Tag Archives: lockheed

Technology

Once a Red Coat, now a Blue Angel

Video

The retired ‘Fat Albert’ C-130T, brought out for public Pandemic moral display. (Texas Air National Guard photo by Julie Briden-Garcia, 06MAY2020.

On 06MAY2020, the retired C-130T Fat Albert was brought out to help fight CoViD-19 at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas.  After 30-thousand hours of flying in support of the Blue Angels demo team, C-130T Fat Albert was retired to static display duty in 2019.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Jess Gray, 28JUL2020.

The new C-130J Fat Albert on second functional check-flight over Cambridge, England, 28JUL2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Jess Gray, 28JUL2020.

The ‘new’ Blue Angels Fat Albert is actually an old British empire Royal Air Force C-130J, which underwent rebuild by Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group in United Kingdom.  A Forbes report says it cost U.S. taxpayers $29.7-million.  (which isn’t too bad, considering that in 2014 a new C-130J would cost between $67-million and $167-million depending on options)

Video by Marshall Aerospace, dressing the bare-metal C-130J in its new Blue Angels uniform:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Jess Gray, 06AUG2020.

On 06AUG2020, C-130J Fat Albert arrived on Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Texas.

Video, by Petty Officer Second Class Cody Hendrix, C-130J Fat Albert flying over algae bloom off the Atlantic coast of Florida, 17AUG2020:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Cody Hendrix, 17AUG2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Cody Hendrix, 17AUG2020.

Nobody is on the beach, what is this, CoViD-19 lockdown?

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins, 1989.

This is a photo I took of a C-130T Fat Albert at the Vandenberg AFB air show in California, Spring 1989.  Notice that it is not painted blue and white.

Bare Metal: C-130 PAINT PREP, OR THE EMPEROR GETS SOME NEW CLOTHES

 

C-130T, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, 04MAR2014.  Photo by Staff Sergeant Oscar L Olive the Fourth.

C-130T promotional video by Staff Sergeant Oscar L Olive the Fourth:

Influenza, Technology

Pandemic OverFlight: C-130 Herks for Heroes

Video

Salute to Heroes, Operation American Resolve, America Strong, or whatever is the latest Defense Department name for it, apparently massive flights of military aircraft flying over metro areas makes people feel more secure about fighting the “invisible enemy” of a Pandemic.

Video of USAF Reserve’s 908th Airlift Wing over Alabama, 12MAY2020:

Reflection of Little Rock Air Force Base C-130J in the windows of a Arkansas hospital, 08MAY2020.

California Air National Guard’s 115th Airlift Squadron over the Mojave Desert near Palmdale, 14MAY2020.

Video, USAF Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing C-130 flyover of Colorado, 06MAY2020:

Video, Connecticut Air National Guard’s 103rd Airlift Wing flyovers 14MAY2020:

Video, Georgia Air National Guard 165th Airlift Wing’s C-130H3 flying over a hospital, 15MAY2020:

 

Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing, 01MAY2020.

America Strong flyover; MS Gulf Coast403rd Wing’s 815th Airlift Squadron over Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, 28APR2020.

Video, Hurricane Hunter WC-130J flies over Huntington Ingalls Shipyard, Pascagoula, Mississippi, as ships’ horns blow,  05MAY2020:

Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Airlift Wing above Pablo, 06MAY2020.

Video, Nevada Air National Guard’s ‘High Rollers’ C-130 CoViD-19 morale overflight, 28APR2020:

Video, 27th Special Operations overflight of Portales, New Mexico,  11MAY2020:

Video of New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing HC-130J Combat King-2 over Long Island, 15MAY2020:

New York Air National Guard LC-130 (Ski-Bird) assigned to the 109th Airlift Wing flies over the state capitol, 12MAY2020.

A C-130H out of Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, conducting a second round of pandemic overflights on 07MAY2020.  Not only did Ohio aircraft fly over Ohio, but also locations in Pennsylvania.

Two Ohio Air National Guard 179th Airlift Wing C-130Hs also flew pandemic overflights, 15MAY2020.

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, this Blue Angels C-130 was temporarily brought out of retirement to give moral support, 06MAY2020, unfortunately it was not flown.

Video, West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing decided to kill two birds with one stone by conducting Aeromedical Evacuation training at the same time:

ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS EARLY, AGAIN,1ST WC-130J HURRICANE HUNTER LAUNCHED!

DOES THE ‘C’ IN C-130 STAND FOR COVID?

