the good 'ol po-go stick??

I think what Chris was asking is if the J-model uses the pogostick the same way the legacy Hercs do. Do they drain the water using the same pogo stick?

Don R.

You are correct, as usual, Ron Dogers.

Hush

Hey Hush,

Had lunch in Berlin lately?

Check Google Earth sometime -- the Waldorf Legion building is gone; just an empty lot now.

Don R.

Very debatable.

Even though I was a Herc FE (military &commercial) for many years, I think the J-model, even with the 2-man cockpit is an already proven airframe. As I mentioned in another thread, a lot of airplanes have been lost unnecessarily even with an FE & nav on board.

Don R.

OK guys, I'm probably going to get a months worth of sarcastic ridicule from this, but I have to ask. What possible difference can there be in a measurement of JP-4 and JP-8? Or a tank full of water for that matter? Isn't, say 8 inches, 8 inches?

tinwhistle

Chris,

Having been away from airplanes with dipsticks for almost 20 years, my reply will be just a guess. I would think that 8 inches of water weighs more than 8 inches of JP-4 or JP-8. Fuel is measured in weight, remember?

Don R.

When I was in the 773rd at Clark, a good loadmaster could find "evidence of rats on board" at Bangkok -- always good for an overnight there.

Don R.

As a crew chief I prefer the ECHS.

ECHS? For us dinosauers.

Don R.

I remember the C130A's being in revetments at CRB in 1968 when I was there as a Maintenance Officer from Naha and the 374th TAW. They built the wonder shelters at Danang when I was there in 1969 with F4's and the 366th TFW. Maintenance Officers did not stay with a type of aircraft for long I was with four differnet type along with a couple of ICBM's by the time I retired. Once in SAC you did not get out.

As I remember when I was at TSN in 1965/66, Rebel Ramp did not have revetments.

I was also in SAC at K.I. Sawyer, MI. The phrase up there was "A suck for SAC is a blow for freedom."

Don R.

Right now, there is nothing else that can do it except the C-130. Its a niche market, but one with demand. Then again, a lot of the existing L-100s are in foreign military service. Has LM taken that into account in their market analysis?

Yes, it is a "niche market," but Transafrik has 5 commercial Hercs parked at Fujairah and 1 at Entebbe because they can't find contracts. This is according the the ex-Director of Operations. They are being low bidded by East European Antonov and Ilyushin operators who will lease their airplanes to the UN for, I think he said, either $650 or $850/hour (An-12). A Herc operator can't compete with that. Of course, as I stated in a previous post, the condition of TFK's airplanes leaves a lot of legitimate lessors pretty leery to lease them unless it would be an AMCI type of contract. The Ugandan 5X registration doesn't help either.

Just my 2¢.

Don R.

Bob,

I agree with MHeflin. I think the only way they could sell those airplanes would be for scrap and spares -- and I think the spares would be questionable to a legitimate buyer. No telling how old they are or where they came from. Even back when I left Transafrik in 12/95, the airplanes (both the Hercs & the 727's) were flying simulators.

Even though Safair flew the crap out of their Hercs, they were maintained with some semblance of a scheduled maintenance program. It was when they were dry leased to operators like Angola Air Charter that they were abused. Without checking Lars' book, I'm pretty sure that AAC crashed a couple of leased Safair Hercs.

I also agree with MHeflin's "last man standing" comment.

Don R.

Lynden is going to be the last L100/L382 operator - they're the only ones replacing CWB.

Ernie,

I think Tepper Aviation has also replaced their CWB's, as has Prescott Support. There are 3 others operating 3 L-100-30's that Lockheed says were never built. I can't recall the msn's right now. I don't know what their CWB status is though.

I think your point, though, is that Lynden is the last actual US commercial airline to operate the L-100. Just had to pick that nit.

Don R.

Again, citing Lars' book, 73J is the MC-130J.

Don R.

I think I remember 36AS was a 141 squadron from 1989 to 1993?

