tinwhistle

Well, there is no doubt that I\'m one of the \"old Guy\'s\"!!

My first TDY was in 1964 From Pope to Fresno for an operational exersize called \"Desert Strike\". I was 19 yrs old, completety green,and I have no idea of why they let me go.I was told more than once to \"get the hell out of the way\"! But it caused me to fall in love with the C-130 and whet my appetite for travel and flying. I spent the rest of my enlistment jumping at every chance I could to move on! I literally traveled the world on Uncle\'s dime. Thinking back, the one thing (other than my service in Vietnam)that I\'m the most satisfied with was that I crewed the third Herk to touch concrete at Mactan...Chris:)

Hello Tom, I hope this is not off topic (it probably is), but you seem to know your way around. Years ago there was a movie (documentary?), titled \"The Way It Was\" it was about C-130 airlift operations in Vietnam and was narrated by John Wayne. I almost desperately need to find a copy of that film. I\'ve tried all the usual venues, Amazon, etc., to no avail. Do you have any ideas? Thanks for your consideration...Chris:unsure:

I don\'t know about the stoping part, but back in the mid 1960s we used JATO (jet assist take off) every once in awhile. That is what came to mind when reading your question. It wouldn\'t take a lot to re-rig JATO for landings.

Hi guys, I\'m not sure where this thread got started but it is valuable. I served with the 464TCW in 1965 and with the 776th in 1966 most of those two years \"in country\". It wasn\'t until 2 years ago that a VA shrink diagnosed me with PTSD. For the first few months I had a h--l of a time proving that I was boots on ground. Then out of no where, \"someone discovered\" that I had been awarded the Bronze Star for the Nha Trang shuttle. Records for us crew chiefs are practically non existant, but don\'t give up. If you happen to know one of the guys you served with in Vietnam a \"buddy letter\" will go a long way. Like the shrink told me \"we owe you guys\"!:)

Many thanks to \"donwan\", \"EClark\", and \"tiny clark\". Between the three of you I may have all I need. We did the inspections on \'63 E models from Pope, but we were TDY at France and Naha. We also worked from the top of the wing and I remember the paint remover as being VERY powerful. One of our guys passed out and after being hauled out spent the night in the dispensary. If anything else comes up regarding this matter please pass it on. Once again, thanks...Chris:)

Well, OK, they\'re not wing struts. I\'m 63 years old and when that NDI came out I was 19 or 20 years old. A long time has gone by and for years and years I did not pay any attention to my Air Force time and and less to C-130 matters. Either way, could you fill in some of the details for me?

It may have been 1965 but I\'m inclined to believe that it was in 1966 that the 776th TCW received a factory notice concerning cracked wing struts. We maint. weenies had to crawl inside the wing with the most horrible paint remover, spread it onto the struts, move on to the next access panel, do the same thing, then go back to the first one, remove the paint remover and inspect the strut. Anyone out there remember that, and if so, do you have any more details? Thanks for any help...Chris

;) Gee guys, I really hate to let the air out of your baloon, but; the \"good \'ol days\" were a long time ago in a land far, far,away... Once upon a time there was an air base called, fondly, CCK, from that A.B. teenage crew chiefs and very young flight crews flew the s--t of of nice brand new E model C-130 airplanes. We did, in fact,in 1965-1967 set the standards that crews to this day are trying to match. Soooo, if your Herky Pig is old and worn please remember that she earned every ding, scratch, and dent. Not to mention all the (literal) blood, sweat, and tears that were shed in the old girl. Respectfully submitted...Chris