Spectre623

Just came from the Marietta Ga. Air Museum today. AC-130A 54-1623 c/n 3010 has been turned over to them by the AF museum and they are in the process of moving it out the back gate at Dobbins to their site. They are going to paint it in the colors along with the nose art "Ghost Rider" that it wore in VietNam as it has the 3 bladed props on it. Good to see it being given a home where it can be properly displayed and maintained. Will give updates as they occur. Will send Casey a pic or two to post as I gettem'. Bill:)

Man how things change...when I was at Pope in 68-69 we had 3 squadrons with about 16 E models each and now just 10 older H's total...and they don't even own them, wow! I stopped in there about 3 years ago and it looked like a ghost town on the flight line side. Bill

Hey Ondo Im, let us know here on the site how your flight with this load turned out. Good luck. Bill

So Metalbasher, I take it these MERSs? were hung on the IFR hard points? For the few years I was on fighters we hung the bombs on TERs (triple ejector racks) and MERs (multiple ejector racks) on the hard points. A great pic I might add. I figured someone out there in Herky Land had some. Thanks for posting them. Bill

Talonlm you are right and you know what they say, "If you don't remember your history you are doomed to repeat it". We have the old heads retired and the newbies want to try it their way so it will make them look good...and they don't read their history. Not good for our gunship guys. Bill :(

Big article in this months Air Force Asso. mag about the AC-130W Stinger gunship getting 4 small diameter bombs under each wing(SDB) for a limited standoff precision strike capability. Also says they are testing Hellfire missles on the bird. Now THAT will be a kickbuttski gunship. The mag and article can also be accessed online. Waiting for pics. Bill

That's a former national science foundation bird (Navy). The newer LC-130Hs have the JATO mounts on the wheel well blisters and can't drop the bottles in flight.

Sorry Dave but the acft 83-0493 in the clip is one of 4 LC-130 H's I helped build for the NY Air Guard when I worked at Lockheed. It had the JATO racks on the air deflector doors. I remember it well as Lockheed had deleted the bottle attch. from all other H2's prior to NY getting their new H's delivered in 1984-85. I remember the first one as it rolled down final assy when it came to functional test position(Where I worked) there was a wire bundle as big around as your arm hanging free in the MLG wheel well. We were wondering where it connected and no one knew as it had been 20 years since they had built a ski bird. They figured it out when they moved it to the mod hanger to finish it up. The one quick shot in the video clip of acft 1095 was as you said an ex NSF acft. That was a great 3 years I had helping build those Herks then I moved down the road to Dobbins AFB when they offered me an ART job. A good move I might add. Bill

Thanks guys. I should have said due north of the SLEP hanger, as I was traveling east. Never was good with a compass, ha ha. Bill

Bob or anyone, do you know what the 2 C-130 tail numbers are that are stored behind the SLEP hangers at Lockheed? I see them as I drive down So. Cobb but can't see any numbers. One has the wings and vert fin removed and the other looks complete. They are due east of the big B-1 building or 33d 55' 47.13''N x 84d 31' 27.81" W. Bill

Take a bow Casey, you have done a great service to all things Herk!! Thanks for your hard work...and to all the folks on this board. Bill

Right you are GVS we had many E-4's with over 4 years service in the 60's. After they changed the E-4 from A1C to Sgt the section chief could put you on Red X orders if he knew you had the experience and they needed more people to sign off Red X's. The change over to Sgt had some fuzzy meaning that since you were an NCO now you could accept more responsibilities. I.E., Red X qualified. Still had to be a Staff to start 7 level training which was good thru Master at which time you started 9 level upgrade training for E8 & E9. The change from the E to F shredout took nothing more than a new 1098 being cut by training after a little local training or a C-130 FTD school. Bill

Tinwhistle please don't call that beautiful aerospace vehicle known a C-130 a flying "Dump Truck" that is so cold....oh wait, that's what I've called her for 30 years ha ha .... Love it. bill

