herk's view from the sixty and two

New Video of the Piasecki X-49A SpeedHawk

2008-02-16T23:36:00.002-05:00

Sad to see Mr. Piasecki go...

USAF: Which bases are getting what aircraft? (AirEnquirer..er, Air Force Times)

2008-02-06T23:28:00.000-05:00

Taken with a grain of salt

Which bases are getting what aircraft?

Posted : Wednesday Jan 16, 2008 10:56:23 EST

The list is out.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley has released the “roadmap” for the Air Force’s future, detailing which bases are in the running to house the service’s next-generation aircraft.

The outline of future forces is the result of meetings with top leaders from the regular Air Force, the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve in December, according to an Air Force press release.

The potential sites for each mission are:

MQ-1 Predator
* Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.

* Ellington Field, Texas

* Fort Huachuca/Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

* Grand Forks Air Force Base/Hector International Airport, N.D.

* March Air Reserve Base/Southern California Logistics Airport, Calif.

RQ-4 Global Hawk
* Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.

* Andersen Air Force Base, Guam

Distributed Common Ground System (Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination of Intelligence Data)
* Hulman Regional Airport, Ind.

* Otis Air National Guard Base, Mass.

KC-X (Next-generation tanker aircraft)
* Altus Air Force Base, Okla.

* Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

* Bangor International Airport, Maine

* Birmingham International Airport, Ala.

* Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

* Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

* Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

* Forbes Field, Kan.

* Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.

* Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind.

* Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii

* Lincoln Municipal Airport, Neb.

* MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

* March Air Reserve Base, Calif.

* McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.

* McGhee Tyson Airport, Tenn.

* McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.

* Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H.

* Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Ariz.

* Pittsburgh International Airport, Pa.

* Rickenbacker International Airport, Ohio

* Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah

* Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

* Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich.

* Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

* Sioux Gateway Airport, Iowa

* Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Joint Cargo Aircraft
* W.K. Kellogg Airport, Mich.

* Bradley International Airport, Conn.

* Hector International Airport, N.D.

* Key Field, Miss.

* Luiz Munoz International Airport, Puerto Rico

* Mansfield Regional Airport, Ohio

* Martin State Airport, Md.

CSAR-X (Combat Search and Rescue Helicopter)
* Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

* Francis Gabreski Air National Guard Base, N.Y.

* Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

* Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska

* Moffett Field, Calif.

* Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

* Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

* Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.

F-35A Lightning II
* Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

* Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

* Boise Air Terminal, Idaho

* Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.

* Burlington International Airport, Vt.

* Dannelly Field, Ala.

* Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

* Des Moines International Airport, Iowa

* Duluth International Airport, Minn.

* Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

* Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

* Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

* Fort Smith Municipal Airport, Ark.

* Fort Wayne International Airport, Ind.

* NAS Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas

* Hill Air Force Base, Utah

* Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.

* Kelly Field Annex, Texas

* Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

* Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

* Madison Truax Field, Wisc.

* Martin State Airport, Md.

* Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

* Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho

* Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

* Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich.

* Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

* Shaw Air Force Base/McEntire Air National Guard Base, S.C.

* Sioux Falls Joe Foss Field, S.D.

* Toledo Express International Airport, Ohio

* Tucson International Airport, Ariz.

* Tulsa International Airport, Okla.

* Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

F-35A Lightning II or F-22 Raptor
* Atlantic City International Airport, N.J.

* Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass.

* Fresno Air Terminal, Calif.

* Great Falls International Airport, Mont.

* Jacksonville International Airport, Fla.

* Klamath Falls International Airport, Ore.

* NAS Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans, La.

* Portland International Airport, Ore.

F-22 Raptor
* Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii

* Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.

Next-Generation Bomber
* Dyess Air Force Base, Texas

* Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

* Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

* Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

MQ-9 Reaper
* Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.

* Fort Drum/Syracuse, N.Y.

CV-22 Osprey
* Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The JCAs will go to the bases that lost their current flying gigs...throw a dog a bone.

My Predictions (Big grain of sea salt)

CSAR-X -
Cannon, Duke Field, Patrick, Kirtland, Moody. No more, no less.

MQ-1 -
Do not expect Cannon to get (but will get the MQ-9)

CV-22 -
Add Kirtland, Elmendorf, Moody, Patrick
Keep Cannon

RQ-4 -
Beale only (with Osan as a tenant unit)

DCGS -
Add Offutt

KC-X -
Every gaddammed airport in the nation

NGB -
in 2037
Dyess and Ellsworth only

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T12:41:00.000-05:00

To all have a Merry and Blessed Christmas.

The new "gunship" or the "Alan Parsons Project"

2007-12-13T09:16:00.000-05:00

DATE:12/12/07
SOURCE: FlightGlobal
Boeing installs laser weapon on C-130
By Stephen Trimble
PICTURE:
http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=20792

Boeing moved closer earlier this month to realizing a seven-year goal to
demonstrate a high-powered laser as a weapon aboard a Lockheed Martin
C-130H.
The Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL), including its 12,000lb integrated module
was integrated on the aircraft on 4 December. The combined system also was
aligned with the beam control system.
Boeing plans to demonstrate the combined system in 2008 for the US Special
Operations Command, completing an advanced concept technology demonstration
project begun in 2001.
“Next year, we will fire the laser at ground targets, demonstrating the
military utility of this transformational directed energy weapon,” Scott
Fancher, VP and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, said in a
statement.

Boeing has installed a 12,000 pound high-energy chemical laser module on board a C-130H aircraft, as part of the US Air force Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (CTD) program. The module was moved into place aboard the aircraft and aligned with the previously-installed beam control system, which will direct the laser beam to its target. The aircraft is being prepared to conduct a series of tests leading up to a planned demonstration flight in 2008.
"Next year, we will fire the laser at ground targets, demonstrating the military utility of this transformational directed energy weapon." said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. The test team will fire the laser through a rotating turret that extends through the aircraft's belly. ATL, which Boeing is developing for the U.S. Department of Defense, will destroy, damage or disable targets with little to no collateral damage, supporting missions on the battlefield and in urban operations.

The program achieved two other major milestones earlier this year. "Low-power" flight tests were completed in June at Kirtland; the ATL aircraft used its flight demonstration hardware and a low-power laser to find and track moving and stationary ground targets. The flight demonstration hardware includes the beam control system; weapon system consoles, which display high-resolution imagery and enable the tracking of targets; and sensors. The low-power laser, a surrogate for the high-energy laser, hit its intended target in each of more than a dozen tests. Also, in late July, the high-energy laser concluded laboratory testing at the Davis Advanced Laser Facility at Kirtland, demonstrating reliable operations in more than 50 firings.

Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser industry team includes L-3 Communications/Brashear, which made the laser turret, and HYTEC, Inc., which made various structural elements of the weapon system.

Airborne Tactical Laser (ATL)

The Airborne tactical Laser is a Special Operations Command (SOCOM) sponsored Advanced Concept Technology demonstration (ACTD) program, designed to demonstrate the use of high power tactical lasers from an airborne platform.
Under the program, a chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) will be installed on a modified C-130H transport aircraft, simulating a future AC-130 laser equipped gunship. The airborne tactical laser will be able to destroy, damage or disable targets at tactical ranges with little to no collateral damage, supporting missions on the battlefield and in urban operations. The laser will be able to place a 10-centimeter-wide beam with enough energy to melt and slice through a metal target from a distance of 15 kilometers. ATL is expected to produce scaleable effects, meaning the weapon operator will be able to select the degree and nature of the damage done to a target by choosing a specific aimpoint and laser shot duration. For example, targeting the fuel tank of a vehicle could result in total destruction of the vehicle, while targeting a tire might result in the vehicle stopping without injury to the driver.

The program is led by Boeing, which is assisted by an industry team including L-3 Communications/Brashear, which made the laser turret, and HYTEC, Inc., which made various structural elements of the weapon system. Boeing began flight testing of a surrogate solid-state laser in October 2006. The aircraft used a surrogate solid-state "low-power" laser for search and track of ground targets. The system utilizes the hardware designed for the high power chemical laser, which includes the beam director and optical control bench, controlling and directing the laser beam to its target; weapon system consoles, which will display high-resolution imagery and enable the tracking of targets; and sensors.

The high power chemical laser destined for the program was also tested for the first time on Sept 21st, the ground, generating the "first light" of the high-energy chemical laser in ground tests. In december 2007, the high power module was installed on the aircraft and by 2008 it is scheduled to fire in-flight at mission-representative ground targets to demonstrate the military utility of high energy-lasers. The test team will fire the laser through a rotating turret that extends through an existing 50-inch-diameter hole in the aircraft's belly. Future potential ATL platforms could be the C-130 and MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft.

Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy Medal of Honor

2007-10-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAN DIEGO — Two years after his death in a harrowing firefight on an Afghanistan mountaintop, Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL officer from Long Island, N.Y., will be bestowed with the nation’s highest combat honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, Navy officials said.

Lt. Ligia Cohen, a Navy spokeswoman at the Pentagon, confirmed the award.

The announcement of the Medal of Honor — the first awarded to a Navy officer or sailor for combat actions in Iraq or Afghanistan — came Thursday during a White House briefing.

The medal will be presented to Murphy’s family during a 2:30 p.m. ceremony Oct. 22 at the White House, Cohen said. In addition, the late officer will be honored at two other events: the inclusion of his name on a wall at the Pentagon Hall of Heroes at 11 a.m. Oct. 23, and the presentation of the Medal of Honor flag at the Navy Memorial at 6 p.m. Oct. 23.

Froggy Ruminations - SEAL Memorial at the Punchbowl MUST READ
Froggy Ruminations - The One
Pundit Review - Blackfive podcast about the battle
Blackfive (Froggy) - Mike Murphy Beach
Blackfive - "HERO" - SEAL Lieutenant Mike Murphy Considered for MOH
Blackfive - Danny Dietz - Navy SEAL Hero's Memorial Opposed
Blackfive - Marcus Luttrell is "The One" - Sole Surviving Navy SEAL
Blackfive - US Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial

God Speed, God Bless

Fitting Quote even for today

2007-10-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime
that damage morale, and undermine the military are
saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged."

~Abraham Lincoln~

C-130s play the BRAC version of the game twister

2007-09-25T09:32:00.000-05:00

185th AS leaving

OK, so let me get this straight...
The 185th AS have lost its H2 Aircraft to Pittsburgh’s 911 AW. Pittsburg who has flown the H3 will receive the Older H2s and sends its H3s to Pope Air Force base so that the H3s can fly Active duty missions... Milwaukee who gave up its airplanes to pope back in May will also be joined by Pittsburgh’s H3 aircraft. This is good news for active duty C-130 crews...much newer nicer aircraft.

Selfridge just gave up its aircraft to receive KC-135s (and the F-16s up there will convert to the A-10)

I am just glad that none are converting to the bloody C-130J

Clear as mud?

Does anyone have anything to add or share?

Hillary Clinton. Politics as usual

2007-09-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Out of the candidates running, Rudy is not my first choice...but this is a good video and I thought I would post it for those who have not had the opportunity to see/hear it.

General Petraeus deserves better. Our men and women fighting deserve better. America deserves better...

Brits destroy own C-130J. New info...not good.

2007-09-19T07:42:00.000-05:00

Back in Feb of 2007 the RAF had to destroy one of their own C-130Js. When the story first came out the news and reports were saying that it had hit an IED...now the story is horrifically different; Electrical fire!! Y'all know I am not a fan of the J model but it is way too new and way too expensive to have electrical problems. Now, was it from a mod or a specification on Brit only planes or is this something that can effect ALL C-130J aircraft?

Thank God that the 58+crew made it out safe...

I will be looking into this to find the report on the official cause of the problem.

Link to news story

These airplanes are too expensive and the lives of those on board are too precious for these kinds of problems to exist.

James Brolin: Asshole of the year! or, the "happy 9/11" guy.

2007-09-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

James Brolin: Asshole!

9/11 on the Chaz & AJ show in New Haven, Connecticut while trying to promote his new movie "The Hunting Party". James says something I thought even he and all the other worthless actors turned wannabe politician were above.. I was wrong. He stoops to an all time low in the "Who HerkEng thinks is classy" book.
Listen to his comments about 9/11...

He doesn't just sit there and disagree with what happened. He didn't say how he feels about how Bush created that horrific day...no, he goes and slaps everyone in the nation; he personally slaps every family member who died that horrific day. He slapped every family member of every service men who has served in war after that tragic day (living or not).

Here is a rough transcript posted by the Marooned In Marin blog

Brolin: "It's kind of a parody on uh, how come we can't catch war criminals with all of our sophisticated stuff you know.

Chaz or AJ: That's something we've been talking about a lot today on this show for obvious reasons, being the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks

Brolin: Right! Oh yeah. Oh Happy 9/11!

Chaz/AJ: Well that's kind of a weird thing to say.

Brolin: (Laughs) I hear silence. Well.

Chaz/AJ: Well we're right outside of New York I mean I know people
(Right!)...who lost family members so we don't say "Happy 9/11" here

Brolin: Celebrate the day, right?

Chaz/AJ: Yeah well, we kind of commemorate the day by remembering those who were lost and the families they left behind

BROLIN: I understand. It's a horrible situation how they've
been left behind even now by anybody who might uh...

Chaz/AJ: I think you'd be better off talking about this movie.

What a heartless miserable bastard.

Burn in hell with your unhappy miserable wife James...

My 9/11/01

2007-09-11T06:18:00.000-05:00

My crew and I were in Clearwater Florida delivering the President’s Helicopter ground/maintenance crews of Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), "The Nighthawks,” with parts and an engine. We went out the night before...the usual for a TDY crew... Hooters for dinner and then out to find some bars, sort of stoked to be on a presidential support mission. But we only took the first half. We just had to drop them off and then home in the morning.... My Pilot and I were to be in the Simulator the next day.
We took off like it was any other flight...but I can't tell you how quickly that had changed. At first everyone including the air controllers were confused...mistaking the initial report for a small plane. (Or was it hoping that it had been a small plane)... then slowly more and more info was being relayed to us. We were discussing how if the weather was good.... No one could accidentally hit those huge buildings...and also remember, we had no visuals at all...only mental pictures...somehow it was relayed to us that they needed the plane back incase the Group needed to send them out for some reason. So through much coordination we did not have to land at a close airport...slowly it got more and more quiet in the air as the planes all landed. By the time we flew over DFW seeing all the planes on the ground and none in the air (most of the time you can spot 20 or so planes in the area taking off or landing. The controllers were all very short but to the point, but scared at the same time. Almost too professional. The talk over the radios were so different than all other flights I have ever been on... instead of direction the controllers were giving us updates.... for almost 2 hours after we heard about the buildings falling...no one said a word other than to talk to ATC or to run a checklist...We landed back at Our base and let the maintainers have back their plane so they could get her ready for alert status. We were told to go to debrief and then into the squadron. Security was already so very tight. A guy I had known for 4 years was asking to see my ID to go into the squadron... and at every door the same. The only people where were in the squadron were the people checking IDs, the higher-ups, and the schedulers...just as we figured we were sent home to go to bed and enter Bravo alert (have to be able to get to base and take the plane off in two hours). I could not do this, I could not sleep. I just entered my apartment and turned on the TV...it was my first glimpse of what had happened. I was in shock. The mental pictures could not compare to the reality. For three days I did nothing but sit on alert and watch TV. I could not stop...
I remember being so damn angry, not sad. Not scared, but pissed off that this happened on our own soil.

