Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules
A week in Belize?
A cracking thread, chaps. Time for a few dits…
February 1985. A supposedly standard Belize schedule left Lyneham on the 19th, the crew a mixed bag from 47 and LXX, captain C***s K*******d. Flag Kef for Gander, night-stop. Flag Dulles for Belize on the 20th. On arrival we were met by the Air Commodore, very unusual (was “Air Commander” his post? Can’t remember).
Air Cdre: “Go straight to the accommodation, don’t drink, don’t leave, can’t tell you any more, wait”.
Next morning:
Air Cdre: “Don’t drink, don’t leave, wait”.
This became a very repetitive procedure. After a couple of days Skipper managed to persuade His Airship to put us on 12 hr standby (joyous we were, for a fairly obvious reason
). He also got permission for the Eng and Loady to check the ‘frame once every 24 hrs, not unreasonably. Up at the camp there was a source of cheap booze (can’t remember what it was called - EFI?). Eng and Loady came back from their checks with a re-supply every day. Now the Loady was the famous J***y H***s; his room became a very well-stocked bar. To this day I remember we called it “The 109 Club” (his room number in the Fort George). The room became popular with some Canadian tourists we got friendly with.
On the sixth night we were told “Thanks chaps, pick up your schedule tomorrow morning”. We were never told why we were held there. Perhaps it had something to do with rumblings in the Turks and Caicos Islands prior to the suspension of the Constitution in 1986, or uncertainty surrounding public order in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba getting independence from The Netherlands on the 21st? Any well-informed comments or better guesses from anyone?
VS
February 1985. A supposedly standard Belize schedule left Lyneham on the 19th, the crew a mixed bag from 47 and LXX, captain C***s K*******d. Flag Kef for Gander, night-stop. Flag Dulles for Belize on the 20th. On arrival we were met by the Air Commodore, very unusual (was “Air Commander” his post? Can’t remember).
Air Cdre: “Go straight to the accommodation, don’t drink, don’t leave, can’t tell you any more, wait”.
Next morning:
Air Cdre: “Don’t drink, don’t leave, wait”.
This became a very repetitive procedure. After a couple of days Skipper managed to persuade His Airship to put us on 12 hr standby (joyous we were, for a fairly obvious reason
). He also got permission for the Eng and Loady to check the ‘frame once every 24 hrs, not unreasonably. Up at the camp there was a source of cheap booze (can’t remember what it was called - EFI?). Eng and Loady came back from their checks with a re-supply every day. Now the Loady was the famous J***y H***s; his room became a very well-stocked bar. To this day I remember we called it “The 109 Club” (his room number in the Fort George). The room became popular with some Canadian tourists we got friendly with.On the sixth night we were told “Thanks chaps, pick up your schedule tomorrow morning”. We were never told why we were held there. Perhaps it had something to do with rumblings in the Turks and Caicos Islands prior to the suspension of the Constitution in 1986, or uncertainty surrounding public order in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba getting independence from The Netherlands on the 21st? Any well-informed comments or better guesses from anyone?
VS
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Four Square Meals?
If my memory serves me correctly.
Regulations came out where you could only have a maximum of four meals in one day, whether that is on the ground or airborne.
So if you wanted breakfast in your hotel in Newfoundland and dinner at your hotel in Belize, then you could only have two meals airborne. Bearing in mind that these meals were in the form of a cash allowance and it was yours to do as you wished, then some got greedy and wanted the lunch allowance in dollars when we landed at Washington DC.
That meant having to go a whole day with just one main meal allowance in the air, difficult even with a culinarily creative loadmaster; when crew members complained of being hungry I told them to eat their dollars as they couldn’t have it both ways!
I seem to remember that the rule eventually got changed, and you had to be on the ground over 3 hours to qualify.
Albert's Safari
Kilwhang’s tale at #3126 and #3132 reminded me of a saga from 1998. A captain on 47 was about to leave the Service and join one of the long-haul fleets. He managed to get a decent trip out of Task Plans (Lye to Darwin and back, supporting an E-3 exercise), and managed to persuade the Sqn to give it to him as a swan-song. In Flt Planning on Day 1 the crew met, and an RAAF Flt Lt Snowdrop-equivalent was introduced. He was on Long Look at Innsworth and had got wind of the trip, and as his family were in Darwin he sought and got a seat and a bonus mid-tour trip home.
