GVS

Thats 781 I remember.Has the block for the C/C name and rank. Question is , why is the symbol a red diagonal instead of a red cross?

There was a Hyd. pump next to the pilot on the "A,s". I was told it was for the breaks but never had to use it.

Could it have also been for the NLG?

I remember when the blocks were placed in the Fwd cargo door locks and know the Hyd hand pump was next to the crew door, but I can't remember if it was removed while I was in.

I got out in Nov 66.

That hand pump was next to the co-pilot and if you never had to use it you were lucky. That thing would wear your arm out if the brake accumulator was bled to zero.

You ain't got any idea how good this makes me feel. Hope nothin' serious shows up, but you will have a good baseline for the future which will make other changes or issues more obvious. Good luck, brother...........Now the rest of ya jump on board, too

Giz

Giz I may be wrong but I think you are one in a million. Always good questions, good comments and good input. Thanks!

The way I remember it : ( early to mid '60s) 20 years - 50% , 30 years- 75% of base pay. From 20 to 30 some percentage was added. Regardless of "the deal" it's not enough for the troops who dedicate that much of their life to the country.

Just another one of those real fun duties that a loadmaster had on the 130. Always neat to do it when there were people around not expectin' it. Did it once leavin' Warsaw, Poland. I don't recall if we HAD to do it or not, but my AC at the time, one of the best I ever flew with had us do it anyway. I can still see people wavin' their arms and running over to the rail at the terminal to watch it. I would not have been surprised if we had taxied all the way to the runway backwards............... Another fun memory brought back from the cobwebs of time.

"straight back, straight back, a little to the copilot side, straight, clear all around, a little to the pilot's side, that's enough, straight back.' Didn't you have to move forward a bit, before taxiing, to align the main gear again? I recall something to that effect.

Giz.

Warsaw: Back in the '50s and '60s in the 322/317 at Evreux ,the crew chief was droped off in Copenhagan and the crew took the bird on into Warsaw, then picked the C/C up on the way out and on to the next stop.

Just another one of those real fun duties that a loadmaster had on the 130. Always neat to do it when there were people around not expectin' it. Did it once leavin' Warsaw, Poland. I don't recall if we HAD to do it or not, but my AC at the time, one of the best I ever flew with had us do it anyway. I can still see people wavin' their arms and running over to the rail at the terminal to watch it. I would not have been surprised if we had taxied all the way to the runway backwards............... Another fun memory brought back from the cobwebs of time.

"straight back, straight back, a little to the copilot side, straight, clear all around, a little to the pilot's side, that's enough, straight back.' Didn't you have to move forward a bit, before taxiing, to align the main gear again? I recall something to that effect.

Giz.

Warsaw: Back in the '50s and '60s in the 322/317 at Evreux ,the crew chief was droped off in Copenhagan and the crew took the bird on into Warsaw, then picked the C/C up on the way out and on to the next stop.

A diagonal represents a discrepancy ( crab) in navy speak but has an "up arrow".A red X(red cross and sometimes called a double diagonal ) is a DOWN ARROW!

donwon, hate to sound dumb, but what's a"J-Bar"? We had a pry bar we called a 'Johnson bar", but that's as close as i can come. On the E's we didn't have slick floors, unless a bunch of troops puked all over that is

giz

J-BAR ,Johnson Bar - same same.In the 45 plus years I've been out of the USAF I can't tell you how many times a J-BAR would have come in handy!

And some pin-heads wanted to give Obama the MOH for givin' the green light to take out Bin Laden????

Giz

Haden't heard of someone wanting to award HIM the MOH but to hear some people talk you'd think he was the first one up the stairs.

I don't think HE had much of a choise but to go after him. We'd been looking for him for 10 years and located him to within about

a 100 foot radius.I could be all wrong but seemed like an easy call to me.

