Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules
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Smudge, on route trips you would have been there, I was thinking along the lines of the midwinter TAC sorties, where the only company the Loadie had was 47 AD along with all their string, elastic and shouting . Happy days indeed. 
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STS,STF,TTF
Ksimboy.
It was heartbreaking some mornings to arrive at the Met Office for an airdrop sortie when the snow had covered the parking bay lines. You knew that the Loadie had been there since 2 a.m. supervising the loading and preparation of the split stick, Auto Gravity Extraction, 1 ton load.
The back of the aircraft resembled a Victorian cotton mill with festoons of lines and various breaking strain ties all dispensed from a loom of different coloured string. Both bomb racks were loaded with extractors and barriers separated the boxes. The army despatchers were like a swarm of ants all over the load, measuring, tying, cutting and lots of shouting as you rightly say.
The Met man raised his eyes from his chart and intoned, " When the snow stops, the temp will rise at dawn and Salisbury Plain will be fogged out".
We asked Eng Ops if we can keep the load on till the fog clears and go direct to the DZ.
No they said "Conversion needs it for MCT this afternoon and they need flat floor"
So the poor old Loadie was told on the radio " Task canx, pack it all up and unload the aircraft, and have a cup of tea cos we're not coming out."
I don't know how they kept their sense of humour.
v
It was heartbreaking some mornings to arrive at the Met Office for an airdrop sortie when the snow had covered the parking bay lines. You knew that the Loadie had been there since 2 a.m. supervising the loading and preparation of the split stick, Auto Gravity Extraction, 1 ton load.
The back of the aircraft resembled a Victorian cotton mill with festoons of lines and various breaking strain ties all dispensed from a loom of different coloured string. Both bomb racks were loaded with extractors and barriers separated the boxes. The army despatchers were like a swarm of ants all over the load, measuring, tying, cutting and lots of shouting as you rightly say.
The Met man raised his eyes from his chart and intoned, " When the snow stops, the temp will rise at dawn and Salisbury Plain will be fogged out".
We asked Eng Ops if we can keep the load on till the fog clears and go direct to the DZ.
No they said "Conversion needs it for MCT this afternoon and they need flat floor"
So the poor old Loadie was told on the radio " Task canx, pack it all up and unload the aircraft, and have a cup of tea cos we're not coming out."
I don't know how they kept their sense of humour.
v
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Dougie,
sense of humour was maintained by the fact tht as well as freezing our cojones off, we had just had an L13 for brekkie, and removed the chocolate bars from the rest of the crews AH boxes
sense of humour was maintained by the fact tht as well as freezing our cojones off, we had just had an L13 for brekkie, and removed the chocolate bars from the rest of the crews AH boxes
smudge,
I think the tale of the iced up radome 'K' is in a previous post. Captain I think was Ray E. of 30.
I think the tale of the iced up radome 'K' is in a previous post. Captain I think was Ray E. of 30.
On the subject of extreme WX and the 'all assistance short of actual help' from Group we were at NAS New Orleans for a nightstop. Almighty storm overnight and we got to base ops to find the airfield shut due to extensive flooding. Captain got the usual grief from Group so he faxed them a copy of the Notam which had all the details and we went back to the hotel.
Dougie,
alas my logbook does not record the number of trips cx after loading the airdrop. But over the length of my career it would have filled a good few pages especially when I was an airdrop instructor.Some of those who know me may suggest I did not have much of a sense of humour to lose !
alas my logbook does not record the number of trips cx after loading the airdrop. But over the length of my career it would have filled a good few pages especially when I was an airdrop instructor.Some of those who know me may suggest I did not have much of a sense of humour to lose !
Gentlemen,
I apologise for my late arrival on the scene, but I have spent the past few hours crying my eyes out at the hardships endured by Loadmasters, prepping and subsequently de prepping drop loads. I can't imagine how they suffered, and can only equate my 14 hour, overnight, prop change (at an average -22 degrees fahrengrade) at Gander as a minor blip on the radar compared to their sufferage
As AA62 says, perhaps sense of humour was not an attribute often associated with Loadies, with the exception of the most honourable P*** T**** 
With respect, and even though Dougie and the two winged master race seemed to have an easy life, did anyone really expect that the pilots and Nav of an aircraft scheduled to depart St John for Lyneham (flagging somewhere in between for a fuel uplift) to help de snow and ice the frame ? I could always forgive the Loady for burning my breakfast, I could never forgive a steering or directional failure for my demise in the North Atlantic !
Off on an inspection tour of some "water of life" producers in a couple of days chaps, with Sturgeon in charge I'm not sure if my expired "British" passport will be acceptable for entry to the kingdom. Back in a couple of weeks, keep it going, more pictures please, if Upper England has WiFi I hope to remain cognisant of your continuing posts.