By the time we got to Darwin we’d got to know this chap quite well, and the Captain had let slip that he had always wanted to see crocodiles – just like the ones in Kakadu Natl Park, just “down the road” from Darwin. You can see where this is going
The Aussie had explained the booking and comms procedures for flying through Kakadu, so on the morning of departure we filed VFR-to-IFR from Darwin to Singapore. The Captain ensured that we had gassed-up for some time ‘on top’ Kakadu and then pick up the task. Once airborne the skipper had a quick chat off-headset with our guest, then came back on and asked how long to Kakadu.
“Forty minutes that way”.
“By road? What’s our ETA?”.
“Forty minutes that way”.
“Oh $#1t”.
He really hadn’t appreciated how far “just down the road” the park was. We had enough gas to get there and have just under an hour on-top, then climbed out and picked up the IFR Flt Plan. How many crocodiles did he see? Not a single one!
To this day no-one at Ascot Ops has asked why it took 2 hrs longer than usual to get to Singapore 
By the time we got to Darwin we’d got to know this chap quite well, and the Captain had let slip that he had always wanted to see crocodiles – just like the ones in Kakadu Natl Park, just “down the road” from Darwin. You can see where this is going
The Aussie had explained the booking and comms procedures for flying through Kakadu, so on the morning of departure we filed VFR-to-IFR from Darwin to Singapore. The Captain ensured that we had gassed-up for some time ‘on top’ Kakadu and then pick up the task. Once airborne the skipper had a quick chat off-headset with our guest, then came back on and asked how long to Kakadu.
“Forty minutes that way”.
“By road? What’s our ETA?”.
“Forty minutes that way”.
“Oh $#1t”.
He really hadn’t appreciated how far “just down the road” the park was. We had enough gas to get there and have just under an hour on-top, then climbed out and picked up the IFR Flt Plan. How many crocodiles did he see? Not a single one!
To this day no-one at Ascot Ops has asked why it took 2 hrs longer than usual to get to Singapore
Last edited by Vasco Sodcat; 7th Aug 2015 at 12:32. Reason: add title and then spell it correctly! D'Oh!
Isaneng,
That rings a few bells, Columbo, was that the trip where it was discovered that the 25p a litre, locally made gin was the perfect accompaniment to the local roadkill chicken ? I remember being woken in the foyer, as the taxi arrived, but not falling out of my hammock. I will respect your better memory and agree not to disagree on the hammock incident. I'm awaiting being drummed out of the worshipful company of roof danglers, now I have admitted this. I rather suspect that my fellow GE J**n He***s was also on that trip, he often led me astray.
Best
Smudge
That rings a few bells, Columbo, was that the trip where it was discovered that the 25p a litre, locally made gin was the perfect accompaniment to the local roadkill chicken ? I remember being woken in the foyer, as the taxi arrived, but not falling out of my hammock. I will respect your better memory and agree not to disagree on the hammock incident. I'm awaiting being drummed out of the worshipful company of roof danglers, now I have admitted this. I rather suspect that my fellow GE J**n He***s was also on that trip, he often led me astray.
Best
Smudge
All this G/E talk has reminded me that on 48 at Changi we had 2 US civilians attached to the squadron - one was the Lockheed rep' and the other the Allison rep', and they sometimes came en-route with us, particularly to Kai Tak where I guess they liaised with HAECO.
I wonder if there were any reps' attached to Thorney, Fairford and Lyneham in the early days?
I wonder if there were any reps' attached to Thorney, Fairford and Lyneham in the early days?
Brian 48Nav,
Not sure about those you mentioned, but, the "Lockheed Rep" at Colerne, when I arrived in 1971 was a great big Texan I believe. I can't remember his name (though Jim comes to mind) but he wore Cowboy boots and a large white Stetson. At Christmas he, on behalf of Lockheed, took both of the Base 3 (Major servicing) Teams to a great place in Bristol and feted us to all we could eat and drink. I'm sure he did the same for the other teams. Such events stopped pretty quickly once the Lockheed reps were withdrawn and Marshalls of Cambridge provided the civilian link. Hope that helps.
Smudge
Not sure about those you mentioned, but, the "Lockheed Rep" at Colerne, when I arrived in 1971 was a great big Texan I believe. I can't remember his name (though Jim comes to mind) but he wore Cowboy boots and a large white Stetson. At Christmas he, on behalf of Lockheed, took both of the Base 3 (Major servicing) Teams to a great place in Bristol and feted us to all we could eat and drink. I'm sure he did the same for the other teams. Such events stopped pretty quickly once the Lockheed reps were withdrawn and Marshalls of Cambridge provided the civilian link. Hope that helps.
