KJam

My only point is that ALL C-130 units kick ass! And I will say a blanket statement that ALL C-130 units have had at least one major F-up that made them look bad. I have seen LRAFB totally dominate and right behind them is a Dyess unit that takes it one step higher followed up by a Pope Squadron take over a whole country. We can even talk Reserve and Guard units doing the mission in spite of getting a lot of guff from AD guys. (only two weeks at a time! LOL!) You ever fly with Yokota crews....Very good guys. I think the C-130 world brings it on harder than any other airframe in the world (opinion only). We should unite against those girlie T-tail/Gucci, appletini, salad eating, soccer playing, .....guys...... Silly/sarcastic mode off: Oh, and thanks for all the work you have done on the AMP. I think it is so needed and we will never see it but you guys sure put out 100% of your attention and effort. I sure wish the fleet could have benefited from it. I really mean that.

Is this the same unit that didn't properly close the crew entrance door and it came off in flight? I am just askin'.....

My memory is very VERY bad on this one but I seem to remember something about the mount bracket for the beta feedback shaft had come loose so the beta feedback shaft had nothing to feedback to, this caused the linkage to try to hunt to match up the BFS. I don't remember any details or what exactly was wrong. But they found the mounting area completely messed up around the valve housing. Probably barking up the wrong tree completely. Like I said. it was a long time ago in a command far-far away.

I got many hours on 74-2065. Once while flying at Pope (TDY) we hit a vulture right below the pilots kick window. It bounced back and hit the #2 intake then hit right behind the left aft wheel well. That crease is still in the fuselage and if you hit the light just right you can see it. That was in 1995. Harumph for the 317th being constantly deployed for 7 years straight and counting. Harumph to the 40th, my first flying squadron1994-2000. Too bad the Nav's and Engineers are on life support at Dyess.

Snow Aviation has C-130's. Private firm but I don't know if they are interested in that kind of thing or not. Who knows? http://www.snowaviation.com/

Bullwinkle sent me the awesome story of what went on. I would like to frame these pictures with the story below it and post it in our Heritage Room. It is a true Herk story that should be known. Thanks BW.... Kel

I am at the A/TA conference in Nashville. We are talking about it. Kel

LOL! That IS you!!!!! Too funny! I didn't even know you were on this site! Kel

I had turned on the PA switch at the Nav's panel earlier and waited until about 20 minutes after take-off then hatched my plan. I had an old head pilot who could tell I was up to something but didn't know what yet. So I started a mundane conversation asking what tail number this was, then said "Hey isn't this the plane the Nav got killed on?" The pilot picked up on it right away and agreed that it was. I said I thought this was the haunted plane. That the Nav still messes with things. APU turning on, on its own. Switches flipping on their own, etc. The Load knew what we were up to and played it up too adding credibility to the story. Then I reached over to the PA gain volume switch next to the pilot and started running this up and down. The pilot saw what I was doing and started laughing. About 15 seconds later the Nav comes out of his seat yelling and pointing at his desk. We finally calmed him down enough to ask what was up. He sounded like a little school girl at a spelling bee when he talked! It had us in tears for the rest of the TDY. For those that don't know, if you use the gain switch on the pilots side shelf, it will move the volume knob on the Nav's master PA control panel. It will also work from the Loadmasters PA panel on H-1's. I can't speak for other versions. Oh, I got more!

Only as a shadow of its former glory days at Ontario and P42.

This is all the info I got: AC 63-7775 C-130E, Shot down April 1972 from Dyess AFB and blown up in place.

Here are a few. Tbird support for the first one and I think the second one was in Iraq somewhere. It is all a big blur now...

I have! Kel

Hey Bert! I remember when you called me that morning before we headed into the squadron to get the official notification. Billy Ogsten had been over my house the previous week showing off his yellow pickup he was customizing. I remember MSgt Simpson was torn up for years putting him on that trip as a good deal for working so hard as a crew chief. And of course the time I spent with Ricky Merritt in Survival School, BFE, LRAFB and LAO training. About two weeks prior Ricky and Johnny Cantu and I were at Pope together. That Memorial Service was the toughest thing I ever did in my life. Talk to you again soon Bert. Kel

I remember the first time I met Mr Grimes...holy crap he scared the hell out of me. That man had command presence. One of our Nav's used his coffee cup when he wasn't there. Well one day he pops up and wants a cup of coffee...that sent me running to the bathroom on the other side of the building to clean the damn thing up and pour a fresh cup. Happy Grimes...happy life...Simple math.