wysongj

Just read that St. Joe is suppose to get the H3's from Minneapolis. http://www.139aw.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123288785

That's 125 C-130's moving around (that's my quick horrible math, so it might be off). Does that make since?

Good thing for Charlie West is one of their birds went to AMP, maybe they just won't get it back leaving eight in WV, not seven?

Sad to see good units like St. Joe and Dallas loosing their birds.

I thought I read that the F-15 unit is the aggressor unit from Nellis the 65th?

Also heard C-17s for Martinsburg. Someone said MC-130s for Charlie West? Wouldn't that be something... They used to be SOF back with the C-119.

I wonder if West Virginia will loose it's C-5s or its C-130s? I hope neither, but if the one flying wing per state is true?

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Thailand---Air/Lockheed-Martin-C-130H/2051459/L/

I saw this picture today. Bummer! How much work do you think would be involved to get these two flying again?

Oh, I take it back, we did have them, but still don't know what it is.

Okay, silly question, but as I worked on H2's and H3s, we didn't have this antenna. What is the step antenna on both sides of the vertical tail? It's kind of towards the front.

I remember my first drill weekend with the 130th AW. MY boss said "here comes your plane". She was on final and her anti-skid was inop, and she blow her right aft main tire on the runway. First day on the job and got to jack up the plane and change the tire on the runway while the civilian birds flew in circles waiting. That was 88-1307 BTW.

We have some friends who live on base and their roof was ripped off. Thankfully they were gone at the time. I hope everyone else is okay.

I don't think it's been two, just the one. 91-0304.

UH-1D USAR

F-15A/B MOANG

KC-135E ILANG

C-130H2/H3 WVANG

I also had a two year run at Boeing as a Flight Mechanic working on the F-15E, S, and I models, F/A-18E/F and AV-8B and the T-45.

What a weirdo! Scary.

You know, the main thing I ever did was to try and make things easier. We would have the bird nice and toasty on those cold days, things clean and belts ready for simple strapping in. We put a hook on the back of the pilot seat for the FE to hang his bag off of.

One thing we always did was to strap in the chalks for the Load while he was outside doing engine start. Whatever we could do we would, and it usually payed off. Once while broke in Turkey for a valve housing change the AC bought us lunch and delivered it to us. Back in the day when I worked fighters, the only ones who would help out when you were working your a$$ off were other crewchiefs. I didn't even experience the "Herky lovin'" when I was on tankers, which was supposed to be a tight crew.

I miss the Herk. Good times.

um, here is it! Hopefully.

Here is a video of how we did it. We let the air out of the tire, pried like crazy, finally for a small tug attached to a wheel dolly, and shook like crazy!

This was a Boise bird, back before the BRAC. Video was taken at Karshi-Khanabad Airbase in Uzbekistan, 2005.

The best way to sleep, at least when on the ground and all was quite (not often) was to turn the Nav seat towards the Engineer's seat, lean the nav seat back about 45 degrees, put the arm rests out, put your feet on the engineer's seat, and chill.

The matresses on the flight deck are not that bad. When your exhausted, anything will work!

Did you notice the F-16 flying chase back behind and to the left?

It's fun looking around there and seeing all the C-130 parts. Boy would I love to have run of the place for a while!

We used to send new guys out to check the voltage on the Vortex Generator on the F-15 (Vortex Generator forces the missile away from the plane when launched).

Also, we would send guys to supply to get a BA1100N.

Skyhooks were always good. We had a newbie running for four hours trying to find one!

I hope they find some survivors. Very scary stuff.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/10/airforce_sudan_102809w/

Okay, I got the picture up. I put it under the Member Albums under, um, me!

I think it's not all bad sometimes. I worked phase dock on the KC-135 after I got out of the 131st FW and the last Strato-tanker I worked on is not sitting in an air power park out front of Scott.

Also, I think the F-4 being referred to might have been an old F-4D fuselage that the 131st was going to turn into a cockpit recruitment tool. I think they did, but not sure where it is. Basically they cut off the back end, put two dummy seats in, painted it up and put it on a trailer to impress the crowds.

Are you referring to the F-4E on the pedestal? If so, it's a double Mig killer that was flown by the 131st TFW in the '80s and early '90's before that unit switched to the F-15. Unfortunately, the 131st FW is now the 131st BW. BRAC got 'em, they lost their fighters, and are now an associate unit with the 509th BW at Whiteman AFB. I will try and locate the tain number for you if you are interested.

The 131st FW was my first unit, where I first became a crew chief. MY old F-15 75-0075 is now rotting away in the Arizona desert :(

Sorry, this is a repeat post. Never mind!

Picture is still coming though.