I flew again three days later. Everyone was still in shock. No one said a word save the few commands we have in the plane...Everyone was calling each other by their real names. No nicknames...no jokes. No small talk. We were delivering Gas Generators to McGuire AFB and into NYC in case they needed them. In case something else was to happen. As we got home the next day we had our orders in our hands. We were deploying. And fast. The prep for war had already started.
After the shock of what I saw on TV had settled...all I did was pray... Pray for our Country to stay strong. I prayed for my brothers and sisters in the military to stay safe. And thanked God that we had G.W. Bush in Office to see us through.

I was not a daddy then heck, I wasn't even married yet. Every time I had deployed after 9/11 I knew what we were fighting for. Those pictures of my wife and kids in my flight helmet reminded me of all those daddies and mommies that died that day in those very tall buildings who for no fault of their own will never see their families again. Their families left with a never healing wound. We must keep in mind who are enemy is. We must keep in mind what they will continue to do to us. We must never falter from our fight. Keep steady. Keep firm and every day kiss your kids. Kiss your Wife and most of all, pray to God.

RAF looses another C-130, Crew safe...

2007-08-31T13:39:00.000-05:00

The RAF had another blow yesterday when after a reported heavy landing on an unsecured strip outside of Kabul. The C-130K was based out of RAF Lyneham in 47 squadron. I am getting word that it was XV205, a special forces modified aircraft knows as the C-130K, C.1. If this is the case, I have flown in her back in 1998 or 99. A great little airplane.

I am just very glad that everyone was alright.

Here is the BBC video

Plane carrying Shelby and Cramer fired on above Iraq

2007-08-30T23:49:00.000-05:00

A C-130 aircraft carrying an Alabama senator and congressman was fired on this evening as it was flying from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan.

The airplane was carrying Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, and two other senators.

Three rockets were shot at the plane and were "near misses," Shelby said in a telephone interview. He said the pilot took evasive maneuvers to avoid the rockets. The plane landed safely in Amman at about 4 p.m. central.

"I was looking out the window, a little small window, and I saw a shell or something," Shelby said. "And then I see a flare. Our plane started maneuvering and changing directions and shaking all around."

On Deck with the Hercules: or, "LOOK MA, NO HOOK"

2007-08-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

OK, I felt sort of bad about bagging on "TheNavy" the other day...It was all fun and games, see, I grew up in a Navy town, and to top it off, my Pops was a Jarhead (way before I trickled out)

Ahhh those days I remember riding my bike up to the approach end of the runways at Miramar and having the landing F-14As just a few feet over my head...great days, OK, I guess I sort of like "TheNavy" guys n' gals.

One of the coolest things ever done with a C-130!!

C-130 Hercules Lands on U.S.S. Forrestal

When one reviews the encyclopedic range of accomplishments by the C-130 Hercules and its valiant aircrews over the years, surely one of the most astounding took place in October 1963 when the U.S. Navy decided to try to land a Hercules on an aircraft carrier. Was it possible? Who would believe that the big, four-engine C-130 with its bulky fuselage and 132-foot wing span could land on the deck of a carrier?

Not only was it possible, it was done in moderately rough seas 500 miles out in the North Atlantic off the coast of Boston. In so doing, the airplane became the largest and heaviest aircraft to ever land on an aircraft carrier, a record that stands to this day.

When Lt. James H. Flatley III was told about his new assignment, he thought somebody was pulling his leg. "Operate a C-130 off an aircraft carrier? Somebody's got to be kidding," he said. But they weren't kidding. In fact, the Chief of Naval Operations himself had ordered a feasibility study on operating the big propjet aboard the Norfolk-based U.S.S. Forrestal (CVA-59). The Navy was trying to find out whether they could use the Hercules as a "Super COD" - a "Carrier Onboard Delivery" aircraft. The airplane then used for such tasks was the Grumman C-1 Trader, a twin piston-engine bird with a limited payload capacity and 300-mile range. If an aircraft carrier is operating in mid-ocean, it has no "onboard delivery" system to fall back on and must come nearer land before taking aboard even urgently needed items. The Hercules was stable and reliable, with a long cruising range and capable of carrying large payloads.

The aircraft, a KC-130F refueler transport (BuNo 149798), on loan from the U.S. Marines, was delivered on 8 October. Lockheed's only modifications to the original plane included installing a smaller nose-landing gear orifice, an improved anti-skid braking system, and removal of the underwing refueling pods. "The big worry was whether we could meet the maximum sink rate of nine feet per second," Flatley said. As it turned out, the Navy was amazed to find they were able to better this mark by a substantial margin.

In addition to Flatley, the crew consisted of Lt.Cmdr. W.W. Stovall, copilot; ADR-1 E.F. Brennan, flight engineer; and Lockheed engineering flight test pilot Ted H. Limmer, Jr. The initial sea-born landings on 30 October 1963 were made into a 40-knot wind. Altogether, the crew successfully negotiated 29 touch-and-go landings, 21 unarrested full-stop landings, and 21 unassisted takeoffs at gross weights of 85,000 pounds up to 121,000 pounds. At 85,000 pounds, the KC-130F came to a complete stop within 267 feet, about twice the aircraft's wing span! The Navy was delighted to discover that even with a maximum payload, the plane used only 745 feet for takeoff and 460 feet for landing roll. The short landing roll resulted from close coordination between Flatley and Jerry Daugherty, the carrier's landing signal officer. Daugherty, later to become a captain and assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command, gave Flatley an engine "chop" while still three or four feet off the deck.

Lockheed's Ted Limmer, who checked out fighter pilot Flatley in the C-130, stayed on for some of the initial touch-and-go and full-stop landings. "The last landing I participated in, we touched down about 150 feet from the end, stopped in 270 feet more and launched from that position, using what was left of the deck. We still had a couple hundred feet left when we lifted off. Admiral Brown was flabbergasted."

The plane's wingspan cleared the Forrestal's flight deck "island" control tower by just under 15 feet as the plane roared down the deck on a specially painted line. Lockheed's chief engineer, Art E. Flock was aboard to observe the testing. "The sea was pretty big that day. I was up on the captain's bridge. I watched a man on the ship's bow as that bow must have gone up and down 30 feet." The speed of the shop was increased 10 knots to reduce yaw motion and to reduce wind direction. Thus, when the plane landed, it had a 40 to 50 knot wind on the nose. "That airplane stopped right opposite the captain's bridge," recalled Flock. "There was cheering and laughing. There on the side of the fuselage, a big sign had been painted on that said, "LOOK MA, NO HOOK."

From the accumulated test data, the Navy concluded that with the C-130 Hercules, it would be possible to lift 25,000 pounds of cargo 2,500 miles and land it on a carrier. Even so, the idea was considered a bit too risky for the C-130 and the Navy elected to use a smaller COD aircraft. For his effort, the Navy awarded Flatley the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Excerpts from Herk: Hero of the Skies, by Joseph Earl Dabney, Airlines Publications and Sales, Ltd., 1979.

C-130 Hercules Headquarters passes the reigns to Herky Birds.com

2007-08-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

This has sort of been an inevitable thing. Scott Gager has not really updated C-130HQ in quite some time.
Besides thinking that the new name is dorky, Herky Birds.com
will be a winner with lots of support. The picture database is already outstanding and it is only going to get better. I hope that there is more contribution in the new site and I am eager to see her grow.

Good job guys (gals)

C-130 Hercules Headquarters

HerkyBirds.com

When airdrops go bad

2007-08-15T21:06:00.000-05:00

We have lost one of our own; TSgt Joey Link, Rest in Peace.

2007-08-14T07:19:00.000-05:00

With a sad heart I report that we have lost one of our own. I was trying to wait to post this until the final autopsy report was available but it looks like that will take a while. I did not know Joey Link, he must have come to Dyess just as I was leaving but I can not tell you how close to home that this hits. I think it would almost be less shocking if it had been a result of war or an accident but from a simple trip that we have all taken dozens of times? Rumors are spreading that it was a result of a spider bite while in Djibouti but who knows? I will wait for the report. TSgt Joey Link Passed away Sunday August 5th in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Germany. My deepest sympathy goes out to all of his family.

As always, Patriot Guard was on the ball and did a great job organizing the ride.
Stars and Stripes

Dyess AFB News

Legacy Guest Book

Rest in Peace Joey

Piasecki Speed Hawk X-49A; or how to make a fourty year old idea new again...

2007-07-05T08:08:00.000-05:00

Both Piasecki and Lockheed have tried something similar in the past. Lockheed doing it with it's competitor against the Hughes AH-64 Apache. The AH-56 Cheyenne had a (un)conventional main rotor paired with wings that also provided lift, a conventional tail rotor as well as a pusher prop rotor in the rear for added speed. Top speed was around 400 km/h. The AH-56 first flew on September 21, 1967. after a failure of one of the prototyped that lead to the death of the pilot the Army chose in favor of the AH-64.
Piasecki also tried a similar design in the early 1960s with its Piasecki 16H Pathfinder I and Pathfinder II. The Pathfinder I was powered by a PT6B-2 405 shp engine while the Pathfinder II was powered by a 1,250shp T58-GE-8. The Pathfinder I could reach a speed of 370 km/h.( no mention of the speed of the Pathfinder II).

On June 29, 2007 Piasecki did it again with the SpeedHawk a highly modified version of the already old UH-60 Black Hawk.

form an "secret projects" aviation forum:

Late Friday, Piasecki Aircraft re-entered the helicopter history books with a 15 minute flight of its unique compound helicopter design, the X-49A SpeedHawk.

Lifting off at Boeing’s Rotorcraft Div., Wilmington, Del, test facility at 7.50 pm the flight test team - which had worked all week to resolve a pesky shaft vibration problem - put the aircraft through a series of turns and a short forward flight sequence.

Pilots Steve Schellburg and ‘Snake’ Jackson guided the SH-60F-based helicopter - modified with its Piasecki-designed VTDP (vectored thrust ducted propeller) tail assembly - on a maiden voyage reportedly free of any problems.

A clearly delighted company chief executive John Piasecki tells rotorhub he regards the flight as the ‘beginning of the beginning’ for the return of compound helicopter flight efficiencies to the rotorcraft industry.

Compunds promise radical increases in speed and range for conventional helicopters by off-loading rotors in favor of wingborne flight.

The Piasecki design uses a ducted propeller to provide motive thrust, as well as vectored control of direction.

‘It’s been a long, long time coming, and we’re all savoring the moment,’ he said.

The team is utilising Boeing flight test telemetry facilities at Wilmington once used for V-22 testing, and - as reported in rotorhub last week - the latter is co-operating on the program because of potential interest in the VTDP design for future applications.

Piasecki has just signed a $3.1-million development contract with the Army’s AATD (Aviation Applied Technology Directorate) organisation in Ft. Eustis, Va., one of the more a forward-looking agencies often associated with pushing rotorcraft technology boundaries.

Piasecki says a 100-hour flight test program now lies ahead.

‘The schedule is still fluid but we anticipate being able to get this done within the rest of the year.’ The program will receive incremental funding as it progresses, he said.

The success of the first flight has enormous potential significance for a technology that many have often derided as impractical.

The Piasecki organisation stuck to its guns, however, working the problem resolutely for many, many years, drawing on bursts of funding enthusiasm mostly from within the Navy, the US Marine Corps and the Army.

‘A lot of people said this day would never come,’ Piasecki said. ‘Well, they were wrong.’

* A personal loss - the sudden death last week of Carl, USMC sergeant son of Terry Crews a well regarded figure in the helicopter industry - motivated the flight to be dedicated to him, Piasecki said.

Independence Day

2007-07-03T23:06:00.000-05:00

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
'Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust,"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Francis Scott Key-Sept. 14, 1814

I do not remember the last time so much conversation has been made of Independence Day as it has this year over the importance of the day its self and why we celebrate. Even after I had joined the Air Force it was just a day to flip burgers and enjoy life. That changed as I had aged a tad. Then September 11, 2001 occurred and all of our lives had changed. Even that very next year on Independence day we were all deployed and it was real to us but it had already died down back in the States. Our Independence was threatened by those who are willing to do whatever it takes to tear it out of our hands...and we sure as hell will fight them tooth and nail for the independence of our people, of our land, of our will and our hearts. It seemed to us that even that next year on July 4th 2002 that the spirit that had fallen over our nation had dwindled once again and then every year less and less sprit was shown on the streets, parade grounds, baseball games, back yard BBQs...But this year seems different. But why? What does the 231st year of our declared Independence mean? Why now? Everyone seems excited to celibate our freedom, Show support for those fighting in Uniform and to offer remorse to those who have fallen for us and our way of life. I want to thank you all for your support, your love, your will, your hearts, your fight, your desire and your patriotism. God knows, in these times we all could use just a tad more.

Take care and God Bless

Here is the full list of Combat Wombats; MC-130W Combat Spear

2007-06-28T07:28:00.000-05:00

Here you go, you have asked for it and I provide.

These are the C-130s that will make up the MC-130W Combat Wombat (damn it, I mean Combat Spear...I do seriously)list.