RECORD SETTING PANDEMIC AIRBRIDGE CONTINUES

Technology

Atlantic hurricane season begins early, again,1st WC-130J Hurricane Hunter launched!

Video

“Mother Nature doesn’t operate on a calendar, so this is a reminder to always be prepared.”-Colonel Jeffrey A. Van Dootingh, 403rd Wing USAF Reserve

U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Christopher Carranza, 16MAY2020.

Despite the Atlantic Hurricane Season not officially starting until June, on 16MAY2020 the U.S. Air Force Reserve launched its hurricane tracking WC-130J aircraft based at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Christopher Carranza, 16MAY2020.

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is concerned about a possible developing tropical depression or storm near the Bahamas (on 16MAY2020 it was called Invest 90L).

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Christopher Carranza, 16MAY2020.

Short video of first WC-130J launch of 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season:

On 17MAY2020, Invest 90L became Tropical Storm Arthur.  This is the sixth year in a row that a Tropical Storm developed in May.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Christopher Carranza, 16MAY2020.

During ‘invest’ flights the WC-130Js fly at low altitudes (500 to 1,500 feet, 152 to 457 meters) to determine if there is a closed circulation.  Once a system becomes a storm the WC-130Js fly at higher altitudes (5,000 to 10,000 feet, 1524 to 3048 meters), and fly through the eye of the storm several times during a mission. Dropsondes are launched from the aircraft into the storm, which then communicate with the National Hurricane Center via satellite link.  (What’s a storm tracking Dropsonde?)

WC-130J & WP-3D: HUNTING DORIAN

WC-130J SUPER HERCULES TRACKS HURRICANE HARVEY

AIRBORNE HURRICANE HUNTERS, WHEN DID IT ALL START?

Influenza, Technology

Does the ‘C’ in C-130 stand for CoViD?

Video

“FEMA notified the Coast Guard of the need March 27, and we worked collectively for a whole of government response to expedite the timely delivery.”-Captain Craig O’Brien, U.S. Coast Guard 14th District

Video, HC-130 load-up at Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, 31MAR2020:

Under Federal Emergency Management Agency direction, a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules flew CoViD-19 medical supplies to the U.S. territory of American Somoa.

Time lapse video of C-130 landing on Pago Pago International Airport, American Samoa, 01APR2020:

American Samoa is a collection of five islands in the South Pacific, approximately 2-thousand-6-hundred miles southwest of Hawaii.  Many of the 64-thousand residents work for the U.S. military.

“Military aircraft are a workhorse throughout the world, and in the Coast Guard, we frequently use our HC-130 Hercules planes to deliver necessary supplies and equipment. This is especially true in the Pacific, where we seek to overcome vast distances and challenging timelines.”-Commander James Morrow

Video of cargo followed by HC-130 take-off:

HC-130J: FLORIDA GETS A NEW COMBAT KING IN TIME FOR HURRICANE SEASON

Operation CoViD-19: FEMA’S EMERGENCY AIRLIFT REVEALED!

Technology

Indian Hercules appears in North Dakota

Video

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Elora J. Martinez, 13JAN2018.

In January 2018 an Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules landed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Elora J. Martinez, 13JAN2018.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Elora J. Martinez, 13JAN2018.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Elora J. Martinez, 13JAN2018.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Elora J. Martinez, 13JAN2018.

Video by Airman First Class Oriana Beard (for some reason sent with no audio):

 

The Indian Hercules’ next stop was McChord AFB, Washington, for exercise Vajra Prahar.

SINGAPORE’S INVASION OF IDAHO’S MOUNTAIN HOME AFB!

SKI-BIRD AND THE HIMARS

Technology

Ski Bird and the HIMARS

Video

“We need to make sure we have the training and capability to deal with conflict or competition in the Arctic. With more and more shipping and cruise ships happening in the Arctic, we can supplement search and rescue capabilities if needed. We also have the ability to sustain forward operating locations, refueling points and extend the military range into the Arctic Circle.”-Captain Eric Chan, New York Air National Guard, totally referencing the fact that climate change has greatly increased Russia’s activity in the Arctic

In October 2019 an upgraded  LC-130H Ski Bird was loaded with a HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) for the first time.  This was in preparation for Arctic Edge-20, held from 24FEB2020 to 06MAR2020 in Alaska.

Allen Army Airfield, Alaska.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing flew their LC-130H, with upgraded Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5 turbines and NP2000 props, to Alaska to link up with U.S. Marine Corps’ 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment.

