herkeng

Latest news out of the PI: MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is not dismissing the possibility that lightning could have caused the crash of a C-130 transport plane off Davao last Monday despite the fact that it was equipped with a lightning arrester. “Although it has an arrester, we will investigate the degree of the lighting... because that is a possibility,†said PAF chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog, who flew to Mactan airbase in Lapu-Lapu City Wednesday aboard a commercial plane to personally attend to the grieving family of the pilots and crewmembers of the aircraft. Cadungog said they will pursue the angle based on an eyewitness account that said lightning struck the area shortly before the burning aircraft was seen plummeting into the water. “He (witness) said that a lightning struck and he saw the plane into flames before it crashed. All of that will be subjected to scientific expert evaluation by our investigation team,†Cadungog said. He said other angles that investigators are considering are pilot factor and materiel failure. The plane, acquired in 1983 through the United States financing program, had taken off from the Davao City airport and was on its way to Iloilo City to fetch personnel from the Presidential Security Group when it met the tragedy. It was being piloted by Maj. Manuel Zambrano and Capt. Adrian de Dios and had seven crewmembers. Asked if there was an indication that there was an explosion prior to the crash, the Air Force chief said, “None, none.â€.... “Even the eyewitness did not describe it (aircraft) as exploding. What he said is that there was lightning,†he said.

Bill The aerial shot in the article made me look twice. I thought is was a \"Star Lizard\" for a second. Just needs the \"B\" model plug and it would pass for one. I agree with ya, give it some time, it may be a good bird, then again it may not. Herkeng

I guess I should emphasis \" minor damage and no one was injured\" as the key part of the news article I just posted. herkeng

Jetcal You have to remember that we are not a big organization. We have only so much to work with and rely on a outside source for the heavy work. I understand what you said but, we have had problems with this J-79 from the get go. The decision was for the folks in Stockton to work out the bugs and for us quit trouble shooting. We don\'t have the volunteer manpower to keep pulling the motor time and time again, even though we are pretty good at it by now. Thanks for the reply Herkeng

Got this off the International out of Abu Dabi Military plane comes off Kabul runway Last Updated: August 05. 2008 9:34AM UAE / GMT KABUL // A UAE military plane delivering humanitarian aid to Afghanistan skidded off a runway while trying to land in bad weather. The C130 plane was attempting to set down on a Kabul airstrip yesterday when it left the tarmac and sustained minor damage, according to the WAM news agency. No one was injured in the incident. The plane was carrying a relief consignment as part of the UAE’s humanitarian aid package to the people of Afghanistan. For the past five years, the UAE has provided assistance to the country. The Government has spent significant sums on reconstruction and there have also been donations from citizens and local aid organisations. More than US$30 million (Dh110.2m) has been dedicated by the Government to reconstruction efforts, with private citizens and the UAE Red Crescent giving a combined US$41m (Dh150.6m) to local projects. UAE troops and humanitarian assistance teams have helped build six clinics that have treated more than 35,000 Afghan patients and have erected a large hospital with an annual capacity to treat more than 7,000 patients.

No can do. We pulled the motor, got it transfered to the 3000 trailer and put it on the truck. We were not going to tear into the system because we have no test cell to run up on, we would end up playing musical engines if we did not solve the problem on the first go. I understand where you are coming from, but the engine guys want to get the whole thing looked at, tested and have it signed off by the folks in Caly. Herkeng

Engine is out & I Still have all fingers and thumbs. We looked over the motor and could not find any oil leakage on the scavenge oil return line that we can see on the out side of the casing. We are betting the farm that the leak is from where the scavenge return line picks up the oil just after of the rear turbine bearing still. IE still inside of the casing and liner. Needless to say, we are shipping the motor to Stockton California to be fixed, they have a test cell and we don\'t. Thats it for now. Herkeng

Going out to pull the engine today. Hope no more fingers get broken. Herkeng

When I went thru the Tac School we were in a class with \"20 Squadron\". They were really great folks. I remember talking to Fonzy about why they had all this Belgium beer with them. I told him that even in St Joe or Fort Huachuca you could get any beer you wanted, not just the US stuff. He said Durkle beer(spelling?) sponsored them on their trip. Seems that if they took pictures of a Durkle sign (they had with \'em) at famous American landmarks, Durkle would give them free beer. Our crew fell over at that one. Can you imagine the \"freak out\" the Air Staff, let alone the American Press would have if they saw a ANG/USAF/AFRC/NAVY/MARINE 130 crew being sponsored by Budweiser or Miller? Herkeng PS hey Duncan, is Scotter Libby, \"Kunkle\" and Frank V still there in Tampa? Herkeng

I get a few Herks passing thru Ellington.They allways seem to fly right over the house. Man I miss it. Herkeng

If Truman were in politics today, the far left commies would have run him out of the Democratic party. It is a sad time when the party of my parents has sold out the blue collar folks for the Hollywood elite. Herkeng