What about the museum at Marietta, Ga right behind Dobbins

Was at the Marietta Air museum today and they told me they were getting GhostRider aka AC-130A 54-1623 which has been stored at Dobbins since 1995. That will just about fill up their display space. They plan to push the 141 back and put the gunship as the center display. They have about 10 aircraft on display now. Bill

As an astute politician once said not to long ago "our thoughts on that is still evolving"...the old Herk is too, 3 blades then 4, then 6 and now 8. Yep Larry I spent 3 years on the A's and you sure spoke the truth on that. Then again everything is relative, right? ha ha . Bill

After 30 years of hammerin' on those old dump trucks I'd take anything over that leaking, outta balance, outta sinc Ham Stan piece of junk...still love that old Herk though!! ha ha Bill

Whaaat? They have a weather program on the Weather Channel????When??? Naaaa! ha ha .Bill

Good one Jim. If you ain't been sick in a 130 you ain't flown much in one , ha ha. Bill :)

Well yer so right Don R... after banging around on 130's for over 30 years I can almost tell the difference... heh heh. I know the J is a great bird but I still would have went with an FE just for the added safety factor and to help keep the zero's awake, ha ha . Bill

Recorded 2 episodes Donwon and enjoyed it also. Now if they would go along on a gunship and film an actual mission I could get into that...even an old trash haul or troop drop would do ha ha. I noticed something about the flt deck....they left the FE at home. Must have needed the room for the film crew.They even took his seat out!!!!!!! Oh well thats the movies for ya! Bill

Ben if my memory is correct it is where Lockheed connected the hose to pressurize the fuselage when the bird is first built. The A models were pumped up ( max press proof test) to 10 psi until they blew the cargo ramp open as a woman employee was walking under it and it did some brain damage. Last I knew they only took it to 8psi. ( It could have been 12 psi, lowered to 10 psi later on, been so long ago...) I remember the swing shift sealent crew took their snacks and newspapers into the bird at the start of the shift and didn't come out till either dinner break or quitting time. They would find air leaks and squirt B and 1/2 sealent into the cracks and the air pushed it into the crack. Yes, it would be pressurized to a lower psi while they were inside sealing. Bill.

That would be Gen. Westmorelands VIP ride during VN wouldn't it Jim? The AF wanted to give him a VC-131 but he wanted the Whale, guess he won. Bill

Hey Jerry, like you and the others on this board, our versions of Vietnam and the thing we did then are just our "snapshot" in time. We love rehashing them and all I was doing was throwing a little techinal junk into the conversation. We all love to hear each others "I was there" comments. Keep'em coming Jerry and don't pay me no mind, ha ha . Bill

Bob in november of 1972 we took a hole load of thoes engs in to phan rang ab as replacements for the 123s. At the time we were told they were the same engs as on the B-52s. They said the engs were for the south vet air craft ,but that late in the war the north could have ended up with them.

jerry

Jerry,the engine on the B-52 ( all but the H) were J-57's with 13,750 lbs of thrust and were twice as long as a J-85 with 3000 lbs of thrust that were hung on the C-123 and Sam, 1966, is when they started converting them . Bill

Leon Panetta visited CRB a few days ago...wonder if he stayed on Herky Hill, ha ha. Says he wants more access to CRB and VN. Ok you Herk troops, get ready for CRB rote inputs. What is that old saw...what goes round comes round or history repeats itself etc. Hard to believe these clowns running the show now. Bill

I don't call it a holiday, but a day of remberence....calling it a holiday cheapens the real meaning of MEMORIAL DAY. Lost an uncle in the D Day invasion in June of 44 so I bring out his picture, medals and flag and teach my friends and family what the real meaning of MEMORIAL DAY is all about. Even my wife explains to her friends the CORRECT meaning of it. It ain't about living vets nor their service, even wounded vets ,God bless'em, but about the vets who died defending our great country! There...I feel better, thanks for listening. Bill