There they up-loaded a M142 HIMARS and transported it to an Arctic firing range.

A few fun videos for your entertainment:

Vehicle I-D: LC-130 À LA SKIS

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: LC-130H à La skis, can I get skis for my model C-130 kit?

Video

A New York Air National Guard Crew Chief inspects the landing gear on a ‘Skibird’ LC-130H Hercules on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 06MAR2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Scott Fremming.

Video report from October 2019, first time LC-130H-upgrade is loaded with HIMARS:

A New York Air National Guard LC-130H arrives at the Paris Air Show, 16JUN2019.

This LC-130H has been updated with the NP2000 propellers, Paris Air Show, 19JUN2019.

Not all Skibird’s operate in snowy conditions. This upgraded LC-130H is ferrying New York Army National Guard Soldiers to Puerto Rico. New York Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Alexander Rector, 11APR2019.

New York Air Guard’s SkiBird helping Canadians build ‘SkiWay’ landing strip in the Arctic, 11APR2019.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing offloads cargo in Greenland, on 26APR2019.

Video, Senior Master Sergeant explains the craziness of airfield ops in Antarctica:

Video from March 2019, explaining what a LC-130 Crew Chief does:

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing’s LC-130, McMurdo Station, Antarctica 15JAN2019.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing LC-130 (upgraded with evil British empire Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5/NP2000 props), McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 17DEC2018.

Grass field take-off?  No, it’s the camera angle.  NY National Guard’s LC-130 takes off for Antarctica, 06SEP2018.

LC-130(F-H?) in Antarctica, 23JUL2017.

The Common Science Support Pod, or IcePod, houses a variety of instruments to meausure changes in the Antarctic ice sheet.

Some ‘scientist’ from Colombia University explaining how the IcePod works.  To find out more go here:  https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/icepod/

New York Air National Guard LC-130H Hercules-Skibird takes-off near the Canadian Task Force base camp on Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, during Operation NUNALIVUT, 10APR2016.
Canadian Armed Forces photo by Corporal Parks.

New York Air National Guard LC-130H Hercules-Skibird arrives on Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Canadian Armed Forces photo by Petty Officer Second Class Belinda Jeromchuk, 10APR2016.

2016 video report on Canadian Forces Operation Nunalivut, note the wing flex on the older LC-130H as it lands:

Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, 27JUN2016.

January 2014, Pegasus Field, Antarctica, problems with landing gear being rectified.

Leaving Antarctica, 02FEB2011.

McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 2007.

Rocket assisted take-off from Greenland, 2003.  For some reason it’s officially called Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) even though it’s actually rockets.  With the new Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5 turbine/NP2000 props JATO is no longer needed.

Several of the New York Air National Guard’s LC-130Hs were former U.S. Navy LC-130Rs from VXE-6.

Airmodel makes a 1:72 scale conversion set that includes skis for LC-130.

Max Decals #7211

Out-of-print MicroScale #72-195

SNOWBLIND: C-130 OHIO C-17 PENNSYLVANIA

KODIAK MACE 2019: USMC KC-130J VID FEST!

MODEL KIT EC-130J GETS SPECIAL HANDLING BY NATIONAL GUARD!

VEHICLE I-D: NORMANDY PAINTED C-130 HERCULES

THAT’S NOT A C-130J, IT’S STILL THE OLD C-130H!

Technology

NASA ‘climate spy plane’ proves California’s strict anti-pollution laws are a joke!

Video

08 November 2019 (03:37 UTC-07 Tango 06) 17 Aban 1398/10 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1441/12 Yi-Hai 4717

NASA pilot suits-up for an ER-2 AVIRIS-NG mission high over Hawaii, February 2018. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Luke Kuennen.

Six decades after California set the first global standards for industrial anti-air-pollution laws the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) has proven those (and subsequent) laws to be laughable.

NASA ER-2 preps for a mission from Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, February 2018. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Luke Kuennen.

NASA used it’s modified U-2R/TR-1A, called the ER-2 (Earth Resources-2), to inspect industrial air pollution, scanning the ground from near-space (65-thousand feet/19-thousand-812 meters): “Before the pilots even take off, we put them on 100% oxygen for an hour to get all of the nitrogen out of their systems. It’s similar to what scuba divers can face. If they have nitrogen in their system, they can end up getting what they call the bends, and it’ll be a really bad day for that pilot.”-Wason Miles, ER-2 life support crew, from 2018 interview concerning the HyspIRI preparatory airborne mission over Hawaii

Liquid nitrogen is used to cool the ER-2’s hyperspectral thermal emission spectrometer. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Luke Kuennen.