87-9284 (c/n 5125)(from the 357th AS, Maxwell AFB AFRC)

87-9286 (c/n 5127) (from the 357th AS, Maxwell AFB AFRC)(here is this baby in Kandahar, Afghanistan)

87-9288 (c/n 5129) (from the 96th AS, Minneapolis-St. Paul IAP, MN AFRC)

88-1301 (c/n 5162)(from the 130th AS, WV ANG)

88-1302 (c/n 5163)(From the 130th AS, WV ANG)
no photo

88-1303 (c/n 5164) (From the 130th AS, WV ANG)

88-1304 (c/n 5165) (130th AS, WV ANG)

88-1305 (c/n 5166) (130th AS, WV ANG) Taken while in Poland

88-1306 (c/n 5167)(130th AS, WV ANG)

88-1307 (c/n 5168)(130th AS, WV ANG)

88-1308 (c/n 5169)(130th AS, WV ANG)

89-1051 (c/n 5198)(from the 155th AS, Tennessee ANG)

90-1057 (c/n 5240)(from the 204th AS, Hawaii ANG)
(no photo)

RIP Maj. Gregory D. Young

2007-06-27T18:53:00.000-05:00

Godspeed Grumpy

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon Air National Guard pilot who died when his F-15A crashed into the Pacific Ocean was in training that included mock dogfighting with Marine Corps Reserve warplanes, military officials said Wednesday.

He was identified as Maj. Gregory D. Young, 34, of St. Helens, Ore., the Guard said.

The remains were found Tuesday evening nearly 40 miles west of Cannon Beach, on the northern end of the Oregon coast, Guard officials said. The F-15 was destroyed on impact when it went down about five hours earlier, they said.

Air National Guard officials praised fast action by the Coast Guard, saying its helicopters were on the scene in about 30 minutes.

They said the announcement that the remains had been recovered was delayed until Wednesday morning at the request of the family.

Guard officials at a press conference Wednesday would not speculate on what happened and offered few details about such conditions as the altitude of the fighters.

The single-seat F15A is among the older of the F-15 series and is being phased out in favor of a longer-range F15C model. There also is an F-15B, which is a two-seater.

The age of the plane that crashed Tuesday was not immediately available.

"He was a very talented young man with many years of dedicated service to the protection of the freedoms we enjoy today," said Col. Steven Gregg, commander of the 142nd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard stationed in Portland.

Gregg said the ocean was from 700 to 1,700 feet deep at the crash site, but some parts could wash ashore. He urged people who find what might be parts of the jet not to touch them and to contact authorities because the carbon fiber used in its construction can be harmful if mishandled.

The training exercise pitted four F-15s from the Oregon Guard against a like number of F/A-18s from a Marine Corps Reserve unit stationed near Fort Worth, Texas.

It was designed to sharpen fighting skills by giving the pilots experience in flying against a different kind of aircraft, Guard officials said. The training was preparation for an August exercise at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, Guard officials said.

Air National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Misti Mazzia said Young had about 700 hours of flying time in F-15s and more than 1,000 hours in other military aircraft, but had not been on a combat tour.

He had previously been stationed in Texas and Idaho and joined the 142nd in Portland in March 2006.

She said the F-15s commonly train at speeds of around 400 mph but can reach 1,000 mph if they have to.

A fellow pilot reported to searchers from the Coast Guard that no parachute was seen. The Coast Guard sent helicopters, cutters and a C-130 aircraft, and said it had found a debris field.

"The nature of flying combat fighter aircraft is one that implies operating on a razor's edge," said Brig. Gen. Dan O'Hollaren, commander of the Oregon Air National Guard. "Because the 142nd Fighter Wing has performed so magnificently for so long in all arenas, we may be lulled into a sense that all of this is routine and mundane. Yesterday's event confirms that it is not."

Skies were mostly clear with some high clouds when the accident occurred about 1:35 p.m.

The Guard said an Air Force Safety Board would investigate the crash. O'Hollaren pledged that it would "leave no unanswered question on the table."

Mazzia said the fighter wing has suspended F-15 flights for the rest of the week so that the unit can grieve and focus on the investigation. Most of the unit's more than 30 pilots are commercial airline pilots, she said.

Flags drooped at half-staff on the base Wednesday. A memorial service will be set later.

She said it was the first time the wing had lost an F-15, which it started flying in 1989.

She said the wing lost an F-4 that same year and had lost F-101s but did not know when.

Oregon State University spokesman Todd Simmons said Young graduated in 1996 with a degree in civil engineering and a minor in aerospace studies.

In 1996 he was a cadet in OSU's Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps and was one of 46 picked to take part in a 55-week Euro-NATO joint jet pilot training program.

Quote of the week (27 June 07)

2007-06-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

"Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable."

-- General George Patton Jr

Well, that didn't last too long... DC-10 Water Taker "SUPERTANKER" Grounded

2007-06-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

DC-10 a near casualty of fire
Media News
Article Last Updated: 06/25/2007 10:45:20 PM PDT

The new, largely experimental supertanker, a wide-body jetliner converted to an aerial firefighting aircraft and placed on call for the state this year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, almost crashed Monday evening fighting a blaze in Kern County. The California Department of Forestry said the DC-10 was grounded after the mishap and cannot assist in the blazes currently ravaging California until completion of an investigation.

The tanker encountered severe turbulence while operating on the White Fire, causing the aircraft to descend and strike the top of several trees. The flight crew was able to fly out of the turbulence and safely return to their base at Victorville. There were no injuries to the flight crew or anyone on the ground.

- Media News
Supertanker grounded

09:35 AM PDT on Tuesday, June 26, 2007

A firefighting supertanker jumbo jet has been grounded at its Victorville hub while fire officials investigate what caused the plane to make an emergency landing Monday night.
The DC-10 airtanker used by the state firefighting agency, Cal Fire, was forced to return to Victorville about 5:20 p.m. Monday after it struck the top of several trees while fighting the White forest fire in Kern County, according to a statement by Cal Fire.
The plane, which carries 12,000 gallons of water or fire retardant, struck severe turbulence near Bison Peak south of Tehachapi, but was able to apply power and fly to the Victorville airport.

A modified DC-10 prepares to drop fire retardant on a wildfire near Idyllwild in 2006. The airtanker has been grounded after it struck the top of several trees while fighting the White forest fire Monday in Kern County, according to a statement by Cal Fire.

An investigation crew will conduct a complete structural overview of the plane this morning in Victorville as part of the incident investigation, according to the statement. The plane will remain grounded and out of service until the investigation is complete.
- John Asbury
jasbury@PE.com

-=WINGS=- C-130 Hercules... Watch this if you love the Herk

2007-06-25T17:57:00.001-05:00

If you love the Herk, you have to see this!
I remember seeing this footage (I think it was way before the Wings channel was even on Cable)a while ago. It seams like every school related to the C-130 in the USAF plays this at least once while you attend :) I look back and am so proud of the plane...and proud that it was the only on I was truly assigned to while I was in the service.

IRAN can't mess with Oz, or their Navy

2007-06-22T08:32:00.000-05:00

I have spent a lot of time in Australia and I have to say (Heaven forbid) if I ever had to leave the US the only other place I would go is Australia. The people have the same kind of spirit as we do and I dig it.

From square one, I was disgusted with how the British acted while they were in capture. I would not be able to live with myself if I was one of them. They only fueled Ahmadinejad's flame. Its seams they had no fight, no spine, no soul.

Thank God for the Aussies!!

Iran 'unable to take Australians'
By Frank Gardner
BBC News security correspondent

Iranian naval forces in the Gulf tried to capture an Australian Navy boarding team but were vigorously repelled, the BBC has learned.

The incident took place before Iran successfully seized 15 British sailors and Marines in March.

The lessons from the earlier attempt do not appear to have been applied in time by British maritime patrols.

The 15 Britons were searching a cargo boat in the Gulf when they were captured over a boundary dispute.

'Having none of it'

When Iranian Revolutionary Guards captured the British sailors and Royal Marines in March, it was not exactly their first attempt.

It turns out that Iranian forces made an earlier concerted attempt to seize a boarding party from the Royal Australian Navy.

The Australians, though, to quote one military source, "were having none of it".

The BBC has been told the Australians re-boarded the vessel they had just searched, aimed their machine guns at the approaching Iranians and warned them to back off, using what was said to be "highly colourful language".

The Iranians withdrew, and the Australians were reportedly lifted off the ship by one of their own helicopters.

The circumstances for the Britons in March were slightly different in that they were caught so much by surprise that, had they attempted to repel the Iranians with their limited firepower, they would doubtless have taken very heavy casualties.

But military sources say that what is of concern is that the Royal Navy did not appear to have taken sufficient account of the lessons of the Australian encounter.

In an oblique reference to the threat from Iran, Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, has recently admitted there was a need for greater strategic awareness in the northern Gulf.

Hey Rosie, watch this shit.... you cow.

2007-06-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

One of the things that have pissed me off almost as much as the terrorist themselves has been the hate America crowd from within. The people who believe that the white house and pentagon were behind the mass killings of 9/11 should be in gitmo as well if I had my way.

Hey Rosie, Do you still think that fuel can't melt steel? Even after the tanker truck destroyed that bridge in San Francisco?

Purdue Press Release

June 12, 2007
Purdue creates scientifically based animation of 9/11 attack
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -

Although most Americans believe they know what brought down the World Trade Center twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, civil engineers are still seeking answers to questions that could save lives in the future.

Structural engineers need to know from a scientific perspective what happened to the buildings during the terrorist attacks in order to prevent future failures. The search for answers continues with the help of a state-of-the-art animated visualization created by researchers at Purdue University.

Christoph Hoffmann, a professor of computer science and director of Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, a division of Information Technology at Purdue, says the animation reveals more information than could be conveyed through a scientific simulation alone.

"Scientific simulations restrict us to showing the things
Disintegrating fuselage of plane after impact that are absolutely essential to the engineer," Hoffmann says. "This gives us a simulation that doesn't deliver much visual information to a layperson. Our animation takes that scientific model and adds back the visual information required to make it a more effective communication tool."

The scientific simulation, the completion of which was announced last September, required several test runs before the researchers were satisfied; the final test run required more than 80 hours of high-performance computing. The simulation depicts how a plane tore through several stories of the World Trade Center north tower within a half-second and found that the weight of the fuel acted like a flash flood of flaming liquid, knocking out essential structural columns within the building and removing fireproofing insulation from other support structures. The simulation used lines and dots to show the aircraft and building during the event.

To develop the new animated visualization, Voicu Popescu, an assistant professor of computer science, developed a translator application that creates a link between computer simulations and computer visualization systems to automatically translate simulation data into a 3-D animation scene.

"This translator is scalable and can be used in other simulations," Popescu says.

The animation (122 MB) can be seen online at http://www.cs.purdue.edu/cgvlab/papers/
popescu/popescuWTCVIS07.mov

A faster-loading version (9 MB) of the video can be found at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/mov/2007/HoffmannWTC.mov

In the animation, elements that were not part of the scientific simulation, such as flames and smoke, are clearly rendered, although the visualization does not show the subsequent effects of the fire.

Even though details were added in this animation, Popescu says the visualization was intentionally kept "non-descript" so that they would not be exploitive of the horrific attack.

"For example, on the airplane there are no airline insignia or windows," Popescu says.

Still, Popescu says the visualization has a realism never seen before.

"The crashes and computer models you often see on television are not scientifically accurate," he says. "This provides an alternative that is useful to the nonexpert but is also scientifically accurate, so it provides a more realistic picture of the event."

The visualization begins with a Google Earth map of lower Manhattan as it appeared on Sept. 11, 2001. The video then shows the damage caused by the aircraft as it hit the north tower, follows the disintegrating plane through the interior, and then shows the airplane metal, ignited fuel, dust and smoke exiting the building on the opposite side.

The simulation found that the airplane's metal skin peeled away shortly after impact and shows how the titanium jet engine shafts flew through the building like bullets.

As with an earlier simulation developed by this team that examined the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, the World Trade Center simulation showed that it was the weight of the 10,000 gallons of fuel more than anything else that caused the damage.

"It is the weight, the kinetic energy of the fuel that causes much of the damage in these events," Hoffmann says. "If it weren't for the subsequent fire, the structural damage might be almost the same if the planes had been filled with water instead of fuel."

Mete Sozen, Purdue's Kettlehut Distinguished Professor of Structural Engineering and a principal investigator on the simulation project, says the researchers worked for years and used the best computing resources available to recreate the event.

"To estimate the serious damage to the World Trade Center core columns, we assembled a detailed numerical model of the impacting aircraft as well as a detailed numerical model of the top 20 stories of the building," Sozen says. "We then used weeks of supercomputer time over a number of years to simulate the event in many credible angles of impact of the aircraft."

Sozen says the actual damage to the building's facade that was observed was identical to the damage shown by the numerical simulation.

"We calibrated our calculations using data from experiments we had conducted to evaluate the energy imparted from fluid moving at high speed to solid targets," he says. "We concluded that the damage map we calculated for our numerical model of the building would correspond closely to the actual extent of the damage."

The simulation represented the plane and its mass as a mesh of hundreds of thousands of "finite elements," or small squares containing specific physical characteristics. In the visualization, these scientific data points are used to show how airplane components swept through the building and out through the other side as the fuel ignited.

"The aircraft moved through the building as if it were a hot and fast lava flow," Sozen says. "Consequently, much of the fireproofing insulation was ripped off the structure. Even if all of the columns and girders had survived the impact - an unlikely event - the structure would fail as the result of a buckling of the columns. The heat from an ordinary office fire would suffice to soften and weaken the unprotected steel. Evaluation of the effects of the fire on the core column structure, with the insulation removed by the impact, showed that collapse would follow whatever the number of columns cut at the time of the impact."

The animation is the latest in a series of projects by the Purdue team that arose after 9/11 to determine the structural damage that occurs when an airplane collides with a building. Although one goal was to develop structures that can withstand a terrorist attack, the team also has used this research to investigate other scenarios, such as an airplane inadvertently crashing into a building located near an airport.

"This is important work that has many more applications than we first thought," Hoffmann says. "The important thing is that we are learning so much in so many different areas."

The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

Others involved in the research are civil engineering assistant professors Ayhan Irfanoglu and Santiago Puiol, computer science doctoral student Paul Rosen, and civil engineering doctoral students Oscar Ardila and Ingo Brachmann.

Writer: Steve Tally, (765) 494-9809, tally@purdue.edu

Sources: Christoph Hoffmann, (765) 494-6185, cmh@cs.purdue.edu

Voicu Popescu, (765) 496-7347, popescu@cs.purdue.edu

Mete Sozen, (765) 494-2186, sozen@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Rumor has it... More Wombats

2007-06-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

From a great source, there are two more Combat Wombats (MC-130W Combat Spear) that are being modified as we speak err... As I type?

87-9284 (c/n 5125)

and

87-9288 (c/n 5129)

Both were reciently flying for the 94th Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve out of Dobbins AFB in GA.