Smudge
American reps at Colerne
The big Texan fellow that smudge referred to was (during my time on Blue Team '67 -'70) Fred Heymeyer from Lockheed. The Allison rep was also a Fred - Halloran.
This latter gent was a really nice, quietly-mannered character who did not, in any way, appreciate being on the flight deck when we carried out our post-inspection ground runs, usually making his excuses and suddenly remembering that he had a pressing job to do in his office!
He was also horrified that we didn't use a safety chain suspended from the crane hook and wrapped around the underside of the power plant when carrying out an engine change. None of us had ever heard of this - and it was not, to my knowledge, in any technical manual - apparently, Fred had previously experienced (somewhere on a USAF base, states-side) the sight of an engine with a flat portion on the bottom after the forward slinging point threads had ripped out of the reduction gearbox during this procedure!
This latter gent was a really nice, quietly-mannered character who did not, in any way, appreciate being on the flight deck when we carried out our post-inspection ground runs, usually making his excuses and suddenly remembering that he had a pressing job to do in his office!
He was also horrified that we didn't use a safety chain suspended from the crane hook and wrapped around the underside of the power plant when carrying out an engine change. None of us had ever heard of this - and it was not, to my knowledge, in any technical manual - apparently, Fred had previously experienced (somewhere on a USAF base, states-side) the sight of an engine with a flat portion on the bottom after the forward slinging point threads had ripped out of the reduction gearbox during this procedure!
Alcazares,
if I had seen this 'G/E emulation' pic before your ACR write up may have been very different ! Hope you are coping well with the heat in your part of the world.
if I had seen this 'G/E emulation' pic before your ACR write up may have been very different ! Hope you are coping well with the heat in your part of the world.
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Another week in Belize
We were requested to do some drops to the West Indies Guard Ship (WIGS) while she was at sea catching drug smugglers. You can stay in Belize till you are called forward they said. The mission wasn't at all tiresome and we duly launched to do the resupply of 4 x 1Ton containers. The procedure required the ship to sail into wind while we ran in from the downwind side at 300ft and the 1 ton loads would be dropped individually at 50 yards off the starboard side. After the second pass the ships captain said "We are getting miles away from our station. Can you drop off our starboard side if we are going astern? Then we can pick up all the loads in a smaller space"
"Never tried it. Give it a go"
It's a bit unnerving seeing one of HM Ships steaming backwards towards you as you run in. It all seemed to go OK though.
"Never tried it. Give it a go"
It's a bit unnerving seeing one of HM Ships steaming backwards towards you as you run in. It all seemed to go OK though.
Last edited by Dougie M; 9th Aug 2015 at 14:05. Reason: procedures
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Because we were there for a week, Rudy got us set up in the Holiday Hotel on Ambergris Cay. The view from my room is below. After several days of Supercharged pina coladas and fresh lobster cooked on the beach over coconut shell fires it was very difficult to return to RAF Goatacre.
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Great pic of the Navy in reverse Doug
Mind you these days I suspect the 'Elf-n-Safety' bod would insist on some kind of audio warning to be sounded ... "Beep Beep ... Caution Government Vehicle Reversing ... Beep Beep"
Mind you these days I suspect the 'Elf-n-Safety' bod would insist on some kind of audio warning to be sounded ... "Beep Beep ... Caution Government Vehicle Reversing ... Beep Beep"
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UK Maintenance Support
Our GEs v the Rest.
Back out in California, we were returning to El Centro and whilst taxying back in a drainage grid tore up two mainwheel tyres on the left side. Now we had one spare but the GE insisted that the other one was not serviceable. We were required to fly the following day so we did a quick survey of likely C130 bases and found that the Air National Guard at Van Nuys Burbank (Hollywood) had a pretty good stores set up. "Got any mainwheels?" we asked
"Sure"
"Can we borrow one?"
"Okayyyyy"
So we loaded up the hire car (for transit requirements) and boogied off to Van Nuys. The Maintenance team there were very wary of the "loan" of a wheel. The width was narrower than ours and tyre pressures were different, also they needed a "wheel change team" who weren't available. Our GE just said "Stand Back" and on his own loosened all the bolts, jacked up the beast, snuck inside the gear bay and shoved the wheel off. "The new one goes on there" he said. The Spams were all mightily impressed and in awe of the expertise. In recompense we also borrowed some engine instruments and other parts for the beast. A very good night stop in downtown Burbank ensued. The only snag was when we refuelled the hire car there which raised eyebrows when it was returned to the agency on leaving El Centro.
