jflimbach

I flew on 55-0022 and 55-0024 from 1976-79 while in the AMST program office at Wright-Pat and attached for flying to the test wing. 022 was being used strictly for gathering visibility data to be used on the Maverick missile and other TV and IR seekers. Most of the year it just sat around empty but in the fall we would fly it out to North Island, CA and they would install all the optics and computers. Then we took it back to W-P. Come winter, when the visibility got shitty in Europe, a test wing crew would take it over and fly around in various visibility conditions gathering data. I'm sure there were many uses for the data but it was explained to me that the Maverick was being designed primarily as a Soviet tank killer so they were real concerned to be able to model actual Euopean visibilities. They had so much crap hung on the wings that they had to take the external tanks off and along with all the stuff sticking out of it, the drag was really high and made getting it back from Europe an exciting prospect against the prevailing wings. FCF's were fun because we always had a pool on what the stall speed would be. It didn't resemble anything in the flight manual as was never the same twice. When I first flew on it I hadn't been near an A model in years and was surprised to see the four bladed props. Although at that time it still had the GTC door that meant you had to carry the big screwdriver. I don't remember 024 having any specific projects but I only flew with the test wing a couple times a month and they also had an E model and occasionally a gunship that we all flew interchangeably. The only problem was that you had to have a complete set of pubs for each model and keep it all updated. That was a real pain, particularly when flying wasn't a full time job.

Fritz: As you no doubt remember, MAC drove the development of the E because they wanted trans-oceanic range. Those were the 1962 models. After a few years MAC got tired of them and they went to TAC. I seem to remember that some were in the 464th at Pope when I got there in 1968. I remember loading something through that forward cargo door then but don't know what or why? Doesn't make much sense unless it was part of a test since I was in the Tactical Airlift Center and we had our own airframe to abuse (63-7768). After what we did to it in three years of LAPES testing I wouldn't even stand under the wing, never mind fly on it! JL

Ken: Yep, we also have 57-0512, now N118TG. Was originally an RC-130A photo mapper and then converted to a trash hauler. It finished up with the RI guard and then went to DM where it was eventually withdrawn by the Forest Service and wound up as an air tanker with International Air Response. This was the airframe we used on the Killer Herc project back in 2002-03 where we airdropped a running UAV which then found a target that we shot with a Hellfire. The videos are posted on this website. www.1370th.org/rc130/512/512.htm It was a kick. Nice to see that the Marines and also the gunship guys have adopted air to ground missiles but it was an aged civil "A" model and even more aged civilian crew that pioneered the concept. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2274[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2275[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2276[/ATTACH]

I have it on DVD and will make you a copy. The quality is not great but it's what we've got. It was made in 1971 and the project honcho was then L/C Myles J. (Mike) Rorlick. Retired as a Col. and did a second career with Boeing. I salvaged a 16mm print of the film when we closed up the tac airlift portion of the test division at TAWC and moved back to the reconsituted Airlift Center at Pope in 1975 after we got sucked up into mother MAC. Lost track of it until I was retired and by the time I got around having it put onto VHS it was fairly well deteriorated. Add another transistion to DVD and it got a bit fuzzier. But, until I can get Mike to get me his clean VHS master to put on DVD, it will have to do. At any rate, send me an e-mail with your address and I'll burn you a disc after I get back from this trip to YPG. Will be doing airdrops this week for the Army from N121TG, ex-USAF 56-0511. A very nice old A-model with only about 15,000 hours on it. John Limbach, CMSgt USAF (Retired, than God! It's not only not your father's AF, it's not mine either from what the kids tell me) LM since 1964 (C-119, C-124, C-123) and C-130 since 1968 and still throwing crap out the back..............and lovin' it. Beats working for a living. [email protected] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2273[/ATTACH]

It's being rebuilt to flight status. Ex Tanker 88. Take a look at the last picture in the previous post. That's it at the bottom of the picture with the "88" on the vertical stab. The work is being done by the owner, International Air Response, at their base in Coolidge, AZ. The rest of the fleet is operating out of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport after a hangar fire last year at Coolidge.