Legendary fighter pilot Robin Olds dies

2007-06-19T08:57:00.000-05:00

Robin Olds was the best there ever was IMHO...
God Speed!

6/15/2007 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Legendary fighter pilot, retired Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, died June 14 from congestive heart failure one month short of his 85th birthday.

He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 14, 1922, the son of Maj. Gen. Robert and Mrs. Eloise Olds. He spent his younger years in Hampton, Va., and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was an All-American tackle. He graduated in 1943 as a second lieutenant.

Following graduation from pilot training in 1943, General Olds was assigned to the European Theater at the end of World War II, where he flew 107 combat missions in the P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang. He shot down 13 enemy aircraft over Europe and became a triple ace 23 years later during the Vietnam War when he downed four MiGS. He flew 152 combat missions in the F-4 Phantom as the wing commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Air Base, Thailand.

General Olds' exploits as the creator and mission commander of Operation Bolo, the most successful aerial battle of the Vietnam War, has been documented in the recent History Channel Dogfights Special series "Air Ambush."

General Olds served his country in assignments to England, Germany, Libya, Thailand and the United States, in positions of squadron, base, group and wing commander, and assignments to Headquarters U.S. Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He was assigned to the first jet P-80 squadron in 1946; was a member of the first jet Aerial Acrobatic Demonstration Team; won second place in the Thompson Trophy Race, jet division, in Cleveland, in 1946; and participated in the first dawn-to-dusk transcontinental round trip flight. He was a squadron commander of Royal Air Force No.1 Fighter Squadron, Sussex, England, during an exchange tour in 1948.

General Olds' military decorations include the Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with five oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 39 oak leaf clusters, British Distinguished Flying Cross, French Croix de Guerre, Vietnam Air Force Distinguished Service Order, Vietnam Air Gallantry Medal with gold wings, and Vietnam Air Service Medal.

After his duty in Vietnam, General Olds was named commandant of cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy from 1967 to 1971. His last assignment before retiring from the Air Force in 1973 was as director of safety for the Air Force.

Up to a few months prior to his illness he was frequently called upon as guest speaker and lecturer for his inspirational and motivational talks. He was married to Ella Raines, who died in 1988, and then to Morgan Olds.

General Olds is survived by two daughters, Christina Olds of Vail, Colo., and Susan Scott-Risner of North Bend, Wash.; one granddaughter, Jennifer Newman of Santa Monica, Calif., and half-brother, Fred Olds of Virginia. He died peacefully at his home in Steamboat Springs, Colo., in the company of family and friends.

A memorial service will be held at the U.S. Air Force Academy within the next two weeks. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association toward scholarships for the children or spouses of armed forces aircrew members killed or missing in action.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

2007-06-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

My best redeployment was one that landed us home on Father's Day a few years back. My wife and I had no children then but, seeing such joy on the proud papa's face was priceless. I was lucky that I had only one deployment after having my boys and I tell you, it was so hard leaving them yet so easy because you are defending not just your country, but your family as well. It takes a special person to pick up and leave your most loved to serve your country...

I salute you all.

God Bless and Happy Father's Day

Jumbo Jet Poised To Fight Wildfires In Southern California

2007-06-15T09:31:00.000-05:00

VICTORVILLE, Calif. -- A DC-10 firefighting air tanker capable of dropping 12,000 gallons of water or fire retardant is ready for Southern California wildfire missions.

"We think... it is going to be a game changer," said Rick Hatton, a managing partner for jet owner 10 Tanker Air Carrier. "It is very effective, especially when trying to contain a large fire."

A $15 million, three-year contract with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection takes effect Friday and continues through Oct. 15.

The air tanker, which can create a fire line three-quarters of a mile long in eight seconds, demonstrated its prowess Wednesday.

The Victorville-based jumbo jet, which debuted last year with a limited evaluation contract, won praise in fighting six wildfires in California and one in Washington.

The contract means the jet will be available immediately, rather than on a call-when-needed basis.

This is going to be a great tool," said Mike Padilla, the agency's chief of aviation. "This aircraft has the speed and capacity to go to any fire in California."

Back home from my trip...

2007-06-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Man, I love San Diego!
Rubio's Fish Tacos are the best!
My family is doing great and it was so nice to see them again.

I have never taken off from runway 9 out of SAN so I thought I would take a little movie of it...

Off to San Diego...

2007-06-05T22:14:00.001-05:00

Well, I get a little break and I thought it would be nice to go and see my family. I have not been home since my Dad died and it will be nice to see everyone again.

Man, I miss it there... If only I was rich :)

20 Years ago, a small single engine plane defeated the USSR

2007-06-04T20:51:00.000-05:00

The west German Matthias Rust from Wedel near Hamburg, an only 19 years old hobby pilot takes a Cessna 172 for a breathtaking illegal flight to Moscow.
Rust took off in Uetersen near Hamburg and flew at first to Iceland, then via Norway to Finland, where he landed at Helsinki airport Malmi on 25th of May 1987. From here he flew on 28th to Moscow. Soviet air defense quickly detected and identified the intruder as Cessna 172 and two MiG-23 interceptor took off to intercept Rust but flew parallel to his Cessna as TV takes show. No decision was made regarding the Cessna 172 and after 5 1/2 hours, Rust circled his sport plane over the red square and Kreml in Moscow at 18:15. At 18:40 he landed on a Moskwa bridge and taxied to the Basilius Kathedral. Rust exited the Cessna and spent Haribo´s to the surprised people.
He was sentenced to four years in a Soviet labour camp and served 432 days but he was allowed to return to Hamburg in 1988.

Sergej Sokolow, defense ministre and Alexandre Koldunow CinC of the soviet air defense and some further officers had to be relieved following this event by Michail Gorbatschov. This may be a political move of Gorbatshov to expell political adversaries.

Here is a personal account from "The Observer" in 2002...

Name: Mathias Rust
Date: 28 May, 1987
Place: Red Square, Moscow
Facts: German-born Mathias Rust, 34, made headlines as a 19-year-old when he landed a Cessna light aircraft in Red Square. He was sentenced to four years in a Soviet labour camp and served 432 days. He returned to Hamburg in 1988, where he now lives with his second wife, Athena
I got my private pilot's license in autumn 1986.

I was 19 and very political. I was interested in relations between East and West, particularly the Reykjavik meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan. I realised that the aircraft was the key to peace. I could use it to build an imaginary bridge between East and West. I didn't tell anybody about my plan because I was convinced my family or friends would stop me. I didn't think much about what would happen afterwards. My main focus was on my mission to get there and land. I believed that something would work out.

I hired a Cessna in Hamburg and flew to Moscow via Helsinki in May 1987. My plan was to land in Red Square, but there were too many people and I thought I'd cause casualties. I had thought about landing in the Kremlin, but there wasn't enough space. I wanted to choose somewhere public, because I was scared of the KGB. I approached Red Square three times, trying to find somewhere to land, before discovering a wide bridge nearby. I landed there and taxied into Red Square. As it turned out, the day I chose - 28 May - was the holiday of the border patrol. I suspect that's how I got away with it.

My landing caused plenty of confusion. People came up and surrounded the plane and soon the police arrived to take me away. The defence and air defence ministers were both replaced and more than 2,000 officers lost their jobs. I was sentenced to four years in a labour camp, but spent my time in the interrogation prison because the KGB couldn't guarantee my safety.

I was locked up for 22 hours a day in a 10sq-metre cell, but at least nobody could harm me.

My parents came to visit every two months and brought plenty of books. I had one companion. He was a teacher from the Ukraine who spoke English so we could communicate a bit. I learnt a few Russian words, but it was hard to concentrate. Imprisonment hit me so hard - much harder than I had thought.

After my trial, my flying club got permission to bring the plane back to Germany. It was originally worth about 75,000DM [£24,000], and I think they sold it for 160,000DM [£51,000]. It's owned by a Japanese businessman who's stored it waiting for the value to go up. He compared it to Charles Lindbergh's aircraft!

Arriving home in Germany was difficult, as I faced a lot of negative media attention. It affected me badly: I lost 10Kg and had stomach problems. It took the legs out from under me. I couldn't go out for weeks because there was always someone shouting at me in the street, and I received many death threats. My parents were angry, but they were relieved that I was in good condition. They had been afraid the Russians would torture me. They told me not to do it again! You have to be young to be able to do things like that. Now I'm more cautious. I'm proud that I was able to do what I did - psychologically it was a great wall to climb - but sometimes I regret it.

My problems came to a head in 1989. Everyone in Germany does a period of obligatory service in the community, and I was doing mine in a local hospital. I met a young nurse and wanted to invite her for coffee. We were in the changing room and I think she was scared. I asked whether she wanted to go out with me, but she started to curse and offend me. It caused a blackout.

I ended up injuring her with a knife I had on me. I can't really remember what happened.

I later worked out with the psychologists that my encounter with her must have triggered off something. I'm a peaceful person, but all the anger and aggression that was stored up came pouring out. She got a flesh wound - but she was in the hospital, which was good luck. I'm very sorry.

I was sentenced to two years, but I was released after five months. After that I couldn't show my face outside. I lost my identity and balance. I was still living with my parents, and they were my only friends. For so many people, this thing with the nurse was confirmation that I must be mad or mentally ill. I moved away for three years and went to Trinidad where I met my wife, Athena.

I now work for a finance company in Luxembourg with projects in South America and the Caribbean. I don't have my pilot's licence anymore, but I'm still very political. My newest idea is Orion and Isis (www.mathiasrust.com) - a kind of think-tank. We're currently working on a plan to find peace for the Middle East. I'm going to Israel at the end of October to get in touch with some key people. All Orion and Isis members are anonymous - it works better that way. It allows everyone to work together without jealousy or personal issues. Currently I have about 25 people involved - scientists, former Nobel Peace Prize winners. Top people capable of finding solutions.

Once this key conflict is eased, it will have a huge impact on the world. It will take time to find a solution. It's similar to the situation between East and the West at the time of my flight. Then the Cold War finished and then Germany reunified. I think the flight triggered it, because it gave Gorbachev the chance to get rid of those military hardliners. I'm still convinced that my idea was the right one. It showed anything is possible.

At the time this shocked the hell out of me. How could something so basic and small defeat the radars set up to prevent US bombers from entering the USSR. A report came out in 1989 from the RAND Corp basically saying how their radars were not up to par because of the lack of training which I could also see now as well. The PVO had a lot on their plate and by 1987 there was so little money.
I thought about this incident again in 2002 when we had deployed up to Kyrgyzstan to fly into Afghanistan. We would hop around the once proud regions of the former Soviet Union and I was shocked how they never had a clue where we were. and folks, you can see a C-130 on ANY radar. We would have to give them hourly position reports just like we would if flying over open ocean. This was not just in Kyrgyzstan, this was ALL the former blocks. How could they be that degraded all at the same level at the same time? I am not sure but, I do not think that our bombers would have had too much trouble at least penetrating the border.

What are your thoughts?

Another CH-47 gets shot down; AFSOC still trying to gobble them up.

2007-05-30T17:23:00.001-05:00

Another CH-47 gets shot down today in Afghanistan. The slow, unmaneuverable aircraft is a huge aircraft with a basically a target painted on the side begging insurgents to shoot. USAF's AFSOC is trying to replace the "old" HH-60Gs (which happens to be one of the youngest aircraft in USAF inventory) with the Chinook and I feel there could not be a worse choice. C'mon fellers, these things are dropping like flies. How many lives are we willing to loose over an obviously bad decision. These things are great for one thing and one thing only, heavy lift. They suck at infiltration/exfiltration, and CSAR. Think about the down wash!!

more...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan —

Five U.S. soldiers were among seven people killed when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down Wednesday evening in Afghanistan's most volatile province, a U.S. military official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade, the U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity because the crash was being investigated.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said seven ISAF soldiers were killed after the CH-47 Chinook went down in Helmand province near Kajaki, the site of a major hydroelectric damn and scene of fierce battles in recent months.

The crew of five and two military passengers died, NATO said. It did not release nationalities, but a U.S. official said the two passengers were not American. There were no survivors.

(MORE)

Quote of the Week (30 May 07)

2007-05-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory."
-- General George Patton Jr

RNZAF's C-130s gets a boost via SPAR

2007-05-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

Many of the world's C-130s are in trouble. For one, they were not supposed to be around this long. No one ever thought that you had to make a center wing box last 50 years...but I guess because of its success and the lack of a suitable replacement, many countries including the US are keeping the old warriors. I can not talk about the other nations Wing boxes but I sure as hell can tell you that we (USAF) had major problems with our wing boxes. This has effected our war ready fleets. The poor things were just neglected for so long and they have become very tired.

One company is helping the cause. SPAR Aerospace Limited, a subsidiary of L3 communications up in Canada. Eh.

It costs a lot of money to replace a wingbox and so many countries have elected to either keep flying till they drop, let them sit and rot, replace them with the C-130J or, fix the bloody thing. I was wondering about the USAF fixing our old birds but it looks like they have finally caved in and have decided to fix them as well.

the RNZAF has chosen Spar to do the work for them. They have decided to basically replace the whole wingbox rather than inspect and repair. this is an excellent approach because it will extend the life expectancy of this aircraft. along with the wingbox, Spar is also going to modernize the C-130Hs from the RNZAF making them one of the most modern C-130s flying.

Spar is also offering its Hercules 2020 program that not only extends the life of the wingbox but the whole aircraft. It is supposed to extend the life of the plane 15-20 years and is much cheaper than the cost of a new aircraft. Keep the old birds flying...

Looks like in the last picture if you look at the nose section that there is a also in the background a USAF AMC C-130H from the 317AG from Dyess AFB in Abilene, TX... I know they need Boxes too. Lets hope they get them.

Cindy Sheehan; Good Riddance Attention Whore

2007-05-29T08:34:00.000-05:00

Cindy Sheehan has quit...thrown up the white flag if you will.
Cindy Sheehan had made many names for herself over the past few years...none of them good. With even her own people turning against her she decided to pack it up and leave (but where will she go?) "Goodbye America ... you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I cant make you be that country unless you want it," she concluded. Her son Casey (killed in Iraq in April 2004) might be able to finally rest in peace. She said that she wants to be the mother of her surviving childern and regain what she has lost...hey Cindy, who watched them while you were down kissing Hugo Chávez's feet? Where was your responsibility to your children then? Why was anything lost? Did they not believe in what you were doing?

