Skip Davenport

Skip,

I was at Rhein Main from 1977 to 1983 with the 37th. I was on one of the SOLL crews & we used to go to RAF Scullthorp with you guys for the Flintlock exercises. Perhaps you knew my AC -- Captain Steve Sullivan (Sully)?

Don R.

I know Sully very well, he retired out of Scott and now ownes Sully's bar in STL

Any TDY with the 7th SOS blackbirds from Rhein Main was good.

Well, I can think of a few that wern't all that good but most sure were.. I was there from Apr 78 thru Dec 82 :)

Remember them well............one of my favorite things to advise the flight deck crew that one had come on after a firmer than normal landing. Don't know what they wers upposed to activate at, but soem would. I am quite certain that the landings, though not exactly greasers, were not in the 2 g range or whatever. Or could they have been? I sorta remeber somethin' about hard landings had to be reported and inspections done, but can't remeber if activating exit lights brought that on. anyway, thanks for bringin' back another long faded memory from long, long ago.

Load clear

We used to have the load turn on a couple after a co-pilot landing -- he bought the beer that night :)

I have an old one. Don't know if it is current

[email protected]

It's still good

Back in the beginning of this thread we mentioned that 68-10935 was the last 68 flying, now I heard that the last 70 is gone. 70-1264 is a trainer at Camp Bullis. 70-1271 is at AMARG. 70-1260 is a ground trainer at Ft Lee.

I think this only leaves only one of the original AWADS aircraft 64-18240 flying.

Bob

All the Talon1's are 64's

Hey Skip how are you? I read the email from Gary and it brought back some interesting moments in my past. I was stationed at CCK AB in 1969 - 1970 and I had a roommate that was never there. It turns out he was a crew chief on a C-130 Blackbird. I asked what they did and he informed me that there was no such thing as a C-130 Blackbird. He never did talk about anything. Spent all of his time being drunk while he was at CCK and then he would be gone again.

I tried to find out about the Blackbird on Google but nothing came up.

Anyway hope somebody can help Gary out.

Take care and be safe.

Wil

Google -- MC-130E and Combat Talon -- lot of info pops up

I got this email and thought I would post here -- understand it is also on the Stray Goose and 7th sites --

From: Garry Robb [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 10:33 AM

To: [email protected]

Subject: History and Beer

Hi Dave,

I hope that “retirement†is wearing well on you. Since you enjoy History and Beer, I have a proposition for you. Would you be interested in locating an Air Force crew for me? Here are the particulars, if you choose to accept the mission. I would like to make contact with the C-130 Blackbird Crew who delivered us (RT ASP) on the first Combat Jump into Laos. They were out of Na Trang. They picked us up in Da Nang on September 8th and dropped us into Laos at 0400 on September 9th, 1970. It was a static line jump at 400 feet, no reserve. They would have remembered the low level flight and “popping up†to 400 feet for the drop and that we were in NVA uniforms among other things. I have no idea of how to make the contact. Other Team Leaders want to hook up with the Crews that flew their HALO Jumps, later in 1970.

So, that would be the history side, the beer drinking will come when we all get together. Are you game for this? I greatly enjoyed being at your “roast†and sorry that I couldn’t stay for the Ceremony and the Friday Night Show, I’m sure that they both were excellent. Please let me know your thoughts on the above. Later.

Thanks,

Garry

I seem to remember a 7th SOS pilot hanging from a ceiling light in Bobby's II in Glyfada.

Work Hard, Play Hard.

There ya go telling storys on Bates or was it Trash?

When I was a dependant at Spangquentin, Germany from 69-73, my dad would by those globe bars, alabaster and onyx stuff down there and resell it at Spang. Seems like there was more than one store, and there may have been a Mario's as well.

yep there were more than one store and depending on what squadron you were in would result in the discount you would recieve. I remember going into different stores -- one I would be in the 8SOS and another the 37TAS -- just needed to remember which was which the next time in town --- LOL

What a GREAT photo!!

