DC10FE

Has anyone heard from Airnav (aka Kurt) from Indiana? He used to call me about once a week, but I haven't heard anything from him in a few months. I don't have a number so I can't call him. Thanks. Don R.

This is a photo Bob Daley sent me a couple of years ago. It was taken at DMA in 2005. The name over the crew entrance door reads "Proud Warrior." Kind of ironic considering the condition it's in. Hopefully, the Talons will get better treatment. Don R.

Glenn, When I was in SEA, I was a crew chief, but I remember the FE's calling the starts. Don't know about Lynden or the other commercial Herc operators, but when I left Transafrik at the end of 1995, the FE was still calling the starts. I can still go through it in my head from "start valve open" to "peak TIT xxx." Don R.

Yeah, I remember that 5BX crap. I don't think flipping open your Zippo and lighting up a Lucky Strike was part of them either. BTW, I haven't had a cigarette in 24 years -- after putting away 3 packs a day for 30 years! Don R.

Neat virtual cockpit tour of the Enola Gay. Interesting throttle configuration -- the captain's throttles are in his left hand and the FO's are in his right. Click here: Enola Gay / Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Don R.

CharlieLS These days, groceries aren't that much cheaper at the commissary than at the civilian grocery stores (Super Wal Marts?). I live less than 20 miles from MacDill AFB and probably have been out there less than 3 times in the last 18 months. What I save on groceries there is lost on gas and tolls. Sorry Dan, another thread hijacking. Don R.

I can't find the old C-17 Elmendorf crash thread, so I'll start a new one. Here's an unofficial report on the cause of the crash. There's a video at the end of the article that looks eerily familiar to the B-52 crash years ago at Fairchild. Click here: C-17 crash blamed on errors shared by all: Military | adn.com Don R.

Thanks guys. I guess I could've Googled it.

Just curious, what other airframes use this engine? Don R.

I talked to my friend at Lockheed yesterday. He said the ANG and the RAF had nose gear retractions. I'm sure HerkyTestTech is correct; just not this photo. It's RAF, I'm sure. BTW, my Lockheed friend said the RAAF also had this problem. Perhaps someone from the Maryland ANG has a photo of their screw-up? Don R.

I'm not doubting HerkyTestTech at all -- in fact a friend of mine at Lockheed also told me it was a Maryland ANG airplane, but after going thru all my 97-1300 series photos, I can't believe that's an ANG airplane. Or else someone did a lot of Photoshopping on it. It has no unit markings on it, no US Air Force on the upper fuselage, no tail flash, no ANG on the MLG wheel well and no, what I have no idea what it is, the light forward of the escape hatch. Also, as someone mentioned earlier, the outline of the IFR boom and the red and white prop tips are RAF. Don R.

Take a closer look @ the helo camo. Don R.

OK, now I really feel like a dinosaur -- that sentence made no sense to me at all! Well, "NLG safety pin" I understood. Don R.

Sorry, J.P. -- just one more item to show that the TSA can be compared to the East German Stasi or the KBG. Just no loss of lives -- yet. I got the following from a friend of mine. It's almost embarrassing to have our non-US members and guests read this, but here goes. Don R. Might very well have been one of our Omni DC-10's. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "TSA is out of control." -------- Begin forwarded message -------- This from one of our heroes coming home from defending our freedom.. As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following: When we were on our way back from Afghanistan , we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards. Our first stop was Shannon , Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That's where the stupid started. First, everyone was forced to get off the plane -- even though the plane wasn't refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine. It's probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren't loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs. The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our cargo -- just to inspect us again: Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN. This is probably another good time to remind you all again that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols. So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the soldier that they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this: TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane. Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country. TSA Guy: You're not suppose to have them. Soldier: Why? TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon. Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I'm allowed to take it on. TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't have bullets. Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers? TSA Guy: [awkward silence] Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get out of here. I'll buy you a new set. Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security] To top it off, the TSA demanded we all be swabbed for "explosive residue" detection. Everyone failed, [go figure, we just came home from a war zone], because we tested positive for "Gun Powder Residue." Who the hell is hiring these people? This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols and machine guns -- but nothing that could have been used as a weapon. Can someone please tell me -- What happened to OUR country while we were gone? Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy

Bob, I think you sent me this one -- do you know which one it is? It must be one that the Vietnemese returned because of the Roman nose. Don R.

The punchline should be that the Herc pilot shut down an engine and told the fighter puke, "Try that, smartass!" Don R.

Yep, that's the show. It was actually pretty good. Don R.

Tiny, Great idea!!!!!!! There was a political cartoon in the Tampa Trib the other day of a guy sitting in a tittie-bar. There were 2 signs on the wall -- one said "Lap Dance $20.00." The other said "TSA Grope $25.00." Don R.

FYI, the 1608 ATW was based at Charleston. Don R.

That was a show on Discovery or National Geographic a few years ago. The AC was a physican's assistant in civilian life. The hot little nav was with an instructor, as I remember. Don R.

Alan, That reminds me of my first trip "in-country" to TSN. I was a 2-striper mechanic on B-models on rote from Langley to Clark in 1965. We stopped somewhere to drop off some cargo and as we were taxiing out the FE (TSgt Al Marchman, I still remember) started moving his right foot around the floor by his seat. At that time, the nose gear pin was this big wedge thing and I had installed it -- that was my job as a 2-striper. The reason I remember the FE's name is because he chewed my ass until it bled -- telling me, "Do not touch that gear pin again until I'm in the stag bar drinking my second beer!" Don R.

Col, This is probably the photo you're referring to. It's from Dabney's book, "Herk: Hero of the Skies." Don R.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1837[/ATTACH]

Sam, I think you're confusing the C-130B-II's that were in Japan with the C-130A-II's at Rhein Main. The B's had a red tail with a yellow nose at Tachi. They were camoflauged when they were at Frankfurt. When I was stationed at Rhein Main the first time (1967 -- 1970) the A-models of the 7406th were unpainted silver birds, although originally they had the day-glo nose and tails. Don R.

According to Lars' book, 35J is assigned to the USCG. The WC's are confusing. The first 3 are 04J, then the next 4 are 07J and the last 3 are 12J. Don't know what the differences are. The EC's of the 193SOS are 32J, although the have some C-130J's as 17J. The short USAF Hercs are at Maryland ANG's 135th AS. They are 08J and 16J. The AMI's -30's are 34J. Don R.