JimH

Looks like a lot of F-16s and S3s -- don't see C-130s except waaaaay in the back!

Hi Bob! Good to hear from you too... Jim

Sometime in the late '60s - I don't know the exact date, sorry. The AF decided to convert the A models because they were having a lot of trouble with the 3 bladed props..

When I was in Basic Training in 1965, we were going through the day where they look at your records and ask (?) what you would like as a career field. The guy I was working with noted that I was in the band in High School, and asked if I wanted to try out for the "AF Band of the West".. I said, no thanks, I want a flying job. Thus, I became a Loadmaster -- and never looked back!!

A dead Armadillo in Texas is referred to as 'possum on the half shell'...

I was stationed there with 5th Aerial Port in '73-'74. Married an English girl (we were married in the Mildenhall Chapel) - we just celebrated our 41st Anniversary in October.. Many memories for sure: "J" Block, the Base Theater (sneaking wine in with boda bags)...

When I was a LM in the CA ANG (1975/76), we were flying an AFTP (Training flight) and everybody up front had all their squares filled - the pilot knew I had a Private license (about 200 hours at that time) so he asked if I wanted to shoot a few landings.. I got in the left seat and he gave me 6 landings (he was also an FAA CFI, so he put it in my logbook later).. anyway, the first landing showed me you don't wipe off all the power like you do with a Cessna -- after that, he said I didn't do too bad.. I really enjoyed it!!

We were on a rotation to Mildenhall in October of 1967, and we got a run to the embassy in Warsaw, Poland. Spent the night in Copenhagen - I didn't have enough money to stay in the hotel (A2C), so I slept in the airplane. The FE showed me how to start the GTC and get some heat in the cockpit - which I did a few times during the night. I don't remember the details of why I stayed in the airplane - looking back, I would have thought the AC would have paid for my room (or the FE would have let me stay with him).. I just don't remember. All I remember was it was a long, cold night... Of course, being a LM, I generally slept in the back whenever we were flying for more than a couple of hours!

Yep #3, CCK Jan 1968 - Feb 1969, Loadmaster, 776 TAS

The Marine C130 that crashed on Feb 10, 1968 was next after us. We landed, offloaded, onloaded a few passengers and a pallet of empty pallets and departed -- as we were headed out, the Marine 130 (Basketball?) called he was inbound to land. When we got to DaNang, we heard he had been shot down and crashed on the runway. My AC said they used us to get the range (we had taken a hit). I wasn't unhappy when they said we wouldn't be going back. I had been at CCK for a week and this was my first trip in-country - interesting introduction to what we were doing over there!

Are you implying that you, too, had occasional 'events' while flying?? :)

My first airplane ride in the Air Force was out of Dyess in 1966 - we took 63-7880 (it was silver) from Dyess to Sewart to be painted camouflage. Memorable for me - I was sitting on the bottom bunk and I got sick and threw up down the stairs! Got to help the Crew Chief clean it up! I ended up with 3000+ hours on Hercs and loved every minute of it (after the first flight, I only got sick on the low level training missions!) John Conner can probably relate to that - 100+ degrees in the back with drop loads made from creosote logs (lovely smell), 500 feet, 250 knots, lots of turbulence ... yep, great times!!

Did you ever try to track down the school child that sent the letter to thank him/her?

When I was in the Air Guard at Van Nuys, I went on a local trainer one day. Turned out nobody had any squares to fill, so the AC put me in the left seat and I did 5 T/Os and landings - didn't do too bad for a 200 hour Private Pilot after I learned not to wipe off all the power before touchdown! The AC was a CFI, so I have the time logged in my logbook (and signed by him)... Sure beat sitting in the back!

Graywolf: Check your PMs ... I have some information for you. Jim

Well, at least it isn't beer cans .... yet... Thanks for the update. Jim

I don't know why, but it makes me kinda sad to see tail numbers I flew on (63-7778) going to beer cans. The first airplane I flew in when I joined the AF was 63-7880 - really made me feel old when it went to AMARG a few years ago. (Is it still there, Bob?) My Dad flew on Martin B-26 Marauders in the SW Pacific (22nd BG - they had the original short wing models), anyway, he often told me how he felt sad when he found out they scrapped all of them in Australia in 1944 -- now, I understand what he meant. Jim Houston

Watching a Great Planes episode on Smithsonian Channel about the C-17. They dropped some troops and were then supposed to go back, land and pick the troops up. After the drop, they got an engine low oil warning and aborted back to Anchorage. The commentator said "with the C-17 out, the tower has to send another airplane to pick up the stranded troops"... and they showed a C-130 taxiing out!!! Love it!! I always said when the last C141 went to the boneyard, a C-130 would follow along to pick up the crew... (when I was flying, there were still 141s out there)...

When I was in Maintenance in the AF Reserves, we used NFG (No F**ing Good) for a lot of bad parts. RE: Fire bottles: when I was in the Van Nuys ANG back in the 70's, a story went around that one of the new "butter bar" pilots was showing his parents the cockpit, as part of his narrative, he pulled a T-handle, and then moved the extinguisher switch, with obvious results (weren't the T handles and extinguisher on the Battery Buss?).. anyway, don't know if this was true or just an in house urban legend... Jim

Here's a picture I took in 1972 - I was in 5th Aerial Port and we were doing 1528 LAPES with the Brits. The tail is 295 - is that the same 295 mentioned in your article above?? Jim Houston

When I was at Dyess in 1966-67, I seem to remember seeing a Lockheed pamphlet about a proposed C-130 model (J or K?) - what I remember was that it had an extended landing gear (kinda like the main gear on a Sikorsky H19?) and a drawing that showed the airplane landing in a field full of tree stumps... am I remembering this correctly or is this the first stage of Alzheimer's??

All I remember about ABCCC was when we took one from CCK to Udorn - my crew stayed, and I was sent back to CCK (because LMs didn't fly on the ABCCC mission). I got assigned another crew (with an A$$ hole for an AC) and never got back to my regular crew (Capt. Bud Latterner, AC, TSgt Andy Franklin,FE and Capt Thiel, NAV - we usually had a newbie CP)... shuttles weren't as much fun for me after that!

Gone to Sonny - enjoy!!

I was cleaning up in my attic the other day and I came across a manual (booklet?) I was given sometime in the distant past. It is a general information book on the C130 - stuff like cargo capability, how to install seats, the dual rail system, etc. If anybody wants it, all I ask is the $6 for a Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope to mail it in. Jim Houston LM 1966-81 (Casey: I don't know if this is the right forum, if it isn't, please move it.)

Yeah, but it's about the C130D (or whatever the Navy version is) model "Ski Birds".. .. interesting, but when all your time is on "B" and "E" models, not really that exciting..