Am I turning into a cynic? Nope, just a realist. Herkeng

Here is the the update to the last update, we ran the engine up on Friday, The SME was there and the verdict is.........We have to pull the motor. Looks like the return scavenge line is leaking. We have to pull the motor and inspect the line from the oil tank back. The last Soap passed again, that is good news. The bad news, I think I broke one of my freaking fingers. Nothing is easy on this bird! CFisher I was in SAC on Buffs. I remember it well. Talk about culture shock going from SAC to MAC. What a difference. SAC was a different ball game. Both commands were great at what they did, I do wish MAC would of treated the C-130 world a bit better.It felt like we were the red haired step children of the Strat\' Mac world. As a side note, I think if the USAF is gonna fix its problems with the Nuclear mission, its time to dust off the SAC regs and SAC culture and put it back into its nuclear programs. Herkeng (retired)

Thanks TalonOneTF. Question? What do you think of the book? herkeng

I just got an email from my father in-law which had the pictures of the crash taken by the Army Kid. All I can think is \"what the F%^$\". What the heck was this kid thinking by posting these pictures so quick on the web? He mentions his CSM and CO by name and show the faces of the iraqi police. I thought that was a no no? Maybe the command needs to hammer in the need to keep this stuff out of the public eye until the investigation is done. Or maybe I am getting old and there is no such thing as COMSEC or OPSEC. Herkeng (retired)

:( Chief Williams was a good man. DJ passed on the word to me the other day about it. God Bless ya Fred. Herkeng

If you are looking for a reference, Col Jerry Thigpen mentions it in the The \"Praetorian STARShip\" book he wrote. He mentions initial tail numbers (62-1843, 63-7785, 64-0564, and 64-0565), Thin Slice and Heavy Chain. Not being a Special Ops guy, I have no idea if it is a valid book on the Talon community and missions. The folks I know who are still there are tight lipped and right fully so. I wonder if Thigpen got into trouble for writing it? Herkeng (Retired)

Okay here is the new update. Looks like the last soap was good. The plan is to have a SME come out on Friday and we will do another run. There is some debate on if the case is leaking or we have a line doing it. So instead of us arguing amongst our selves, we are bringing in a SME. I really hope that it is a line that we can fix easily! yeah right. Nothing is ever easy on this thing. Wish us luck ;)

George I like your thinking!

Just got this off the AF web. 7/23/2008 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFPN) -- Air Force officials have released the names of the Barksdale crew members of the B-52 that crashed July 21 off Guam\'s northwest coast. Five of the six crew members were stationed here. They are Maj. Christopher M. Cooper, 33, aircraft commander; Maj. Brent D. Williams, 37, navigator; Capt. Michael K. Dodson, 31, co-pilot; 1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd, 26, navigator; and 1st Lt. Robert D Gerren, 32, electronic warfare officer. The sixth crew member was Col. George Martin, flight surgeon and deputy commander of 36th Medical Group at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The Barksdale Airmen were deployed to Guam with the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron as part of DOD\'s continuous bomber presence mission in the Pacific. \"Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of these Airmen,\" said Col. Robert Wheeler, 2d Bomb Wing commander. \"We appreciate the military and civilian organizations who are continuing recovery efforts to bring our Airmen home.\" God Bless them all Herkeng

Does anyone out there have a update on the B-52 crash off of Guam on Monday? Trying to see if any of my old crewdogs from my gunner days were on the plane. Herkeng (retired)

Jetca1L The leak is just forward of the Afterburner case. I have not heard or seen any message traffic on the SOAP or anything else since the run. been unable to get out there this week. Glad you liked the huey. The guys who have worked on her have been busting butt and it has be a real pleasure to see her beating the air into submission. Herkeng

Well, I returned from the Florida vacation and spent saturday with the Phantom. It does not look good. We ran up the number 2 engine and still had leaks and discovered a crack in the casing. The last run the guys did, we had a soap taken and it was bad. Oil was changed out and new soap taken after this run, awaitng results from the lab. Overall it looks like we are going to pull the engine and send it back to california.We have SME coming in to look at it but the concensus by the rest of us is not good. This is a real bummer because of all the freaking hard work we have done to get the darn thing going. I am disheatened but will press on. We were all hoping to get her back flying this summer. It is the 50th anniversary of the phantom this year.Oh well, guess we get to pull the motor again. As a side note, the T-33 is ready for a FCF, the TA-4 is flying out to Mississippi and the Huey has been up beating the air into submission. Only the S2-F and the F-4 are hanger queens. 3 outta 5 ain\'t bad. Herkeng

Good news, Cowboy should be coming in this week to do the engine run! maybe the FCF as well. Bad News: The wife and I are going on our first vactaion in a very long time, gonna miss the flight and run. Herkeng (Retired)

Jetcall We have more test equipment then we have space for. Our Engine guys have been busting butt since we got the new J-79 back from Stockton. Everytime we try to get \"Christine\" to get out of the hanger she leaks. Gotta get her to fly. The Engine is in great shape and we hope (fingers crossed) to have her airborne within the next week or so. Once flying we can get the hops people have paid for outta the way and hopefully have her get to some shows (Fuel costs permitting. Speaking of which, I think the airshow circuit is going to be hurting this year as fuel prices are going up faster than a Max Effort Takeoff.