Bob,

From the AF Historical Research Agency web site:

Aircraft. C-47, 1942-1946; C-82, 1946-1950; C-119, 1950-1957. C-130, 1966-1968. C-130, 1968-1989; C-141, 1989-1993; C-130, 1993-.

The RAF Mk.3 was the same - normal max gross weight was around 163K, but emergency wartime weight was still 175K (of course, they did it in kilos)

Ernie,

Well, here I go hijacking a thread again.

You mentioned the weights were in kilos. Were the fuel gauges in kilos, too? The reason I ask is that Transafrik had a 727 with the fuel gauges in kilos. It was a real panic attack when you'd look down at the gauges and momentarily think you were almost out of gas!

OK, back to the original thread.

Don R.

I came across these photos of 64-0524 (4008) in the gallery. Does anyone know the history of them -- when, where and how?

Thanks,

Don R.

Don, I think the FE's rode backward like in the B-29's

Thanks, Bob. That makes sense now.

Don R.

Thaks, Bob. Now that's an FE panel!!! I just spent 90 minutes of my Saturday morning roaming around that cockpit. One thing that confused me was that all the engine instruments and controls were numbered from right to left.

We had an FE at Dyess years ago that used to be a B-36 FE at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX. Some old Dyess guys may remember him -- Noley Rumble.

Don R.

Saw this pic on the net today.

Says it was of 63-9815 at Duke Field 1115 MAS in 1973.

Anyone know anything about this aircraft, the squadron or its mission?

Bob

Bob, I have the same photo in my files, except with the American flag on the tail. The notes say "1972, MAAG, Abu Dhabi, UAE."

Don R.

Also, if anybody has any pictures of old nose art displayed on 282 it would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

arschuck72,

I found this photo of some nose art on 282. Maybe some of the old head SOS guys may recognize it.

Don R.

The Mildenhall birds are the only ones I'm aware of that had unique nose art. 0280 got some when it went to Mildenhall, the Highlander.

I think 282 may have been a Hurlburt bird - I know 280 was an original HRT bird, as was 281...I honestly can't remember if 282 was or not - it may well have been a KAD bird.

The original ABQ birds were 0125, 0126, & 0127.

Ernie,

According to Lars' book, 282 was originally assigned to the 15th SOS from 1994 to 2005. It then went to the 7th SOS in 2005. From there, it went to the 1st SOS from 2008 to 2009 and is now with the 550th SOS.

No mentiom of any artwork in his book.

Don R.

It was strange, too, some times we would go to POB just for a day of drops and come back, no TDY orders, etc, no pay... go do the same thing except RON, and you could collect, I don't remember, but maybe $25 or so????

Giz,

I'm not sure when, but a couple of years before I retired in 1985, they changed the rules and you could use your flight orders in lieu of TDY orders to file for per diem; i.e. an out and back to POB for drops, etc. Made things a lot easier.

The best money-maker TDY's I had were the BAT trips to Saudi Arabia with the 37th TAS. Good flying and relatively big bucks.

Don R.

I've hesitated to post anything here because it seems everyone has posted what I wanted to say.

Like many, I only knew Dan via this forum, but I feel as if I knew him personally. He was a unique individual who will be sorely missed for his (usually) unsolicited, but direct opinions. Like Giz, I hope his family gets to read these posts.

RIP, Dan.

Don R.

Don, Thanks for the update, but I remember his wife as Slyvee a cute French girl. She and my wife came to Thailand at the same time. Your right in that he was a great guy, bit of a party animal in his younger years.

Bob,

I forgot about his French wife. They divorced when we were at Rhein Main. He married Patty a short while later. She was an air traffic controler stationed at Spangdahlem. She worked the tower there.

Don R.

Scott,

You're right about the photos -- not very promising.

The crew, pilot, copilot and boomer were from Fairchild AFB, WA.

Don R.

The load was 5 heavy military vehicles. The restraint system of the 747 makes a pallett breaking loose almost impossible, but securing vehicles is another story.

It was an augmented crew; besides the flying crew, there was another captain and FO. There was also a loadmaster and 2 mechanics on board. They were on their way to Dubai, probably a tech stop.

Don R.