Chris,

I could've written that story myself with very few minor changes -- the squadron was 773rd, we arrived in a C-123 and our TDY base was Tan Son Nhut. It was raining (think mud) and the only illumination was a reversed taxi light and a couple of flashlights. Oh, and the GTC blasting in our ears! The AC got a medal and the two "aircraft repair types" got a ride back to TSN.

Don R.

I never could figure out why a milatary person ,commisioned or enlisted, would be awarded a medal for doing his or her job.

A letter of comandation should suffice.

For heroic action under fire or in the face of danger - then a medal might be due.

Give me the old C-118 days. Only time pilot touched any engine controls was during taxi. FE started engines and handled all throttle and mixture controls all the other times. I've been known to "manipulate" the throttles a time or 2 on the Herc, as well as the flap and gear handles when needed.

What were you useing to reach the gear handel from the engineers seat George? Was the crew chief holding on to your shoulders as you leaned foreward or were you holding down the C/P seat?

Wasn't or isn't the red light in the starter button turned on by the starter control valve opening?

Not sure about that Bob.Seems to me that if elec. pwr. was applied to the acft. and no bleed air was applied , starter button depressed ,the red light in the button came on and the button was held in. Could be all wet on this, been many a year since I started a herk.

That is a Canadian Herk :-) And those toys are older then i am haha.

As for the FE panel, it's hard to beat it's design, functionally it is one of the better laid out things I've ever seen in any aircraft. (Just my personal opinion.)

I always felt that the entire flight deck is nicely laid out.

~THREAD HIJACK~

Am I understanding this correctly? The PILOT starts the engines???? Or have I missed something?

Just trying to learn the C-130 world vice the P-3 world, where as the Pilot has nothing to do with engine starts other than to get clearance from ground, verify his side of the aircraft is clear for engine starts, and to call prop rotation. F/E does the rest... Pilot don't even set power for take offs.

Don't know how things work in todays USAF but back in the '60's the flt. mech. made air avaliable to start the engine(s).the pilot pushed the start button. The throttles wern't touched by anyone but pilot or copilot. The same held true for Cond. levers,fire control handles and flap handle. Landing gear handle was copilot at pilot command. I'm not going to say this was strictly adhered to but I saw very few deviations.

A weather beaten usetobeyellow chock was all I ever saw used as a support for the aft end of the ramp.

Strange. I always thought the "bump" at FS737 was a skid plate for nose high landings.

Originally, assault landing - or "short stop" - was qualification to land on very short runways, runways much shorter than today's requirements. When the USAF first started operating C-130s in SEA, they were limited to 3,000 foot runways by 315th AD. TAC was using 2,000 feet. Eventually Col. Howe compromised and made it 2,000 feet plus a 500 foot safety margin.

Col. Howe was up to speed on short T/O and assault landings.

Read or heard that one years ago. Still makes me laugh.

The word around northern N.Y. soon after this incident was lots of "contraband".

Who was it that said a, few days ago, something about "were we ever that young"?

One of my favorites. Heading overseas reportedly with a lot of contraband. Landed at a small airport in the Catskills NY.

Bob

If this incident is the one I'm thinking of, that acft. landed at Saranac Lake,NY in the Adirondacs. I drove up there to have a look and couldn't get close enough to even see the bird.

Got a laugh when I read about your running into places everyone was running out of then rembered that you are a retired fireman. Wasen't so funny then.

No hot mike back there but seem to remember a call button. Been a LONG time.

For what it is worth, and you "older gentlemen" already know, it used to be the Aero Repair and hydraulics was a separate responsibility area. AR schools taught electrics, hydraulics, and mechanical systems that we required to work doors, flight controls, and landing gear. However, I've been out for 20 years now, and I've been told that all that has changed.

HI Guys

Still chasing this ......being held up by engineers awaiting a report from USAF......is there any USAF units using them in the fixed wing transport world ?? www.telephonics.com%2Ftrulink-users.asp&h=168b4. It amazes me the product is there not expensive but not very common. Thanks.