Best to all
Smudge
I apologise for my late arrival on the scene, but I have spent the past few hours crying my eyes out at the hardships endured by Loadmasters, prepping and subsequently de prepping drop loads. I can't imagine how they suffered, and can only equate my 14 hour, overnight, prop change (at an average -22 degrees fahrengrade) at Gander as a minor blip on the radar compared to their sufferage
As AA62 says, perhaps sense of humour was not an attribute often associated with Loadies, with the exception of the most honourable P*** T**** With respect, and even though Dougie and the two winged master race seemed to have an easy life, did anyone really expect that the pilots and Nav of an aircraft scheduled to depart St John for Lyneham (flagging somewhere in between for a fuel uplift) to help de snow and ice the frame ? I could always forgive the Loady for burning my breakfast, I could never forgive a steering or directional failure for my demise in the North Atlantic !
Off on an inspection tour of some "water of life" producers in a couple of days chaps, with Sturgeon in charge I'm not sure if my expired "British" passport will be acceptable for entry to the kingdom. Back in a couple of weeks, keep it going, more pictures please, if Upper England has WiFi I hope to remain cognisant of your continuing posts.
Best to all
Smudge
We arrived at the aircraft just before dawn on a winter's morning at Davis-Monthan in Arizona to find it covered in a heavy frost. A polite request at Base Ops about the availability of de-icing equipment was met with a "No Sir, just do what everybody else does and wait for the sun to do its business". Cue a 3 hour delay because the fun detectors always want you getting airborne at stupid o'clock.
WIDN62,
You are so correct. On several occasions during my few years as an AGE, I have managed to arrive "on base" in the states at OFFS, and completed the B/F, then, usually in the company of the Air Eng and Loady, spending up to 5 hours awaiting the arrival of the "front end". Only to be told that despite our scheduled departure time being 0500L, first take off permitted on that base was 0700L. Once being told that our departure was cancelled, as no flying was allowed from there on Sunday. I bet there are many who have experienced the discrepancy between ATFOC planning and reality. Never mind, it all added to life on Albert.
Smudge
You are so correct. On several occasions during my few years as an AGE, I have managed to arrive "on base" in the states at OFFS, and completed the B/F, then, usually in the company of the Air Eng and Loady, spending up to 5 hours awaiting the arrival of the "front end". Only to be told that despite our scheduled departure time being 0500L, first take off permitted on that base was 0700L. Once being told that our departure was cancelled, as no flying was allowed from there on Sunday. I bet there are many who have experienced the discrepancy between ATFOC planning and reality. Never mind, it all added to life on Albert.
Smudge
smudge,
'twas not unusual for ATFOC to schedule a departure before or at the exact moment of the airfield promulgated opening times. More often or not you either could not gain access to the airfield before scheduled opening or even if you could the transport, planning, met etc would not be available.
Just another fact of life on the 'K'.
'twas not unusual for ATFOC to schedule a departure before or at the exact moment of the airfield promulgated opening times. More often or not you either could not gain access to the airfield before scheduled opening or even if you could the transport, planning, met etc would not be available.
Just another fact of life on the 'K'.
AA62,
You are so right on that sir, I always wondered at the fool who decided on an 0500L departure from LYN. Especially when I had only arrived back from Gander at 2200L the night before. I well remember joining the Loadie and Eng at a very early time in the oncoming day on bay 29, outbound to Belize via a N/S Gander. Both were full of beans and explained that they were looking forward to their first "states" trip for a couple of months. Once all was stowed, and awaiting the arrival of Cox and synchro pair, they asked me what I had been up to, well said I, I'm on my way back to Gander, which I left yesterday, and have already ordered my stretchy soup and triple chilli marguerite from Pizza delight. Imagine their surprise when Vera (remember her ?), said hello and asked if we had broken down as I wasn't in last night, was I fixing the aircraft ? On telling her I had been home, and come back, she asked "why bother ?".
I was led to believe that during my time as a GE there were 30 operating GEs on the section. Across the Squadrons there were supposedly 120 "constituted" crews. That gave us a ratio of 4:1 on route flying, in some respect due to the fact that we only usually got involved in Routes, or detachments. Sadly, I only managed 6 years before "injuries" forced me to return to "normal" duties. I did clock over 5000 flying hours in that time. mostly by Albert supported hammock, but some indication of my travels. I'm still concerned that loadmasters were so badly treated on cold mornings, but Loadies were definitely my best mates on any trip I understand that subsequent to my departure in 1997, AGEs were awarded Flying Pay, no less, now that would have made me a very wealthy chap. Any ex GEs know about that ? See you all soon, a few days away beckons.
