C 130?

[428cj]

Incredible video shows new LM-100J Super Hercules inverting at Farnborough Air Show

https://www.businessinsider.com/incredible-video-shows-lm-100j-super-hercules-inverting-at-air-show-2018-7

 

[AZ Husker]

Probably the most dependable bird in history. Been around forever. I've jumped out of a bunch of them.

 

[Ranger1]

We use to put 2 OH6 birds in them and take them with us.

 

[Ranger1]

C 130 with little bird

 

[sneakerman600]

My dudes! #NSDQ!

 

[Viperdisorder]

Nice, but I don't trust inverting in a chopper , eek

 

[jls in az]

I spent hundreds of hours in them in the Recon and jamming configurations. Great planes.

 

[jledman]

.

 

[Limper]

I spent about half of my 21 year career flying as part of the Mission Crew on the EC-130H Compass Call based at Davis-Monthan AFB. The attached picture is the crew I flew with for the Cope Thunder 2002 exercise in Alaska. I am the guy kneeling on the right. A bit of interesting trivia: The guy looking down in the center is Doug Emerson, former actor that played the character Scott Scanlon on the first season of the show 90210. His character was killed when he shot himself with a Glock that fired when he dropped it (bullshit!!). For the record, he told the director that it wouldn't discharge that way but hey, I guess they needed the dramatic effect. As for the crew picture, I gave him crap that the only guy that screwed up the shot was the professional used to being photographed.....

 

[jls in az]

I was on the first crew ever certified on the EC-130H almost 40 years ago.

 

[Limper]

Don't know how long you were with the program. I had 4 tours of duty with Compass Call as an Analysis Operator and MCS: 89-91 41st ECS, 92-95 41st ECS and 355th Training Sqd in the simulator, 96-99 43rd ECS, 2000-2003 43rd ECS and Det 3 TSS.

 

[jls in az]

I was the 13th person assigned to the 41st ECS in 1981. I was there from 1981-1983, went to TAWC in 1984 as the Program Manager for Compass Call in 1984, then a tour back flying RC135's out of Eielson 86 through 89 and back to the 41st 89-91. Somewhere along the way flying from 1977 through 1990, I managed to break my neck from too many copilot landings. I was the first Analysis Operator certified on Compass Call. I was also certified on all the other positions because Joe Dorczuk and I wrote the entire baseline testing procedures for the entire system and all the original Standardization and Evaluation tests for the back-end crew. Unfortunately, HQ TAC at that time thought in fighter mentality so when they came out for the first Stand/Eval visit, they saw everything in fighter view- front enders and back enders. So, Acq Operators got Maintenance questions, Maintenance operators got MCC questions, etc. The only two people who passed were Joe and I. We had to have a long talk with them explaining that the different positions had different jobs. I also spearheaded the intel support for Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 90-91.

 

[Limper]

That is really interesting to hear some back story. I also had a couple of tours flying on RC-135s on Okinawa with the 6990th/390th in 85-86 and 95-96. Spent half my time in 95-96 TDY in Saudi supporting Operation Southern watch. I laugh every time the news posts a story about the Russians flying unsafe near a US "spy plane" (hate that). It's just the same old shit that has always gone on.
Interesting times.

 

[jls in az]

Yeah, we didn't talk about it back then. I've seen MIG-21's close enough to see the color of the pilot's eyes. I've also survived two different types of cancers I got from flying some of those missions in the arctic- Alone. Unarmed. Unafraid.

 

[Limper]

I am very lucky in that the only physical impairments due to my service are a badly broken middle finger and tinnitus. Nothing compared to what others suffered or sacrificed due to their service, the link below being a an example. Definitely Alone. Unarmed. Unafraid.

https://www.newsweek.com/spy-mission-gone-wrong-193254

P.S. I'm not advocating Newsweeks take on the story. Just wanted to highlight an example of the hazards of "peacetime" service. Never knew MSgt Beard but one of my friends knew him.

 

[jls in az]

My grandson is flying MC130's and AC130's now as a linguist. I don't know when they added linguists to those crews but he's having a blast, sometimes literally on the AC's. The USAF gave him an initial enlistment bonus of $96,000.00 to sign up for six years and go to Monterey to learn a language. While I'm proud he's following in my footsteps, I do worry.

 

[Limper]

I think it was around the mid 90s. They were talking about DSOs (Direct Support Operators) when I was stationed at Kadena in 95-96. And yeah the bonuses were kinda nice, my timing never was very good. They always seemed to drop when it was time for me to reenlist and rise when I was already committed.

 

[AZ Husker]

The USAF gave him an initial enlistment bonus of $96,000.00 to sign up for six years and go to Monterey to learn a language.

$96K to go to the Defense Language Institute? When I went in that was one of the toughest jobs to get, we certainly didn't get a bonus. I enlisted for six years just to go there and avoid the draft.

 

[jls in az]

I did the same thing. I joined the Air Force in 1971 after I got a note that started "Greetings ..." I Originally signed up to be a "Site Projector." The job sounded good- survey airfields and landing areas, layout landing strips, coordinate directly with airborne aircraft. They later changed the job to "Combat Controller." Anyway, took the DLAPT the 5th day of basic training and maxed it, then about 15 days before graduating basic, took a tonal language test and failed it miserably. Everyone else was saying how easy the test had been. When we got our orders at the end of basic, 4 of us were going to Monterey to study Russian and German and the other 56 were going to FT Bliss, Texas to learn Vietnamese. I graduated from basic Russian in 1972, went to Goodfellow, then spent 1973 in San Vito, Italy. Went back to Monterey in 1974 for Intermediate Russian, then to a special school at No Such Agency. Was in Berlin in 1975 and 1976. We were surrounded by 9 Russian armies so it was a target rich environment. Left there in 1977 for Offutt and spent the rest of my 20 flying RC135's, RC130's EC-130H's and laying the ground work for the tactical support and C3CM that came after.

 

[Limper]

I scored decent on the DLAPT but not well enough to pick my language. Flavor of the day (July 1983) ended up being Korean. Forty-seven started the class, seven of us finished. When I was stationed at Kadena flying RC-135s the Russian missions always included 1 Korling for self protection due to the route proximity to the DPRK on ingress and egress. That meant I was blessed to see some examples of the USSR fighter inventory close up. Never got to see any of the DPRK inventory close up. But that's a good thing cause that meant they were trying to shoot you down.

Even if they aren't trying to shoot you down all it take is one dumbass like PLAF Lt Cdr Wang Wei on April Fool's Day (can't make this sh*t up) to screw up and then your day gets interesting. (article attached)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

Note: The article even has a picture of the Air Force crew member who was flying with the Navy that day. You can clearly see his 390th name tag on his flight suit that has the silhouette of a RC-135. My understanding is it was his first flight solo after qualifying. It was a Sunday. And nothing ever happens on Sundays..............