"[Bush is] the biggest terrorist in the world and worse than Osama Bin Laden, I would rather live under Venezuela's Chávez than Bush." See ya

OK, I have spent way too much time on this bag...lets move on now and not add any more fuel to her flame.

Freedom Is Not Free

2007-05-26T00:02:00.000-05:00

Freedom Is Not Free
By LCDR Kelly Strong, USCG - Copyright 1981

I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Service man saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil
How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin.
Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

F-15E pilot training on a budget; The BX Warriors...

2007-05-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

This is what Pilot training will be like after the Dems slash the military budget...
Smile this weekend folks!!

The Guessing game....

2007-05-25T06:52:00.000-05:00

This is intended for Fix4rso but anyone can play.
This might be too hard for anyone who has not handled them before but, we will see.

Without further adu...

MC-130H Combat Talon II Flick

2007-05-25T00:23:00.000-05:00

Torture, Al-Qaeda Style

2007-05-24T12:39:00.000-05:00

What I do not understand is how everyone got in a tizzy over Abu Grab. Sure, that was not what I call stellar questioning techniques... but it is not nearly as bad as how our enemies will treat us(or anyone who does not fully support what they do) if we are caught. We are one of the only nations in the world that for the most part treats our captured in any sort of humane fashion. When the major complain out of Gitmo is that there is not enough air in the soccer balls and the food tastes bad...then I know we do it the right way.

Here is the manual of torture from al-Qaeda. They are some sick fuckers... my they burn in Hell.
WARNING! GRAPHIC PHOTOS!!!

From The Smoking Gun

Drawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid
MAY 24--In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal." Along with the images, which you'll find on the following pages, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. Photos of those items can be seen here. The images, which were just declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an "al-Qaeda torture chamber." It was there, during an April 24 raid, that soldiers found a man suspended from the ceiling by a chain. According to the military, he had been abducted from his job and was being beaten daily by his captors. In a raid earlier this week, Coalition Forces freed five Iraqis who were found in a padlocked room in Karmah. The group, which included a boy, were reportedly beaten with chains, cables, and hoses. Photos showing injuries sustained by those captives can be found here. (12 pages)

Quote of the year!!

2007-05-24T09:16:00.000-05:00

"I promised the President today that I wouldn't say anything bad about... this piece of shit bill." -- House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

About the Immigration Bill

MQ-8B Fire Scout; Killer copter

2007-05-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

© Northrop Grumman
Too bad Northrop/Grumman already dubbed another UAV the Killer Bee because that is what I think of when I look at this (not so) little guy.

© Northrop Grumman

The RQ-8A started life back in 2002 on its first flight during the LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) phase. The Navy was impressed but canceled the aircraft not long after but, continues to fund the program. Northrop/Grumman knew they had something special so they moved there test facilities from China Lake to Webster Field, near Patuxent River so more people could see it fly - particularly as it was then in the navy's back yard for UAV.

The RQ-8A is based on the Schweizer 333 light turbine helicopter (which is based on the non-turbine Hughes 300C). The RQ-8A showed a lot of promise but it was lacking in some key areas. The RQ-8s endurance was the major area of lacking. During this time, Northrop/Grumman offered the Navy an updated model dubbed the Sea Scout. The Sea Scout now with its four bladed rotors and more fuel could carry a 500lb load for 5 hours. By July of 2003 funding was continued. The RQ-8A was still being used to test systems and had made several landings aboard the USS Nashville.

© Northrop Grumman
These landings were done completely without input from the pilots. The Navy will use the MQ-8Bs in conjunction with their new LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) for recon and protection.

Seeing the benefits from the Navy’s program, the U.S. Army decided to see about using the MQ-8B for its FCS UAV (Future Combat Systems UAV) system requirement. In total, the MQ-8Bs between the Navy and the Army will come out to about 192 total aircraft. I am sort of excited about these. They will be able to carry the APKWS II rockets as well as the same Viper Strike system currently being tested on the USAF AFSOC AC-130H and AC-130Us. © Northrop Grumman

The U.S. Army’s system conducted its first engine run test on 22 May 2007. "The engine run is a significant milestone for the FCS program. It marks completion of final assembly of the initial manufacturing phase of the first Army Fire Scout," said Joe Emerson, Northrop Grumman's FCS Fire Scout program manager. "We've been diligent in tracking our costs and meeting milestones such as this, which validates our commitment to quality, technical excellence, cost and delivery. We're definitely looking forward to fielding this aircraft."

© Northrop Grumman
We will be seeing more from these two little devils, I am sure.

For more info and pictures...
Northrop Grumman
Navy UAV News

Here is a good write-up by Defense Industry Daily

Quote of the week (23 MAY 07)

2007-05-23T06:51:00.000-05:00

"Infantry must move forward to close with the enemy. It must shoot in order to move…. To halt under fire is folly. To halt under fire and not fire back is suicide. Officers must set the example"
-- General George Patton Jr

WTF!! Pakistan to get C-130 cockpit kits from US

2007-05-22T21:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, I understand that we have to give a little to get something out of this war...and the Pakis require more of the free stuff to keep letting us near their boarders. Even though they are harder to work with than any other nation we are using for help... they throw up the most "road blocks" to finding al-Qaeda and the tallywackers.

First off, WHY NOT FIX OUR OWN PLANES FIRST!! We need upgrades to OUR aging C-130s to help the 'situational awareness' of our crews ~~NOW~~ yesterday!

Screw 'em

Pakistan to get C-130 cockpit kits from US
Islamabad, UNI:

Dawn newspaper quoted a spokesman for the PAF as saying that the air force would be getting the upgrade kits for its current fleet and added that it was one of the components of the 75 million dollars agreement with the US government.

The United States will provide five C-130 plane cockpit upgrade kits to the Pakistan Air Force(PAF) to improve operational capabilities of the ageing fleet of its main transport aircraft.
The United States Air Force has awarded the six million dollars contract to Rockwell Collins for supplying avionics kits to the PAF.
Dawn newspaper quoted a spokesman for the PAF as saying that the air force would be getting the upgrade kits for its current fleet and added that it was one of the components of the 75 million dollars agreement with the US government that also included the sale of six C-130 aircraft to Pakistan.
The upgrade contract will be completed in a year and it is expected that the PAF will start getting the deliveries by the later part of 2008.
''The upgrade project would help us benefit from the technological advancements on C-130s,'' said the PAF spokesman. Although, the details of what would be covered under the upgrade package have not been disclosed, but it has been learnt that the avionics and display systems company is likely to provide communication, navigational and surveillance system including Flight 26X8 inch multi-function displays, AN/ARC-210 radios, SAT-2000, multimode receivers, automatic direction finder and high frequency data link upgrades.
After the upgrades the C-130s are expected to have improved situational awareness, reduced crew workload and enhanced flight safety features.

Ouch.. my back kills just watching this....

2007-05-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

I know, I know...
It was a test but still....

Anyone have insight on the last part of the video? I remember seeing that one before and I do not see a tether attached to it... was it a test too or were people onboard?

When you absolutely, positively have too much money for a Gulfstream V....

2007-05-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

But hotdamn, these are sexy!!!
These have Algore both drooling and crying all in one view... I love it!

Even though these look like they were taken from the set of 'Diff'rent Strokes' (does the shows set designer now work for Boeing??)They are impressive.

Boeing Business Jets Sales Momentum Continues with Seven New Orders
All PR Newswire News

GENEVA, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing BA Business Jets today announced it has won seven new orders this year, bringing total program sales to 135 jets. The new orders are worth $478.5 million at list prices.

The new orders are for six BBJs, high-performance derivatives of the commercially popular Next-Generation 737-700, and one 787-9 VIP jet. The 787 VIP jet is based on the most successfully launched commercial airplane, the 787 Dreamliner.

"After winning 23 orders for our luxury jets last year, we continue to see incredible demand. Boeing Business Jets could be poised for another phenomenal year," said Steven Hill, president of Boeing Business Jets, during a press briefing on the eve of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland. "In the time since EBACE 2006, Boeing Business Jets has won 27 new orders including 12 BBJs, two BBJ 2s, three BBJ 3s, four 747-8 VIPs and six 787 VIPs. The total doesn't count the two 787s that were purchased by VIP customers directly from leasing companies."

A Boeing Business Jet is on static display at EBACE May 22 through 24 outside Palexpo, the exhibition and conference center located on the perimeter of Geneva International Airport.

To date, program sales include 107 BBJs, 15 BBJ 2s, three BBJ 3s, four 747-8 VIPs and six 787 VIPs.

Private individuals comprise the majority of the Boeing Business Jets customer base at 44 percent, followed closely by government heads of state at 36 percent. The remaining customer segments are divided evenly between corporate and charter operators.

Boeing Business Jets was launched in 1996 and includes a joint venture agreement between Boeing and General Electric to provide a long-range business jet based on the Next-Generation 737. Boeing manages day-to-day operations, manufactures the airplane, and is responsible for sales and marketing activities with support from General Electric. Since the program's inception, 104 BBJs have been delivered. Ninety BBJs are fully completed and in service, which means 14 are in some stage of interior completion.

The BBJ worldwide fleet has generated more than 241,500 flight hours to date and 93,600 flights. The jet has an industry-leading reliability rate of 99.9 percent.

Late last year, Boeing Business Jets launched VIP versions of the new commercial jetliners, the 787 Dreamliner and the 747-8 Intercontinental. Nearly 300 Boeing airplanes are in service in the VIP and business jet market.

For more about Boeing Business Jets, visit BOEING BBJ

Copyright 2007 PR Newswire

Boeing Prepares Second C-130 AMP Aircraft for Delivery

2007-05-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

(2007-05-08)
By: The Boeing Company

ST. LOUIS, May 01, 2007 -- A Boeing [NYSE: BA] employee guides the second C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft in preparation for a recent flight test. The aircraft, H2.5, successfully completed its maiden flight from Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas, March 25. Boeing is scheduled to deliver H2.5 to the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., later this month.

The U.S. Air Force initiated the modernization program to consolidate multiple C-130 avionics configurations in its fleet. The C-130 AMP provides enhanced digital avionics that significantly increase situational awareness for the warfighter. Upgrade commonality brought by the AMP offers additional flexibility in assigning aircrews regardless of the model design type.

440th honors its history with new C-130 tails

2007-05-18T08:01:00.000-05:00

After more than five decades in Wisconsin, the 440th Airlift Wing is returning to its roots in North Carolina, and its aircraft are wearing its historic connection to Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base on the tails of its C-130s.
Gone as the Reserve wing’s “tail flash” marking is the badger, a mascot long ago adopted by the Milwaukee-based wing. It’s been replaced by a historic airborne troop carrier emblem, “invasion stripes” that recall the unit’s role in D-Day and a silhouetted outline of North Carolina.

The images are side by side, bordered on the top and bottom by blue and gold bands.
The reserve unit is closing down in Wisconsin as part of the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment decisions.
The 440th was stood up as the 440th Troop Carrier in 1942 at Pope Field, where it trained with Army airborne troops at nearby Fort Bragg. On June 6, 1944, with its wings and fuselage marked with alternating black and white “invasion stripes” to be readily identified by Allied forces, it ferried paratroopers across the English Channel to Normandy.
The tail flash was a collaborate effort, with the principal credit going to Maj. Derek Poellet, a C-130 instructor pilot, Senior Master Sgt. William Westling, a C-130 evaluator flight engineer, and Staff Sgt. Anthony Flores, a C-130 loadmaster, said wing spokesman Dennis Mehring.
The unit’s headquarters officially moves to Bragg on June 10, Mehring said, though training weekends will continue at Milwaukee’s Gen. Mitchell International Airport until September.
“By September all our planes and most of our maintenance people should be at Pope,” he said.

Go visit SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE...a refreshing blog

2007-05-18T07:42:00.000-05:00

Go check out Sunday Morning Coffee. Its a nice little blog that is not typical of the ones I have seen lately. She has filled it full of music and videos, pictures and some wonderful posts about our troops. She has also put in there a timeline of terror events that might put things in perspective for those who forget easily...

A Historic Name for a New Plane; Combat Spear!

2007-05-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

AFSOC has sort of been in a bind. How do you replace aircraft lost in combat with something new? The answer is the MC-130W. The first one was a used aircraft from the AFRC at Maxwell AFB C-130H 87-9286.

AFSOC plans to acquire 12 of these aircraft to replace MC-130E/H Talon I and Talon IIs as well as MC-130Ps (HC-130N/Ps) that have been lost in combat. This is a smart move on their part. It’s a way to get something newer without having to jump into the failing C-130J. The first MC-130W was delivered to the USAF and landed at Hurlburt Field in July of 2006.

The Aircraft was quickly dubbed “Whiskey” because of the “W” designation but that did not last long… Don't call the plane "Whiskey" anymore. They are now going to be referred to as Combat Spear. (The crews will still call them Whiskey... or Combat Wombat) Combat Spear was the name given to MC-130E Talon Is while flying over Viet-Nam. The Combat Spear program often required the special operations aircraft to fly at night over North Vietnam on classified missions, according to an Air Force history of Vietnam operations. On some flights, the planes would air drop South Vietnamese agents behind enemy lines. While the MC-130Es in the US were referred to as Combat Knife and in Europe they were referred to as Combat Arrows.

The Aircraft will join the 73rd SOS. The 73rd is a new stand up squadron that opened her doors on October 20th 2006. Her sister squadrons at Duke, Hurlburt, and Eglin are the 8th SOS which flies the MC-130E Talon I, 15th SOS flies the Newer MC-130H Talon II, and the 9th SOS flies the MC-130P.

What can the MC-130W do? She will handle the infiltration and exfiltration of Special Forces and air refueling of special operations helicopters. What can they not do? They do not have the Terrain following/terrain avoidance radar like both variants of Talon MC-130s have. But this will ease the pressure off of them and help the Combat Shadows (MC-130Ps) in the refueling portion of the mission.

So why add a “new” aircraft without the TF/TA radar sets? COST! The MC-130E Talon Is (1960s vintage aircraft) go for a reported $75 Million a piece and the same goes for the Shadow (I have a hard time believing that) and the MC-130H Talon II is a reported $155 Million bucks a piece. The cost of the new MC-130W just a tad under $60 Million… so, for what it does and what it will do, I think that you can leave the TF/TA to the Talons and let this guy clean up the mess on Isle 5.

US Aircraft's A-67 Dragon; Let the Carnaval begin!