Yeah, don't knock the A model since I still fly it several times a month doing airdrops for the Army at YPG. You're right, don't need the screwdriver anymore. Still miss the Aux Pump a lot. Never arm wrestle for beers with an A model load. We have three flying and one more being built up to flight status. Average flight hours are around 15,000. We are flying a '54, '56, and '57 model at the moment. Not sure what year the "new" one is. Good to still have the FE but our NAV is twin Garmins. Much better since they never get lost, never talk back, and don't steal your flight lunch. John Limbach LM since 1964 (C-119; C-124; C-123); C-130 LM since 1968 (A, B, E, and back to A models) www.internationalairresponse.com [ATTACH=CONFIG]2220[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2221[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2222[/ATTACH]

73s? We're still flying a '54, 56', and '57 model. www.internationalairresponse.com

Ken: Not much chance of them being up this way, although we did ferry one down to AZ last year from Greybull. Our owner bought it in the Hawkins & Powers bankruptcy a few years ago. Now, you could come down to Yuma or Coolidge and fly with me sometime. Right now all our drops are going on at high altitudes (25,000 ft or thereabouts) but you can ride along on something below 10,000 sometime. I'll let you know when something likely gets on the schedule. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2219[/ATTACH]

I was a LM on the C-119 from which this was derived. That was PLENTY interesting enough!

There are several other companies (besides the pseudo-commercials) operating Hercs. These include the one for which I fly as loadmaster, International Air Response. IAR is based in Arizona and operates three, soon to be four, C-130As. The primary uses include supporting U.S. Army airdrop testing at Yuma Proving Ground since 2002, and oil spill dispersant spraying under contract to the Mobile Spill Response Corp., and occasional movie and TV work. Some recent efforts were: 1. N121TG (ex-USAF 56-0511) and crew just returned from a several week stint in Inverness, Scotland filming the next Batman movie for Warner Bros. 2. We did a commercial recently for Advance Auto Parts, also with N121TG. This involved rolling Honda Civics off the ramp at 15,000 ft using a 13-ft ringslot parachute for load stabilization. The parachute and suspension lines were removed by computer magic in the final cut. We used three cars to get that 30 sec of film. Go to YouTube and search for "Advance Auto Parts Free Fall Training" if you haven't already seen it. 3. N118TG (ex-USAF 57-0512) was the first Herc to airdrop and control a UAV with the engine running and subsequently fire a Hellfire missile at the target the UAV located. This was done at YPG in Dec 2002 - Jan 2003 for the DOD "Killer Herc" program. The video can be viewed at www.1370th.org/rc130/512/512.htm Some relevant websites: www.internationalairrespone.com www.msrc.org then click on the "Dispersant Program" button on the left Another "A" model operator is TBM Corp. out of Visalia, CA. John Limbach Big Sky Aviation International Billings, MT [email protected] www.bigskyaero.com [ATTACH=CONFIG]2216[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2217[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2218[/ATTACH]

I was the project test LM for the LMI while stationed at the Tactical Air Warfare Center in the early 70's. As noted above, the transducers were on the axles so after it was calibrated it worked great......................until the first landing. What a piece of junk. Not sure how it got into production. At about the same time we were testing the angle of attack indicator. This was a great device and was super reliable on the C-123 (which I served on in Vietnam). It was the primary instrument used on approaches to short fields. Reason being that you needed to be as slow as possible on touchdown to get the beast stopped. The 123 had a super-clean wing (having been designed as a glider) so there was no aerodynamic indication of an approaching stall. Thus the AOA indicator and also a stick shaker, of all things. According to a flight test report I read, in the approach to landing configuration your first indication of a stall is when the aircraft liesurely rolls over onto its back. Not a good thing on short final. But, I digress. The AOA was wonderful on the 123 but it just wouldn't work reliably on the C-130. Not sure why but one could obtain the old TAWC test report if really interested. By the way, I still fly as LM on "A" models once or twice a month doing airdrop tests at YPG. Loading an "A" model light to heavy like we did in the "E" will get you killed. In the "A" there is much less stuff up front, e.g. no crew bunk, galley, armor, etc. etc. They are naturally tail heavy compared to the later models. So, the quick rule of thumb for the "A" is heavy to light. It's correct that in the old days you could recognize an "A" model LM by the screwdriver in his flight suit pocket. Thank God we don't have that inlet door anymore but you can still tell one by a right forearm like Popeye The Sailorman from pumping the ramp and door up and down all the time. My kingdom for an aux pump!!

Well, this won't help you, but if there are any C-130 LM in the LA area looking for occasional work..........A friend of mine runs TBM Corp. in Visalia, CA. They operate a couple of C-130A's and need a LM every now and then. Their next flight is scheduled for 5 March. C-130 airdrop experience is a must. Contact Fritz Wester at TBM, 602-524-6279

About time. Interestingly enough, part of this concept was demonstrated at YPG in Dec 2002 - Jan 2003 on a civilian "A" model, N118TG (ex-USAF 57-0512). Check out the following link for info and videos. http://www.1370th.org/rc130/512/512.htm