Smudge
You are so right on that sir, I always wondered at the fool who decided on an 0500L departure from LYN. Especially when I had only arrived back from Gander at 2200L the night before. I well remember joining the Loadie and Eng at a very early time in the oncoming day on bay 29, outbound to Belize via a N/S Gander. Both were full of beans and explained that they were looking forward to their first "states" trip for a couple of months. Once all was stowed, and awaiting the arrival of Cox and synchro pair, they asked me what I had been up to, well said I, I'm on my way back to Gander, which I left yesterday, and have already ordered my stretchy soup and triple chilli marguerite from Pizza delight. Imagine their surprise when Vera (remember her ?), said hello and asked if we had broken down as I wasn't in last night, was I fixing the aircraft ? On telling her I had been home, and come back, she asked "why bother ?".
I was led to believe that during my time as a GE there were 30 operating GEs on the section. Across the Squadrons there were supposedly 120 "constituted" crews. That gave us a ratio of 4:1 on route flying, in some respect due to the fact that we only usually got involved in Routes, or detachments. Sadly, I only managed 6 years before "injuries" forced me to return to "normal" duties. I did clock over 5000 flying hours in that time. mostly by Albert supported hammock, but some indication of my travels. I'm still concerned that loadmasters were so badly treated on cold mornings, but Loadies were definitely my best mates on any trip
I understand that subsequent to my departure in 1997, AGEs were awarded Flying Pay, no less, now that would have made me a very wealthy chap. Any ex GEs know about that ? See you all soon, a few days away beckons.Smudge
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Spooky DZs in Scotland
Whilst on a night DZ at Cromlix Farm in Scotland, I was marking the impact point with Cyalume light sticks when my oppo, one L** P***** , remarked in a quavering voice that the piles of light sticks were attracting animals. He always spoke in a quavering voice but in the dark it was spooky.
"Don't be daft" I replied. "The cyalume markers are Infra Red. They can't see them" I looked around and saw the dark shapes of animals slowly approaching the DZ as if in a trance. Soon we were surrounded by a niffy flock of sheep all gazing at the piles of light sticks.
"They must have IR vision" he said
"Not for long" I replied, "There will be a 1 ton box arrive in the middle of this lot in 10 mins!"
If the farmer had seen us just then, chasing sheep over the tufty grass hillside he might have reached the wrong conclusion. As if on cue a landrover left the farm and approached.
"Hey, youse guys, Your drop is cancelled" shouted a voice in the dark.
"OK" we said. "We best pick up the cyalumes"
"Have you got the goggs L**?"
"I thought you had them.....We can always catch a sheep" he said
The markers may still be there.
"Don't be daft" I replied. "The cyalume markers are Infra Red. They can't see them" I looked around and saw the dark shapes of animals slowly approaching the DZ as if in a trance. Soon we were surrounded by a niffy flock of sheep all gazing at the piles of light sticks.
"They must have IR vision" he said
"Not for long" I replied, "There will be a 1 ton box arrive in the middle of this lot in 10 mins!"
If the farmer had seen us just then, chasing sheep over the tufty grass hillside he might have reached the wrong conclusion. As if on cue a landrover left the farm and approached.
"Hey, youse guys, Your drop is cancelled" shouted a voice in the dark.
"OK" we said. "We best pick up the cyalumes"
"Have you got the goggs L**?"
"I thought you had them.....We can always catch a sheep" he said
The markers may still be there.
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My 'Iced up Albert' tale derives from Minsk in Belarus - specifically Minsk 2.
Albert had picked up the Conventional Forces Europe / Open Skies Treaty flights from the Andover force after the latter had had some sort of 'diplomatic incident'.
Cue us arriving at Albert the morning after the night before to find the airframe completely iced up. The OAT was well below zero although I think the rather large quantities of Столи́чная (Stolichnaya) that we'd consumed courtesy of our Hosts went a long way to keeping us ice free!
The Eng requested a de-ice and (I am quite sure) expected a liquid spray as found in other cold parts of the world, but no....
Along comes an old Ural truck with an extending gantry on the load bed. At the end of the gantry is a wild eyed Belorussian looking like something out of 'Mad Max' sitting next to a jet engine that rather looked like it was one of Frank Whittle's originals. He then used said jet engine exhaust to de-ice albert.
It didn't half shake the aircraft!
I have a vague memory that in the 1960's the RAF tried a similar technique to de-ice runways, and mounted an old jet turbine on the back of a truck angled slightly down and drove along hopefully melting the snow and ice from the runway and blowing it away.
Can anyone shed any further light on this?
Can anyone shed any further light on this?
I have a vague memory that in the 1960's the RAF tried a similar technique to de-ice runways, and mounted an old jet turbine on the back of a truck angled slightly down and drove along hopefully melting the snow and ice from the runway and blowing it away.
Can anyone shed any further light on this?
Can anyone shed any further light on this?
I know, I know - hat, coat, door.
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Bingo ... That would be the MRD
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More here ...
http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...clearance.html
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More here ...
http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...clearance.html