2007-05-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

© US Aircraft

As you can tell I am into this Counter-insurgency aircraft competition going on. One of the contenders I was excited about was the A-67 from US Aircraft corp. They suffered a landing gear failure back in October and they decided to redesign the whole aircraft. It looks like they may be getting serious about this competition. They have teamed up with the designer of the EMB-312 Tucano to totally redesign the A-67. She now looks a lot more like the Tucano and a lot less like a homebuilt. US Aircraft will be working with Geometra in Brazil and the aircraft will be based on the General aviation aircraft Kovacs K52 (which happens to look a lot like the EMB-312 Tucano)

Moving away from the Side-by-side sitting aircraft that the original A-67 was this one will feature a more conventional tandem seating configuration.

The aircraft is expected to fly in Brazil within the next 15 months and then the company will seek Part 23 Cert. before production in Ohio will begin.

The aircraft is expected to cost between $4 and $5 million a copy vs. Raytheon’s T-6 which goes for between $6 and $8 Million a copy.

Powered by a 1,250shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turboprop, the 10,200lb gross-weight A-67 has an estimated maximum cruise speed of 381kt (706km/h) at 20,000ft. Endurance will be 10h and external payload 3572 lbs.

Flight Global news article by Graham Warwick

Kiowa Warriors from Banshee Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry

2007-05-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

I love these guys... the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is one of my favorite Helo platforms...and these guys kick ass with it!!

Great work Ya'll

Quote of the week (16 May 2007)

2007-05-16T07:43:00.000-05:00

“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.” --General George S. Patton, Jr.

Chicks kick ass

2007-05-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

CSAR-X Redux

2007-05-15T07:54:00.000-05:00

Listen, we all know that they will find a way to make it look like the Boeing -47 is the best bird for the mission and that no one did anything wrong when they selected it. The Ch-47 has been the largest hunk-o-junk since the mid-60s and nothing has changed. Hell, they make the Ch-53 family look like mimosas make me feel during Sunday brunch. The -47 is a pig and they cost way too much to operate.

Replacing the MH-60s with a CH-47 is like replacing the F-14 with a C-5. You just can't make it work ... not even on paper...not even drunk.

If they do look at this with an open mind and call a spade a spade then we will not get the -47, The Boeing team has about 45 years of data going against them. The cost to operate, fix and supply this bird is a major undertaking but mark my word, the USAF's next CSAR helo will be the damn -47
I understand that SOCOM wants to have some redundancy in aircraft (it already uses the -47 for army special ops) but this is not the right bird for this mission and our young men and women will die as a result of them using this for Combat Search and Rescue.

So here it is, the USAF is going to look into the issue... ok right.

with quotes like this, who needs a re-competition:
The Air Force's preference for Boeing is likely to survive the second round of bidding, even though the Chinook costs more than its competitors, said Lexington Institute defense consultant Loren Thompson, who advises Lockheed Martin and other Pentagon contractors.
"Air Force leaders believe that there is almost no evidence they made a major mistake in selecting the Boeing helicopter," Thompson said. "The implication is that Boeing is likely to win the resolicitation, just as it did the original competition."

Robins unit helps Egyptian Air Force repair C-130s

2007-05-15T07:26:00.000-05:00

AFMCNS09 - May 14, 2007
By Holly L. Birchfield 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFMCNS) -- A 12-person team from the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron here has returned after spending more than six months in Egypt to help the Egyptian Air Force's C-130s take to the skies again.
The team, consisting of various aircraft experts from the unit, traveled to Helwan, Egypt, an area 20 miles southeast of Cairo, to assist in making center wing rainbow and corner fitting repairs to the wings of four C-130 aircraft that were either cracked or corroded.
Master Sgt. Michael Ackerman, a depot structural maintenance craftsman in the 653rd CLSS who served as the team lead on the mission, said the team's enlisted force worked with Egyptian Air Force officers eight hours a day.
"Initially, [our mission] was to replace two center wing rainbow fittings -- one lower right-hand-side rainbow fitting on the center wing itself and one center wing upper left side," Sergeant Ackerman said.
The fittings are the main connecting components that hold the center and outer wings together and fasten them to the main aircraft. The two outer wing rainbow fittings were the first ever to be done off station, Sergeant Ackerman said, adding that the project saved the Egyptian Air Force millions of dollars.
The team also worked with Egyptian Air Force members on fixing two corner fittings and an engine truss mount on the aircraft. They were on site to teach the service how to make the repairs and to provide tooling the Egyptian Air Force would need for any such repairs in the future.
Master Sgt. Kenneth Foote, an aircraft structural maintenance craftsman in the 653rd CLSS who served as the team's lead structural technician, said the foreign environment presented a new experience.
"There were a small percentage of them who spoke very good English," Sergeant Foote said. "Most of them didn't speak English at all. It slowed us down at times. There was a lot of pointing to tools, but we got through it."

(all of the Egyptian C-130s are early C-130Hs)

DOS GRINGOS

2007-05-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

First off, If you are at work...what the hell are you looking at blogs for? If you have small kids around...again, what the hell are you looking at blogs for.. anyway, for both of those cases, these videos are not safe... but are funny as hell.

A bit of a background:
Dos Gringos is a band started by Chris "Snooze" Kurek and Rob "Trip" Raymond, two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots. They released their first album, Live at the Sand Trap, upon their return from Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. They mix folk and Rock n Roll along with funny lyrics dealing with military aviation and military life in general. Their songs have become famous throughout the United States Military aviation community.

When Chris Kurek first started F-16 training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, he was introduced to the world of fighter pilot songs. The instructor pilots made the students sing a song every Friday at the bar where they began to realize that most of the songs were from the Vietnam War generation of fighter pilots. Though they appreciated the songs, many of the new guys could not relate to them very well. It was then he decided to write songs the new generation of fighter pilots could relate to.

The first fighter pilot song he wrote was Jeremiah Weed, about the awful whiskey that was always served at the bar. This was followed by The Wingmen, to poke fun at the younger guys going through flight school who thought that they were great for being fighter pilots, but in reality were naive and really did not know much.

Kurek's first assignment after F-16 training was with the 524th Fighter Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, where he ended up playing for squadron functions but did not write much new material. About eight months later a new guy named "Trip" checked into the squadron. He was an accomplished guitar player and the two quickly formed a close friendship. Trip's strengths were Chris' weaknesses and he also had the ability to learn songs quickly, create guitar solos, and harmonize on the spot.

The pair began to play for the squadron whenever they could, such as naming ceremonies and going away parties. One night when someone asked them what the name of their band was, Trip blurted out, "Dos Gringos." The name was not originally received well for fear that they would be mistaken for a mariachi band. However, after a while, the name stuck and is now well received.

It wasn't until their first deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Watch that the pair really got the opportunity to write a whole new crop of songs. Because they had ample time they ended up writing close to a song a week while deployed. There was never any over-arching message to the songs that were written. Some, like World War III and I Dropped the Bomb were just farcical while others, like The Bitch Spent All My Money were inspired by true events that occurred to people they knew. I'm a Pilot was written for the aircraft crew chiefs to poke fun at pilots and let them know that they were appreciated. JDAM Blues and The Predator Eulogy evolved out of frustration at how technology was slowly replacing the skills of the fighter pilot.

Overall, the tones of the songs are simple. Both Kurek and Raymond felt that being a fighter pilot was a privilege and an honor, fun and stressful, and wanted to highlight the camaraderie within the fighter pilot community. Their first CD's were their attempt to build camaraderie through singin' songs, drinkin' booze, and telling stories at the bar on Fridays. They consider their CD's an attempt to help keep that tradition alive.

oh, you should buy the albums as well...God knows, they need the money.
http://www.dosgringosrocks.com/

The will be splitting up soon because Trip is being transfered to Germany... Lets hope the music doesn't die!

Now for the Videos:

"I'm A Pilot"

"Jeremiah Weed"

"I Wish I Had a Gun Like the A-10"

"Has Anyone Seen My Wingman?"

"The Hounds of War"

"World War III"

"Going in for Guns"

Talk about low... Check out this LOW flyby from the A-10 (as well as other aircraft)

2007-05-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

Check this out Ya'll.

The A-10 lower than the weeds.

I only wish there was sound with it!!

Others that you may remember...

Jaguars...

Harrier...

Another...

mirage f.1...

One of the more ballsy...French KC-135 LOW!!!

C-130 LOW

Where is all the good news from Iraq?

2007-05-11T07:42:00.000-05:00

I am not going to tell you anything you do not already know…just my rant for the day…

Where is it all? Why is no one telling this story? Will it ever make it to the history books?

First off, I want to see the body count tally for who we have killed! I am sick of the media almost boasting about how many of our boys(and gals) are killed each day but, then you hear nothing about how many of the bastards we have taken out in the process. They have no problem showing head shots on our boys while when our boys are on film and killing they are devils and evil.

I want to see the schools being built.
I want to see the stores starting to pop back up.
I want to see the weapons caches being found.
I want to hear more stories of the kids befriending the troops and warning them of traps.
I want to see more pictures of our men and women receiving the medals they deserve and hearing the situations that come before.
I want Americans to once again be proud of this country and the men and women who fight for her.

Every soldier I know who comes home on leave or is back for training is scared to see the news...it seems to be 180 degrees from what they know to be true and are afraid to believe the lies and the sadness. Everyone knows that the media is bias but what it is doing to the hearts and souls of our men and women who fight is down right evil and it right now is the biggest aid to the enemy... breaking the spirit of all Americans.

A day at the office

2007-05-09T23:48:00.000-05:00

There I was at six thousand feet over central Iraq, two hundred eighty knots and we're dropping faster than Paris Hilton's panties. It's a typical September evening in the Persian Gulf; hotter than a rectal thermometer and I'm sweating like a priest at a Cub Scout meeting. But that's neither here nor there. The night is moonless over Baghdad tonight, and blacker than a Steven King novel. But it's 2004, folks, and I'm sporting the latest in night-combat technology - namely, hand-me-down night vision goggles (NVGs) thrown out by the fighter boys.

Additionally, my 1962 Lockheed C-130E Hercules is equipped with an obsolete, yet, semi-effective missile warning system (MWS). The MWS conveniently makes a nice soothing tone in your headset just before the missile explodes into your airplane. Who says you can't polish a turd?

At any rate, the NVGs are illuminating Baghdad International Airport like the Las Vegas Strip during a Mike Tyson fight. These NVGs are the cat's ass. But I've digressed.

The preferred method of approach tonight is the random shallow. This tactical maneuver allows the pilot to ingress the landing zone in an unpredictable manner, thus exploiting the supposedly secured perimeter of the airfield in an attempt to avoid enemy surface-to-air-missiles and small arms fire. Personally, I wouldn't bet my pink ass on that theory but the approach is fun as hell and that's the real reason we fly it.

We get a visual on the runway at three miles out, drop down to one thousand feet above the ground, still maintaining two hundred eighty knots. Now the fun starts. It's pilot appreciation time as I descend the mighty Herk to six hundred feet and smoothly, yet very deliberately, yank into a sixty degree left bank, turning the aircraft ninety degrees offset from runway heading. As soon as we roll out of the turn, I reverse turn to the right a full two hundred seventy degrees in order to roll out aligned with the runway. Some aeronautical genius coined this maneuver the "Ninety/Two-Seventy." Chopping the power during the turn, I pull back on the yoke just to the point my nether regions start to sag, bleeding off energy in order to configure the pig for landing.

"Flaps Fifty!, Landing Gear Down!, Before Landing Checklist!" I look over at the copilot and he's shaking like a cat shitting on a sheet of ice. Looking further back at the navigator, and even through the NVGs, I can clearly see the wet spot spreading around his crotch. Finally, I glance at my steely-eyed flight engineer. His eyebrows rise in unison as a grin forms on his face. I can tell he's thinking the same thing I am.... "Where do we find such fine young men?"

"Flaps One Hundred!" I bark at the shaking cat. Now it's all aimpoint and airspeed. Aviation 101, with the exception there are no lights, I'm on NVGs, it's Baghdad, and now tracers are starting to crisscross the black sky. Naturally, and not at all surprisingly, I grease the Goodyear's on brick-one of runway 33 left, bring the throttles to ground idle and then force the props to full reverse pitch. Tonight, the sound of freedom is my four Hamilton Standard propellers chewing through the thick, putrid, Baghdad air. The huge, one hundred thirty thousand pound, lumbering whisper pig comes to a lurching stop in less than two thousand feet. Let's see a Viper do that!

We exit the runway to a welcoming committee of government issued Army grunts. It's time to download their beans and bullets and letters from their sweethearts, look for war booty, and of course, urinate on Saddam's home. Walking down the crew entry steps with my lowest-bidder, Beretta 92F, 9 millimeter strapped smartly to my side, look around and thank God, not Allah, I'm an American and I'm on the winning team. Then I thank God I'm not in the Army. Knowing once again I've cheated death, I ask myself, "What in the hell am I doing in this mess?" Is it Duty, Honor, and Country? You bet your ass. Or could it possibly be for the glory, the swag, and not to mention, chicks dig the Air Medal. There's probably some truth there too. But now is not the time to derive the complexities of the superior, cerebral properties of the human portion of the aviator-man-machine model. It is however, time to get out of this ass-hole. "Hey copilot, clean yourself up! And how's 'bout the 'Before Starting Engines Checklist.'"

God, I love this job!

Ever Onward and Upward,

Major Michael R. Hampton
115th Airlift Squadron, USAF, ANG

A sharp salute

2007-05-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Quote of the week (9 May 2007)

2007-05-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." -- General George S. Patton, Jr.

Counter Insurgency aircraft back to the basics; COIN aircraft needed

2007-05-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

COIN = Counter-insurgency

Here are the requirements for the COIN aircraft; it is easier to read from the PIXS (Pre-award Information Exchange Systems) though.
The requirements are in short.
~Must be in place (Iraq) by 30 NOV 2008
~This is for Eight (8) aircraft
~Options for more aircraft
~Commercial off the shelf aircraft (COTS) to be modified for COIN mission
~2 seats
~Turboprop PT-6-based turboprop engine fueled by JP-8 or similar fuel to maintain commonality with other Iraqi aircraft
~1200 SHP minimum
~Must be able to perform a dual role as a trainer. Possess crew stations for a two-man crew with dual sets of flight, navigation, communication, and weapons controls with weapons delivery able to be performed from either seat.
~Be suitable as an intermediate/advanced single-engine fixed-wing flight trainer with systems which allow the aircraft to be easily reconfigured for COIN operations.
~Possess light armor to protect the occupants of both seats and engine compartment from small arms fire.
~NVG compatible cockpit (can you still say cockpit?)
~Be capable of loitering in excess of 4 hours while maintaining a 45 minute fuel reserve while loaded with two GBU-12 or Mk-82 type weapons.
~Be equipped with ejection seats that provide safe ejection parameters at ground level with zero airspeed.
~The COIN aircraft must be capable of sustaining fully mission capable (FMC) operations availability rates of eighty percent (80%).

