Railrunner130

As sad as that is, at least it's 26 airplanes that did their job and safely accumulated 780,000 or so flying hours without crew losses. That's something to be proud of.  

From what I can gather, the NP2000 prop has some weird performance issues in cruise. The AF had a hard time justifying it because they couldn't prove a fuel burn/cost savings. You'd think the maintenance cost savings (not to mention the savings in the WRSK bins) would justify it, but that's not how they look at it. 

Above all though, we need to have ADSB-compliant radios. All the fuel savings and improved performance don't mean a thing if you can't fly the mission.

Any idea how it will be implemented?

I know when my unit talks with reporters about a news article, they typically spend a lot of time explaining things. That being said, sometimes words like "new" instead of "newer" slip through the cracks.

My favorite example was "Since 2003, the unit has spent a lot of time in SouthEAST Asia." 

When AD USAF decided to go all J they closed the Associate units. 

Any idea how the 3.5 engine mods will be done?

The Kings are still at Moody, as HC-130Js now I believe.

Has anyone heard anything recently? Last I heard there was an ambitious plan (some form of AMP light) that was gaining traction and moving through the wickets. Is this still in the works?

There are three weight and balance charts for the non-stretch Herks. Actually, I think they are one in the same, but haven't looked at them in a while to be sure. Normal operations max out at 155,000 lbs. It also mentions 165,000 and 175,000 lbs. I've flown once at 165,000. It's a little bit scary. USAF requires waivers for anything above 155,000.

This order seems to me to be beefier than expected. Is this correct?

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive...eeks-Away.aspx

Awesome! She probably never looked that good new.

I'm a Loadmaster, so I'm going on my minimal engine knowledge. Was the airplane aimed into the wind? Hot tail winds aren't friendly to engines. 

Um..... That last paragraph makes me wonder....Are they talking about moving the AMPed airplanes to Pope and then AMPing four more airplanes? If not, I'm not sure what else they could be talking about.

I'm not sure what airplane that is, but I think what you're looking at may be two separate items. The photo is of a FUT, whereas I think the Air Force is having a bunch of cockpit simulators built and Cheyenne gets one of the first. I imagine the FUT was built/converted when Nashville had the foreign student training program.

I think I read somewhere that the French were looking at KC-130Js because the A400M apparently can't provide tanker service due to the turbulence caused by its' props.

"...which could be the J or K model"? As memory serves, the C-130K is the original British version. Is this a redesignation of a J offshoot?

It sounds like the article means KC-130J. 

The U-s aren't that old- some were converted from Nashville slicks within the last ten years. I wonder if it's a misprint.

I wonder why the B-47 isn't being offered to other museums. It seems like a waste to sell it for scrap when there's probably a museum that could benefit from having whatever is left of it.

But 1458, yea. That definitely needs to meet the smelter.

I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for, but the 79-s all went to Reno.

Are you looking for tail numbers for other Airlift Support airplanes?

I didn't see any mention of flares. The story ends at Source Note 21.

The story sounds more like lack of skill on the MiG pilots part than anything else.

I saw that. I was looking for signs that it was nothing more than a propaganda video. I didn't see any. He appears to be genuine to me. Awesome way to lead by example.

We took an H up to 34K once. It's pretty cold and the airplane groans. Kinda scarey.

I just saw the commercial. It's for H&R Block.

Well... Perhaps part of this is because Lakenheath is right next door. I'm not happy with it (like anyone gives a crap about my opinion...) but I get it. They really didn't address support issues, but I imagine airlift in that area will need to go to Lakenheath instead.