"You gassed this thing up in Burbank and there's only 400 miles on the odometer for two weeks!"
Back out in California, we were returning to El Centro and whilst taxying back in a drainage grid tore up two mainwheel tyres on the left side. Now we had one spare but the GE insisted that the other one was not serviceable. We were required to fly the following day so we did a quick survey of likely C130 bases and found that the Air National Guard at Van Nuys Burbank (Hollywood) had a pretty good stores set up. "Got any mainwheels?" we asked
"Sure"
"Can we borrow one?"
"Okayyyyy"
So we loaded up the hire car (for transit requirements) and boogied off to Van Nuys. The Maintenance team there were very wary of the "loan" of a wheel. The width was narrower than ours and tyre pressures were different, also they needed a "wheel change team" who weren't available. Our GE just said "Stand Back" and on his own loosened all the bolts, jacked up the beast, snuck inside the gear bay and shoved the wheel off. "The new one goes on there" he said. The Spams were all mightily impressed and in awe of the expertise. In recompense we also borrowed some engine instruments and other parts for the beast. A very good night stop in downtown Burbank ensued. The only snag was when we refuelled the hire car there which raised eyebrows when it was returned to the agency on leaving El Centro.
"You gassed this thing up in Burbank and there's only 400 miles on the odometer for two weeks!"
Last edited by Dougie M; 12th Aug 2015 at 13:20.
Ahh Doug,
El Centro ! Now my one visit to the place included a night stop March AFB as I recall, for "technical" reasons. Despite there being no indications of imminent failure of either primary or secondary hammock retention devices. I also managed to note that neither beer, food nor stripper quality had improved on the offerings that the Imperial valley had to offer. No doubt one of my seniors and betters in the "front row" had decided that my life would be bettered by this visit. I only found out that we had gone there for "technical" reasons when I was asked why I had failed to submit an Eng Rep, for the diversion from planned itinerary. I denied any knowledge of geography and stated that one USAF base looks like any other, including USN bases. Though I did note the Blue Angels were conspicuous by their absence.
Meanwhile, on return I remember the seminal moment of the detachment when a Pathfinder Cpl had serious problems with his HALO when his main chute wrapped itself around him on deployment. I was stood next to one of the Falcs, who said "Smudge, look away now". I didn't, I couldn't and I watched the lad struggle to emerge from his tangle, cut away and deploy his reserve. The reserve went pop, he had one swing and hit the ground. A sprained ankle, he was back on Albert 2 days later. As a result of seeing that, I was even more convinced that Hammocks, not parachutes, were the way forward. And I'm still here, to justify that belief.
Smudge
El Centro ! Now my one visit to the place included a night stop March AFB as I recall, for "technical" reasons. Despite there being no indications of imminent failure of either primary or secondary hammock retention devices. I also managed to note that neither beer, food nor stripper quality had improved on the offerings that the Imperial valley had to offer. No doubt one of my seniors and betters in the "front row" had decided that my life would be bettered by this visit. I only found out that we had gone there for "technical" reasons when I was asked why I had failed to submit an Eng Rep, for the diversion from planned itinerary. I denied any knowledge of geography and stated that one USAF base looks like any other, including USN bases. Though I did note the Blue Angels were conspicuous by their absence.
Meanwhile, on return I remember the seminal moment of the detachment when a Pathfinder Cpl had serious problems with his HALO when his main chute wrapped itself around him on deployment. I was stood next to one of the Falcs, who said "Smudge, look away now". I didn't, I couldn't and I watched the lad struggle to emerge from his tangle, cut away and deploy his reserve. The reserve went pop, he had one swing and hit the ground. A sprained ankle, he was back on Albert 2 days later. As a result of seeing that, I was even more convinced that Hammocks, not parachutes, were the way forward. And I'm still here, to justify that belief.
Smudge
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Hopefully we'll be hearing from Vasco now he's got the pic posting Gen
Thanks again Doug ... I shudder to think where you're going to take us next after Cockroach Honkers, Reversing Ships along with a rather creative way to clock a Hire Car
Thanks again Doug ... I shudder to think where you're going to take us next after Cockroach Honkers, Reversing Ships along with a rather creative way to clock a Hire Car
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 13th Aug 2015 at 14:49.