So, let me get this straight…They want an already developed, single turbo prop powered by a PT-6 rated at 1200SHP+, two seats (Is side by side is ok? Or is tandem what they want?) Loiter time of 4 hours plus reserves, and the ability to carry at least two (2) 500lb class bombs.

Well, the best aircraft for the job is ruled out immediately. The OV-10 Bronco is the ultimate COIN aircraft. The props are behind the pilot (and crew) and it has bulbous cockpit windows so that the view is second to none. The OV-10s performance on the ground and in the air is also second to none…but, she has two engines so she will not be considered and those engines are of the Garrett-AiResearch T76 family…though, I am sure you could fit PT-6s to them (a shame too…I am sure there are several over at AMARC that would like to be saved from the smelter.)

Another airplane that was designed for the COIN mission is the FMA IA-58 Pucara. She is an older design but built like a truck. Again, she is ruled out because she has two engines and also they are not of the PT-6 family.

So, they want basically a trainer that can carry a load.
Some that comes to mind,
• Raytheon /Hawker /Beechcraft T-6B Texan II …would be delivered as the AT-6 (not a bad aircraft)

• Embraer EMB312 (AT-27) Tucano (in service with the FAB) This is a great aircraft for the mission because she was built as an attack aircraft first, trainer second...she is very heavy... Out of the realistic two, I'd take this one. plus, after the US blocked a sale of these to Venezuela...think we might want to throw them a bone?

• PC-9 (same as the T
-6B) originated by Pilatus

• KT-1 Woong Bee (they don’t have a chance plus its powerplant is rated at 937SHP)

The AU-23A

and the AU-24A

would be great aircraft as well, but I am guessing they will not be asked to join the competition. (a modern Pilatus PC-6 could fit this)

The Stavatti Machete SM-27S/T is a radical design, and it is not what I would call off the shelf....not what I would call realistic either...I think I saw one of these in the 80's on some Japanese cartoon!

U.S.Aircraft Corporation purpose built a COIN aircraft called the A-67 Dragon. I like this aircraft, it looks like a mix between the T-6B and a homebuilt Glassair with a PT-6 engine but again, I do not know if it would fit the bill, I am not sure it would be considered an Commercial off the shelf aircraft. New news about this plane... it suffered a gear collaps on a test flight.

Mentioned by Maj William Brian Downs, USAF a member of the 6th SOS out of Hurlburt Field, FL.(killed in Iraq 30 May 2005 along with Capt. Derek M. Argel, Capt. Jeremy J. Fresques, and Staff Sgt. Casey J. Crate when their compare 7SL crashed north of Baghdad on a training mission)
He said that a good platform for COIN would be Thrush Vigilante also known as the AYERES V-1-A Vigilante

I like this aircraft a lot and though not a good looking plane, we know that it is rugged as hell and would be able to do the mission at hand. Reports are that once the production went to Thrush that the Vigilante died...lets hope not, lets hope they join the competition.

(this is the Thrush 660 crop duster)

This thing is built like a rock, maneuverable, can carry a heavy load and is a damn rock….did I mention, it is built like a rock?

It will be interesting to see what comes out of this, but my money is on the T-6B/AT-6

CSAR-X update. HH-47, not the best fit but you get it anyway!

2007-05-07T08:30:00.001-05:00

It is not uncommon for companies to be a tad upset when they loose out on a major aircraft contract. It seems in this case that Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland (Lockmart/Mangusta from now on) has a good case for complaining. GAO report B-299145.4 It would seem that the HH-47 did not do so well in a few areas. One huge area is the fact that the HH-47 can not land on over 80% of the Navy’s ships. That is a huge concern being that it would be a search and rescue Helicopter and a good portion of the recoveries would be in the ocean. They would loose out on sometimes closer medical help if a ship was out of the question and they had to land back on dry land. Both the EH-101 (damn sorry, US-101) and the H-92 can land on all ships that have a landing pad.

S92 Mike Reyno Photo/Cougar Helicopters http://cougar.ca

VH-71 (US-101, EH-101)

Again, the HH-47 has massive downwash from the twin counter rotating rotors. Of the nine Chinooks lost in Afghanistan, two have been because of the “brown-out” associated with the downwash. This is a huge concern when trying to recover someone on the ground and have to use the hoist to lower a Pararescuman (PJ) to recover the victim. That PJ will not only have to fight the enemy, the elements and sometimes the victim...but now he will have to fight the helicopter as well.

Like POGO has pointed out. The HH-47 almost missed a key area. One of the requirements was to build up the helicopter after an airlift to an “area” in less than 3 hours. The documents point out that Boeing made this mark with only 2 minuets to spare…but, the document had deleted the times by both the Sikorsky and lockmart/mangusta aircraft.
It looks like because of this, the requirements were changed from MR to FR (Mission Ready to Flight Ready) which means that the time is based on just the minimums to get airborne and not to accomplish the mission. This is unacceptable. It looks like both the Sikorsky and Lockmart aircraft can become Mission Ready within two hours.

MH-47E Army'sversion of the HH-47

It is sort of funny that while between 2002-2003 when the CSAR was under the ACC USAF command that the HH-47 was brought up and then dropped from the list early on because it was not acceptable for the mission at hand but once the mission was transferred back to AFSOC and then under USSOCOM that the HH-47 found its way back onto the list. It seems that someone on the Army side of the command has a soft spot for the 1960’s era aircraft.

The GAOs report has deleted almost everything that might have favored both Sikorsky and Lockmart’s aircraft…we can only assume that the HH-47 has failed, and that someone still liked it within USSOCOM and passed it through…or is this a bone for the screwed up KC-767 deal?

IMHO, I still feel that the Sikorsky would be the best fit on just the parts availability alone. The HH-60 it would replace is Sikorsky and its sister the MH-53M is also a Sikorsky product so then, why would you throw the Boeing product in there (while the US ARMY is having parts issues with the MH/CH-47s)

Airbus at it again...If you can't build a better plane, just sell them for a loss.

2007-05-04T07:48:00.000-05:00

Airbus at it again...If you can't build a better plane, just sell them for a loss. This is nothing new for Airbus, they have been doing this since day one. Let the European Union flip the bill and then they can just barely keep up with the Boeing.

Most of the production output will benefit the A330, which would come off the line at nine aircraft per month; only one A340 would be built. Despite the lower order intake for the four-engine A340, Airbus isn't giving up on the program just yet. Leahy insists the fuel-burn cost disadvantage compared with Boeing's 777 can be subsidized by the aircraft maker. Airbus officials say sales will continue of all three A340 versions, the CFM56-powered -300 and the Rolls-Royce Trent 500-powered -500/600.

They have done this with the A320 for years. I suppose that they will do the same thing with the A350 (when they decide what the A350 will be like). Don't get me wrong, It would be tragic if Airbus fails as an aircraft maker...we would all loose then because then Boeing will have no one to fly against and we would all have shitty aircraft because of it. I like competition, it drives us all to be better but Boeing vs. Airbus is like the two are at a track meet and the judge asks Boeing to run with only one shoe. The USA does not flip the bill for Boeing...they have come out on top because they build a far superior aircraft. The only reason why Airbus is still in the race at all is because the European Union pays the way. I wish Boeing had not bought up all its other US based competitors..because I honestly feel with how the A380 is going...Airbus might not be around too many more years.

Boeing 777

Airbus A330

Walter Schirra, 1923-2007

2007-05-03T22:03:00.000-05:00

05.03.07

Image above: NASA astronaut Walter Schirra in his Mercury flight suit. Photo credit: NASA.

Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, has died. He was 84 years old. Schirra's NASA career began with his selection as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959 and spans the period from Americas first tentative steps into space to the missions to the moon. Schirra flew on the fifth Mercury flight in 1962, orbiting the Earth six times. He commanded Gemini 6A in 1965, a flight with Tom Stafford that had the historic distinction of being the first rendezvous of two manned, maneuverable spacecraft. Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 flew in formation for five hours, as close as one foot to one another. Schirra also commanded Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo flight. During that 11-day flight in Earth orbit in 1968, he and fellow crewmembers Walt Cunningham and Donn Eisele tested the Apollo systems and proved it was ready to take astronauts to the moon.In what was a precursor of things to come, Apollo 7 transmitted the first television feed live into commercial networks from space during its 260-hour flight.

Image above: The Apollo 7 crew: NASA astronauts Donn Eisele, mission commander Walter Schirra and Walter Cunningham. Photo credit: NASA.

Schirras military awards included the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Medals, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Philippines Legion of Honor. He was awarded honorary doctorates by several institutions of higher learning.He was active in a number of organizations and was a founding member and director of the Mercury Seven Foundation. He also was a director of the San Diego Aerospace Museum, a trustee of the Scripps Aquarium, and a member of the International Council of the Salk Institute.

I had met with Mr. Schirra a few times. I was a volunteer at the San Diego Aerospace Museum for many years and had worked on a couple of projects that were dear to Mr. Schirra. I will always cherish those moments when I had the chance to talk with history itself.
We will all miss you.

The Pledge of Allegiance

2007-05-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

NC-130B: The six engined Herk

2007-05-03T06:17:00.000-05:00

In the early 60s the USAF wanted a STOL version of the C-130 Hercules to be used as a prototype for the planned C-130C STOL (Short Take Off/Land). The test aircraft NC-130B 58-0712 (L/N 3507) was fitted with two extra prototype straight jet versions of the T-56 that the C-130 was already using, Minus the reduction gearbox and the prop and was called YT-56-A-6 (and I have also seen it as YJ-56-A-6).

These jet turbines were used not for pure thrust to get off the ground with more power but to be used to provide bleed air for a boundary-layer control system. This Boundary-layer control system was comprised of air ducts throughout the wings and empennage to provide bleed air over the tops of the control surfaces to provide more lift and in theory allow the aircraft to have a slower approach speed, shorter landing distance and shorter take off distance. This was supposed to be 50-70 KTS compared to the standard 80-100 KTS. The aircraft also had different flaps fitted and the ailerons would droop when the flaps would be set past 40 degrees. The requirements were, take off from a 500 foot unprepared strip with a 20,000 payload. This was flown against a standard C-130 with a standard crew and the standard C-130 actually took off and landed in a shorter distance. This might have been because of the added weight of the extra engines and bleed air ducting.

The C-130C was canceled after just 23 hours of flight test and the NC-130B was given to NASA JSC in 1961 and given the serial number N929NA and was flown to do further tests on the boundary layer control system between June 1961 and December 1961 and then again between February 1963 and November 1967.

After the tests were complete, the aircraft was then transferred to NASA DFRC Dryden and the YT (YJ)-56s were removed and the flaps were returned to the normal C-130 Lockheed-Fowler type configuration. The registration number was changed again to N707NA and was fitted with a much larger radome and used by NASA in the NASA Earth Survey 2 program

covering lower levels while satellites covered from higher altitudes. She ended her flying days with AMES Research Center at Moffett field.

She was then given the AMARC or the "boneyard" on 4 November 2000 and as of 2001 she was still stored.

7E7 (err..787) vs. A350 funny video

2007-05-01T06:55:00.000-05:00

This is funny and by reading the reports, so very true.

Jet man loses wing

2007-04-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

Jet man loses wing
By Helen Massy-Beresford

Originally set for March, the presentation of the JetMan strap-on jet pack to the international press has suffered a series of setbacks. The latest postponement follows damage to the wing during a test flight in Spain and subsequent bad weather.

The incident took place on Tuesday when Rossy jumped out of an aircraft that had taken off from Bex aerodrome in Switzerland.

“Yves vainly tried to recover the control of his flight, then dropped his wing, was able to open his parachute and finally landed safe and sound. Unfortunately his wing ended up damaged in a field,” says Rossy’s communications office.

Rossy is undeterred: “Such incidents are part of the risks of pioneering projects. And the adventure shall go on!”

The presentation has been postponed indefinitely while Rossy analyses what went wrong and repairs the wing. Rossy has been working on a version capable of vertical climb, take-off, and aerobatics since the maiden flight of the Jet-Man jet pack in 2004.

Rossy, who now flies Airbus aircraft for Swiss International Airlines, formerly served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force.
DATE:27/04/07
SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

This guy is NUTZ huh...but what a rush that would be!!

UAV Guide thanks to FAS.org

2007-04-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

I will be the first to tell you that I am not 100% keen on UAVs. There is no substitute for a pilot in an aircraft and doing the flying him/her self. There is no substitute for the situational awareness of actually being in the aircraft. I can not imagine replacing a close air support aircraft like an A-10 with a CUAV...there is just too much to see. and what is next? replacing a C-130 with a UAV? I could not imagine flying that thing behind a screen...there is just so much to smell and feel in that aircraft.

UAVs have been with us for decades...from the old Ryan's Firebees (BQM-34 series) launched from old DC-130s to the big-mamma D-21 launched from the SR-71 (M-21)mothership.

Where UAVs shine in my book...keeping the ground troops out of harms way while collecting recon. Thank God for these little guys...

FAS.ORG's Posting of the UAV ROADMAP 2005

This is a nice little guide for those of us who are interested in learning a bit more about these little (and some not so little) things.

Killer Herc: technology demo program for DoD

2007-04-26T06:36:00.000-05:00

What do you do with an old RC-130 from the mid 50's? You paint her up and slap come cool stuff on her!! back in 2002/3, The Killer Herc program was to demonstrate the likelihood of using UAVs launched from the AC-130 to hunt out and target the enemy while the AC-130 stays away. They also fitted the RC-130 with hellfire missiles (why such a puny little missile?)

The AC-130Us we were told were hardwired for a missile rack in the outer hard points where the AC-130H and AC-130Us carried their IRCM pods, I do not know if this was ever fitted or missiles ever test fired from an AC-130U, I doubt it.

International Air Response spit shined good ol' 57-0512 (a very low time RC-130A) that they received from the Rhode Island ANG at Quonset State back in 1989 and was used for parts...but in 2002 they gave her a beautiful paint job and registered her as N118TG.

It is no doubt that from this test that the AC-130H and AC-130Us will get their stand off weapons...though not a SENTRY UAV and a rack of Hellfires...but this test proved that what was needed could be done.