The one with the wing busted off reminds me of once the bus dropped us off at the plane for a mission and it was missing two engines:eek:

But then again that was back in the good old 37th TAS and none of that silly stuff even phased me after the first year, you just got to expect it and sometimes have to go to three planes until you found one "all in one piece".

Those command post guys we had there were real winners lemme tell you:D

Dan

Well it just shows that the 92% of the country are nothing but shallow fickle sheep following their un-elected, un-leader, obork the head zombie, you know, the illegal alien in the white house.

What I am trying to say in this is we need to remember, and must appreciate these Heros ourselves because Joe McBahhhh has a memory span of three weeks and they don't honestly think about this countrys Heros until the next wave of mass murder happens, then they will soon forget that one until the next ad nauseum.

Arch, thanks for posting that, it was a very touching read.

Dan

and don't forget when the next wave happens they will blame the heroes of this country for not protecting there sorry a$$'s then castrate them for not providing better equipment that they refused to buy and pay for because in there view with rose colored glasses on they couldn't see the threat in front of them!!!!

I wanted to know if anyone had pictures of the Coast Guard C-130 and the Navy P-3 midair collision that happened in the early 70's. The rumor is that both planes made it safely back to Oahu, but they were but badly damaged.

Thanks in advance for your help. And apparently I'm the only one on this site in the USCG.

There was a MC-130E and a F-102 off the coast of VA in the early 70's however, they didn't fair as well.

I know a lot of OLD TALON1/FE's which one are you?

Does anyone know of the particulars involving the crash of a 130 on Guam around '74 or '76? I once heard some bizzare stories that the pilot's were flying a local around the island with some civilian flight attendents aboard, and that the FE and Nav refused to be onboard the aircraft. Any truth to this?

Kurt

yep tis true -- CP upgrade with an FA onboard -- supposidly in the FE seat when they crashed

Saw this from Ernie

ODE TO THE HERCULES AVIATOR

by Bob Woods

Do not stand at my Tomb and weep for me

I am not there for I do not sleep you see

I am the thousands of Hercs that fly

I am the roar of the wind on high

I am the rush of a Herc in powered flight

I am the beacons that shine in the night

I am the odor of jet fuel and the starter whine

I am the tire squeal on a landing, that was mine

I am the stars that shine at night

I am the sun you see at first light

I am the jeweled glints on rime covered wings

Think of me kindly for I am all these things

At my graveside you should not have cried

For so long as Hercs fly, I have not died.

sent some pic's last night -- the only ones I have on this computer -- if you will send me your slow mail address I will try to find my 35mm slides I have and send -- also working on more pic's on the computer,

the beaver tail isn't right and the aircraft doesn't look long enought to me -- maybe the scale is wrong. Also, the ramp had buffer boards. Will try to find some pic's when I get home next week

please please put yokes on and extended + fending lines + patchs of 1st,7th, 8th SOS & 1SOW

Welcome gal the more the merrier

You seem to have had a direct personal connection with the winch. Do you recall the structure holding the rewind limit switch? Was it a coil spring/wobble plate arrangement, or a rigid sleeve with the switch on the side? what model Herc were you operating on and during what years?

I flew "E's" from 1970 -73 then Talon1's (64 E modles) from 1978-1992 -- I am not a LM but a pilot. I was only talking of the briefing we/I gave the jumpers not the rewind limit switch. I do know that the arm that heald the static line in place for drops used to break on almost all BLU-82 drops.

Dan

Have you seen or heard any more about 63-7872 at VPS?

Thanks

Bob

I thought she was at CEW

I'm just an APG guy, but I remember before jumps the crew and jumpmasters had a briefing(same one every time it seemed like) and they would mention if dude was unconscious to cut him away, if was conscious to reel him in. I wonder if that had anything to do with it? Can any loadies elaborate?

I think you got that wrong. I used to brief if consicious and he gives the signal hand on reserve or on head and the green light was on we would cut him away. Otherwise consicious or unconscious we would pull him in. I don't know of anyone that actually pulled a jumper in.