The two years long NASA-California methane mission resulted in the AVIRIS-NG ( Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer-Next Generation) system, onboard the ER-2, discovering dozens of what NASA calls methane “super-emitters”(published 06NOV2019) across the Los Angeles area.  This why I say California’s progressively ‘tougher’ anti-pollution laws failed.  I lived in California when those anti-pollution laws began driving out many industries causing the loss of thousands of jobs just in the Los Angeles area, in the 1970s-80s.  The exalted lawmakers of The Golden State then started playing games with their own anti-pollution laws, trying to woo back major employers.  NASA’s California methane mission revealed that the industrial sector of the Los Angeles area is still pumping out clouds of pollution, even with stricter air quality laws and fewer industrial operations.

NASA photo by Jim Ross, 13JUL2006.

Boring 2018 lecture type NASA explainer video about how AVIRIS detects and maps methane emissions:

NASA photo by Lori Losey, August 2001.

2017 NASA video explainer of their climate-spy-plane AVIRIS system:

ER-2 tail#706, over Edwards AFB, California, 04NOV1997. NASA photo by Carla Thomas.

In the 1990s, NASA had three ER-2s, but now has two.  The other ER-2 was returned to the U.S. Air Force.

ER-2 tail#709. NASA photo by Tony Landis, 18FEB1998.

Lockheed ER-2 tail#809 cockpit. NASA photo by Tony Landis, 11DEC1999.

ER-2 #809 receives fuel outside Arena Artica hangar in Kiruna, Sweden. SAGE-3 Ozone Loss & Validation Experiment (SOLVE), January 2000. NASA photo by Jim Ross.

ER-2 #809 in Kiruna, Sweden for SAGE-3 Ozone Loss & Validation Experiment (SOLVE), January 2000. NASA photo by Jim Ross.

The ER-2, which has been in use for decades, can be equipped with a variety of sensors.

Large Area Collector sensor for a cosmic dust collection. NASA photo by Tom Tschida, 24APR2009.

ER-2 under-wing mounted cosmic dust collector pod. NASA photo by Tom Tschida, 24APR2009.

ER-2 Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) mission over Costa Rica, 06JUL2005. NASA photo by Bill Ingalls.

May 2010 pic of NASA’s ER-2 overflying the British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill. NASA photo by Regan Geeseman.

VEHICLE ID: 61 YEARS LATER U-2 & TR-1 STILL FLYING HIGH, COOL VIDEO!

NASA’S DC-8 CLIMATE WARRIOR

IDAHO, KANSAS, UTAH HOME BASES FOR NASA’S FIREX-AQ!

UNMANNED MILITARY SPACE SHUTTLE BREAKS RECORD IN SPACE

SUPER GUPPY BE OLD, BUT NASA STILL USES IT!

Technology

Vehicle I-D: Last ‘Spooky’ days of the AC-130U Gunship?

Video

On 08JUL2019, some of the last AC-130U ‘Spooky’ with the 4th Special Operations Squadron returned from a recent deployment.

AC-130Us have been on constant deployment since 2001, but are supposed to soon be replaced by the new AC-130J Ghostrider.

U.S. Air Force video report by Staff Sergeant Marleah Cabano:

A Spooky sight at Hurlburt Field, Florida, 08JUL2019.

Here’s a cool video of the homecoming:

Welcome home!

Big Daddy AC-130U:

Black Letter Last Flight

Technology, U.S.

Kentucky dog trains to rescue Alaskans from a HC-130J!

Video

Tennessee Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Darby Arnold, 25JUN2019.

K9 Callie and her handler, Technical Sergeant Rudy Parsons, a para-rescueman (aka Para-Jumper, PJ) with the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard, wait to jump into the icy water off Alaska, 25JUN2019.

Tennessee Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Darby Arnold, 25JUN2019.

Video (by SSgt Darby Arnold) of people jumping out of a perfectly good Alaskan National Guard HC-130J Combat King-2 (I think the dog was just along for the ride on this one):

Tennessee Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Darby Arnold, 25JUN2019.

K9 Callie, a Dutch Shepherd, trained for search and rescue, sits on the ramp of an HC-130J aircraft awaiting training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 25JUN2019.

VEHICLE I-D: ALASKA MILITIA GETS NEW HC-130J

THAT’S NOT A C-130J, IT’S STILL THE OLD C-130H!