The AC-130U will be fitted with two MK44 30MM Bushmasters and the M102 105MM
and will be getting the GBU-44/B Viper Strike though, I do not believe there is plans to integrate a UAV (especially the size of the SENTRY) onto the AC-130...but who knows, there is talk of adopting a version of the 120MM Mortar to replace the old 105Mike Mike.

KILLER HERC VIDEO

DoD DEMO KILLER HERC VIDEO

Picking the worst to be first... USAF CSAR-X

2007-04-24T09:54:00.000-05:00

The USAF needs to replace its old, slow, small Combat Search and Rescue Helicopters. The average age for the aircraft are just a hair under 25 years old and from the start, they were not a great fit for the job. They are slow, and they have shorter legs than a freak show midget So, what can replace it?

Congress wants to give then the worst possible choice...the HH-47. you know, the shithook... the wondernothing. It seams that the ones in charge of overseeing the competition were not interested in what the mission was.

The Boeing HH-47 costs more and doesn't meet the requirements for consideration, but that's not all. The aircraft is, simply put, not a good fit for the search and rescue mission. And this is where Congress has gotten involved. In February, Air Force chief of staff General Michael Moseley told a Congressional hearing that "the Chinook would have not been his first choice, but that the Air Force would make it work," according to the Hill. And later told reporters that "I am not sure [the HH-47] is the one that I would have picked, but I am not the guy that picks

The CH/MH-47s have been in the news recently because of so many of them going down in Afghanistan. they are worked hard in the high altitudes and they are so slow and so large that they make for easy targets.

The USAF operates 102 MH-60s for Combat Search and Rescue missions, many of them over in Afghanistan and Iraq. I will post some videos this week that I took while I was in Kandahar while the MH-60s were scrambling March of 2003...one never returned.

There used to be three other competitors, the US-101
(a Lockheed licenced variant of the European EH-101),

the Sikorsky S-92
,

and the piece of crap CV-22

.

I am not all that keen on the US-101 (don't get me started on the fact that it will be the next Marine-One as the VH-71 Kestrel) but, you have to give them this, they have three engines and can operate on two. (3X2312 shp) you know my feelings about the CV-22...they are no longer a factor. and the S-92 on paper is a great aircraft and out of the four., she was my pick but, like the HH-47, she also only has tho engines rated at 3000 shp each. I have to give Sikorsky credit, the MH-53 program has been a great one for the USAF...

I feel that if you need to lift something very heavy...or carry lots of troops to the fight in one aircraft, the hh-47 is the right choice...but not for Search and Rescue... too heavy, to old, and not very agile. The downwash from this thing is crazy, and I think it might do more harm for a stranded swimmer or a wounded troop than good...
Icing... the HH-47 (or any variant) is not rated to fly in any icing conditions where as both the s-92 and US-101 are rated to fly in moderate icing conditions.

So how did Boeing end up winning the competition? A KC-X deal maybe?
Don't get me wrong... I am not bashing Boeing on this at all...they are offering what they have. Congress are the idiots who picked it.

It looks like more and more people are hearing about this one and some in Congress are not happy... Looks like the competition is open again... Lets see

I feel if anyone is going to get a contract it should be Sikorsky because of the great helicopters they build...not Boeing because they will build a good tanker aircraft. Lets stop the pork and build the right aircraft for the mission.

Virgin Atlantic to buy 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners...making Boeings 787 the most successful launch ever

2007-04-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Virgin Atlantic Airways (VA.UL: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to buy 24 Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 787 Dreamliners, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Tuesday.

The deal, worth $3.6 billion (1.8 billion pounds) at list prices, is expected to be announced later Tuesday, the Journal said, citing unnamed sources.

The orders were previously booked on Boeing's Web site but the buyer had not been identified, the Journal said.

Virgin's Richard Branson and Boeing Chief Executive W. James McNerney are also expected to unveil a partnership to begin testing biofuel in a Virgin-owned Boeing 747 next year, the paper said.

A Boeing representative declined to comment. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 787 is well over the 500 aircraft sold mark and the airplane has not even been built yet. it took just 36 months to reach 500 aircraft sold. The 787 Dreamliner is the most successful program launch in commercial aviation history. Great job Boeing!

Troop Talk Radio...you'll hear another side...the real side.

2007-04-22T09:26:00.000-05:00

TROOP TALK RADIO
Give it a listen. Take a look at the page. This is real military service men and women talking about the military and more importantly, the War on Terror. NONE (nope, not even FOX) will give you any of the good news of what is going on in the WAR on Terror. You will hear good and bad because it is the real members talking about what is real to them....but at least you will hear it from them and not some reporter who knows they have to sell..and blood and destruction sells.

None of the radio stations here in my area will give them time so I have to listen online.
Hosted by

Captain Trip Bellard III born in Texas, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, served as a Captain in the Army and received the Bronze Star for service in Iraq. When he went on R & R, his battalion Commander, LTC Kyle McClelland gave Trip the same advice he gave every soldier: “Tell your story. Make it known what we’re doing. Show the people what you’ve done and the difference you’ve made.” Trip took that advice to heart, and has taken on a new mission: to give his fellow service members a way to express their views to the American public on Troop Talk: Voice of the Troops.

If you want to voice your opinion and thoughts Call in during the LIVE show! Sunday Mornings 8am-Noon EST
1-800-984-5851

Try them out.

Check it out and become the one of the biggest fans of the four fans of freedom

2007-04-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

If you ever wanted to know what it is like to fly on a Tactical C-130....these guys really have captured its spirit.

Ain't got bullets so they got to have balls...

Flying low and slow, kicking ass and taking names...

C-130 eye candy

2007-04-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

U.S. Special Operations Command celebrates its 20th anniversary

2007-04-19T08:21:00.000-05:00

We all know that Special Operations have been around much longer than 20 Years but as a combined powerhouse of a command she is still young.

My Father was a member of 1st Recon Bn. way back in the day and myself a member of 16th SOW/16th SOS I have a strong tie to the people who put it on the line every day...declared war or not.

After Operation Eagle Claw there was a need of unity and communication. a few years later the dawn of USSOCOM occurred on 16 April 1987.

Keep strong
Keep Vigilant
Keep Prepared

Maintain the Tip of the Spear.

KC-X when will you come, and who will you be?

2007-04-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

Our air refueling tanker fleet is older than dirt. The KC-135s have been passing gas for 50 years (first flight August 1956, first delivered June 1957)

They still do a great job and I am hard pressed to think of another plane that can do as good of a job. Sure there is the KC-10 but that has been sort of a flop. The KC-10A (DC-10)and now with that aircraft gone from the airlines support for the aircraft is a huge issue...not to mention this. Some aircraft have a very hard time refueling under the large KC-10. The C-130s that have the capability to be on the receiving end of the KC-10 have to dive down and more times then not, it takes three or more connections to fuel up...not only is that in efficient, its unsafe. They are more of a cargo plane than a Tanker.

What is on the table? For right now there are two proposals.
One from Boeing and one from Northrop Grumman (Building an French Airbus)
I do not fully agree with Boeing's offering. They want to give us a tanker version of the 767.

http://www.boeing.com/ids/globaltanker/index.html
the 767 is a great aircraft but it is already 25 years old...and if we keep her working as long as the KC-135 then she will be well over 75 years old. C'mon we can do better than that. I understand that a lot of the cost will have been offset because both Japan and Italy are now flying variants of the aircraft. She is already ancient technology. The 777 is too big for the job so I will not even go there. The 787 I think would be a great choice and since she is already in development she would be able to start out much like the old KC-135 did alongside the Boeing 707 (Yes, I understand that they in fact are really different aircraft...but close enough) How would fuel effect the whole composite structure of the 787? I do not know. One thing that Boeing just added to sweeten the deal is the services of Delta TechOps to KC-767 Advanced Tanker Team. These guys (and gals) are top notch in the aviation industry.
Northrop Grumman is trying to pitch the KC-30... (once the KC-330)
http://www.northropgrumman.com/kc30/
this is nothing more than a French built tanker version of the Airbus A330, (MRTT) .
I understand that these too are already flying and will soon be adopted in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. I have personal feelings that we do not need to be spending so much money on French aircraft...but, on paper, the KC-30 looks a tad better than the KC-767.

I feel we need a totally NEW design NOW.

In the end I want a US company to win...even if it is the KC-767

So, the MV-22 is going to war...

2007-04-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

So, the MV-22 is going to war. I have mixed feelings about this. First, it is time for the Ch-46s to be replaced, they are very old and very tired. The MV-22 is capable of carrying more cargo for a longer distance than the Sea-Knight. The down side? COST! These things are a back breaking $109 Million. That is only $69 Million per aircraft more than what was planned. Don't get me wrong, I do not care how much money is spent to keep our boys (and gals) safe...Therein Lies the Problem. The MV-22B & CV-22 are very unsafe aircraft. I understand that most aircraft have to go through a "growing pains" portion of their development. The v-22 has had one longer than most with too many lives lost. Why have they not fixed the Hydraulic lines bursting in the engine problem. After the crash in December of 2000 you would think they would have that fixed...but guess again, March 28, 2007 another fire in the engine because of a hydraulic leak. The crew was lucky that it happened while they were on the ground and not during flight.

The aircraft can't auto rotate. This means if you loose the engines, there is no way touch the aircraft down softly...how many of our troops will be harmed by this?

There are no side firing weapons to keep the sides safe. The engines are in the way from protecting the aircraft. So, the only defensive guns will be on the tail stinger position. So, who will keep the aircraft safe? Will it always fly with AH-1 cover? The MV-22 is much faster than the AH-1s so then will they have to slow down for the AH-1s or just go without cover? Who will cover the CV-22s from the Air Force? Will they always have the Apache to cover its butt? How about an A-10 every time it takes off. The CV-22 is another thorn in my side. It is set up to replace the MH-53Ms. The CV-22 can not carry as much weight. Can not carry the same special forces equipment and also has no sideward defensive systems. and they will be trying to replace the MH-53s with fewer CV-22s...nice. I understand that the USAF looses a lot of the PaveLows...and because of the nature of the missions that is understandable but are we willing to loose even more v-22s because of the lack of capability?
It has been a nice experiment but it has gone too far. This aircraft is a failure...pull the plug on it.

God Speed Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263

A needed update to an old friend

2007-04-12T08:33:00.000-05:00

Lets face it, the C-130J is a failure. Sure, it is a great plane if you just want to bring cargo from Point A to Point B but it sucks in the dirt, She sucks for Maintenance, she sucks at airdrop. when she does fly into combat she has to bring two MORE pilots as outward looking observers(they have kicked off the Eng. and the Nav. on the J-Model)
Basically, the C-130J is an entirelly differient aircraft with an entirelly differient mission then the old true C-130s (C-130a/b/e/h/h1/h2/h3 types)

There is hope out there though, The C-130AMP has flown (the first aircraft's first flight was back in Sept. 2006) and the second example flew yesterday, this time being Louisville's own 91-2139 and I believe both examples of modded aircraft were originally H2 aircraft.

Why is this important? Because you now have a more modern flight deck to make the pilots happy. It is nice because you need to tape every light source when going on NVGs ...no more mini chem lights the Eng has to spend hours taping up and around instruments just to see the bloody things on Nogs.

So, it looks like if congress gets off their asses and approves this, we will see the much needed wingbox replacement for all C-130s (I will tackle that topic later) as well as a mid-life update. with all the capabilities of the older herks but, without all the stupid crap that the J model tries to bring to the table.

Let the C-130J try to replace the C-141 (she will fail at that too) and let the real herks fly into combat.

A new diet........its not what you think.

2007-04-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

So, I have this painful disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis. Lets just say it is very painful. I have had it now for a few years and the pain has never gotten much better (Even though I am on tons of pain pills) There are a few Docs out there who praise changing your life style with this disease...I do not want to do that.
One diet wants you to become Vegan, um, screw that. I dig my meat.
One wants you to treat it like you had IBS. and use a Low-Starch diet. I can handle that a bit, but I love Italian food...but, I can try that one.

Gluten free crap.

There is even one that says eat as many cashews as I can. (I can eat me some cashews, boy)

Foods to AVOID...anything fried refined starches refined sugar heavy meats, veal coconut, bananas pecans white, green cabbage> dried beans, most peas acetic acid vinegars liquor and beer oatmeal, lentil beans milk and butter high-fat cheeses Kraft "mayonnaise" chips, French fries potato chips, crisps pan, poories, popcorn all rice, esp. fried mein, pancit, soba pizza, pita, paella wheat, scald oats white bread, kulcha haggis, scones bagels, doughnuts yucca root, aubergines spaghetti (all pasta) croissant, crepes macaroni and cheese Communion Host (<---WTF they want to take God out of it huh..Must have been a muslim doc.) all sausages, hog meat pie crust, piroges Sun chips, pepperoni all "-wursts," Spam chapati, paratha, corn all cookies and cakes betel nut, char-sil-bow baklava, lavosh, matzo biscuits, nasi goreng masala dosa, gnocchi cornbread, shortbread baba ganhouje, papad foul madamas, latke crackers, poi, hummus wontons, vareneky corn starch, MSG parsnips, turnips tostadas, corn chips wild rice, potatoes sodium benzoate alum, arrowroot nitrites, nitrates, BHT tap water BHA, polysorbates

Dude, I'm screwed.

I think I'll live in pain thank you.

Big Boy AC-130U gets new guns...and more.

2007-04-09T20:59:00.000-05:00

The AC-130U Spooky is replacing both the 25MM Gatling gun and the old and true 40MM Bofors canon with the 30MM Bushmaster. This is great news for the crews and very bad news for the evildoers. The 30MM has had great success with the Marines and is a great replacement for the USAF's older lead throwers. The 25MM in my opinion never lived up to its big brother's (the A-10's 30MM Gatling) reputation and the crews were having tons of problems with it (I recall a couple of times the gun had shot up #1 engine...never a good thing)

The 30MM will add accuracy and also a more maintenance friendly weapon.

The USAF and AFSOC plans to add the 30MM to the AC-130Hs as well with both aircraft being fully updated by 2010.

The AC-130U will also be adding the GBU-44 glide bomb on the outer hard points where the IRCM pods once were placed.

View the larger image here

Well, here I am...

2007-04-05T11:55:00.000-05:00

I never for the life of me thought I would ever have a Blog. Well, I do now. I do not intend to be cutting edge or controversial. I just intend to be me. Look for more to come.