Railrunner130

That's good to hear! Thanks for the update.

MHeflin,

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing!

I take it they are going to buy into the NP2000/ electronic valve housing project the USAF has been working on? The Navy has had the NP2000 on the E-2 for a long time.

OK. Three articles in and nobody seems to have the correct number.

http://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2018/fy2018_Weapons.pdf

From the DOD, the number is nine. But that seems to include all variants.

I know what hehe is referring to about Baltimore, however, I doubt it. I know the A-10 program has a love/hate relationship with USAF, even to this day, but I'm doubtful that's where the Js are going.

I read something (I think it was Air Force Magazine website or the AFA website) that mentioned that the omnibus budget includes 6 J-models destined for the Air National Guard. 

If this is true, where are they going? I heard Louisville was campaigning for them. 

I think the number six comes from the theory that six stretches carry the same load as eight shorties. It's a bad theory, but I'm not here to argue that.

http://www.c-130.net/aircraft-database/C-130/airframe-profile/7050

I wonder if before C-130 production ends, they'll go back to the Roman Nose and incorporate a really nice radar into that lower area. Doubtful, but I think it'd be cool.

I keep hearing end of 2019 for a basic ADS-B setup. Not sure where the engine/prop/valve housing upgrades come into play. 

You guys keeping the old Reno airplanes or are they being boneyarded?

I had heard* (take with a grain of salt) that Yokota often sent airplanes to PDM and ONLY had the CWB replaced. No other work was done. I'm not quite sure how they got away with it, if it is true. Perhaps PACAF had a hand in that decision thinking they weren't getting Js?

Has anyone heard anything on the latest AMP? I forget, is it called AMP Light or AMP Stage 1 or something else?

Last I'd heard, oil cooler augmenters, ADSB, new props, electronic valve housing, 3.5 engines and a glass cockpit were all going to be done, but in stages. Is this true?

I haven't read anything on the latest CR or whatever it's called, but I'd bet that retiring the AMPs was part of the funding for the new AMP, which I heard was funded. 

Confused yet?

Sounds like they're taking the long way back to the E-10 project to me. Call it baby steps I guess.

When I became an EL one of my goals is no be nothing like your evaluator.

An evaluation, especially a spot eval is intended to provide the commander (Ops Group, IIRC) and Chief Loadmaster with a snapshot of how their people are doing. Aside from asking some questions, my intent is to be a fly on the wall and let the ML do his job. I want the evaluatee to be comfortable around me, so I get a more accurate snapshot of how they're doing. 

Occasionally, I'll step in briefly to make a suggestion on how to do something better or safer. My intention isn't to be an Evaluator-tab-wearing Nazi. I do not wear an Evaluator tab on purpose. I don't even trash talk and threaten to hook someone. That's bad for business. Luckily, I haven't had to go any further and hook someone. Yet. If during Q&A I find a weak area, I generally don't go digging, but I'll point that out to the evaluatee. Again, luckily, I haven't found enough weak knowledge spots to hook someone. Sort of like a dentist does when he checks for cavities. 

There are 85s and 86s in the boneyard. It's odd, but you have to keep in mind that wing equivilant life, hours and mods is what they're looking at. Actual age has almost nothing to do with it. It's only a factor when tied to the other numbers. 

If an airplane is 20 years old, was treated like a rental, has no LAIRCM, 5,000 hours but somehow 32,000 equivilant hours, see ya!

An airplane is 30 years old was only flown to church on Sundays by a little old lady, has LAIRCM, 10,000 hours but 16,000 equivilant hours, it will be around longer. 

I saw a photo today (can't remember where) of some of the 82s on the flightline at Schenectedy.They did not possess any tail flash.

Not until just now. I guess it must've been buried in election drama... The article sorta makes it seem like researchers are sneaking the aircraft parts home in their overnight bags! 

Does Brazil have a maintenance contract for their Herks or is it undertaken themselves?

Yeah. First I saw of it too. I remembered bits and pieces of the accident, but had to do some Google work to spark my brain cells. There really isn't much info available on the cause or recovery efforts. 

https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20141127-0

They're getting the old Nashville 89s. 1188 is their first of the bunch. From what I've been told, airplanes are being kept/ boneyarded based on wing life and upgrades completed. Not necessarily hours or age. Their airplanes are newer than ours and appear to have roughly the same number of hours as ours.

Much like keeping the airplanes that were only flown to church by a little old lady only on Sundays when the sun shined versus those that are newer and flown every day. 

In the case of Maxwell, I'd tend to think that the proximity to the ocean and warmer climate had something to do with corrosion issues. Just a guess.

My guess would be weight reduction. In order for this concept to work, the airplane had to be as light as possible in order to depart the deck. I'm sure the FEs on here can enlighten us as to what the typical Herk weighed back then and what TOLD it required.

You are correct. The answer is more obvious if you get ahold of a main landing gear tiedown fixture kit. It's been a while since I've looked at it, so I may be a little off. (I'm a little off anyway, but that's another story....) It's essentially a clamp that wraps around the strut and connects to block that holds the gear against the wheel well. 

I think that out of simplicity, Lockheed installed outboard mounting points on all Herk wings. Whether or not there is any wiring going out there or not, I don't know. 

There really is an SR-71 flight manual available. http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/

I remember a different version that IIRC looked the same. It said "We ain't Fonda Jane".

IIRC the young boy in that photo was the subject of an article on the C-130 turning 60. Turns out he's an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed, working on the C-130. Interesting how life comes full circle.