Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules
DD,
you have a reply.
you have a reply.
My month in Nellis came about in an odd way. I was in ASI on the tanking det when Ops asked me to call in and take a phone call from the squadron. It was one of the Flt Cdrs asking if I would like a month away on an exercise det. He would not tell me where until I said YES ! Well in for a penny, I said Yes thinking it would be the usual Norway winter det. Turned out the job was the AT one at Nellis during Red Flag.
I was to deal with the AT a/c routing through Nellis (Herc) and Macarran Intl (VC 10 and Tristar). This would cause some 'fun' when a/c would pitch up at the same time at the different airfields. I was booked into a hotel just off the strip and given a car. I managed to get Mrs aa out indulgence on the VC 10 that took me out.
Due to a late decision by MOD to participate in Red Flag it was all fairly chaotic.
Some of the munitions were still on the high seas, the chaff stuck in a railway siding etc. You get the picture. Add to this the usual a/c delays en route to Nellis (fast jet and the 'K') and you can understand why I worked 16 days non stop at the beginning. As things settled down to normal chaos I had two days off to do the sights including Death Valley on the coldest wettest day they had for years. To be continued.
I was to deal with the AT a/c routing through Nellis (Herc) and Macarran Intl (VC 10 and Tristar). This would cause some 'fun' when a/c would pitch up at the same time at the different airfields. I was booked into a hotel just off the strip and given a car. I managed to get Mrs aa out indulgence on the VC 10 that took me out.
Due to a late decision by MOD to participate in Red Flag it was all fairly chaotic.
Some of the munitions were still on the high seas, the chaff stuck in a railway siding etc. You get the picture. Add to this the usual a/c delays en route to Nellis (fast jet and the 'K') and you can understand why I worked 16 days non stop at the beginning. As things settled down to normal chaos I had two days off to do the sights including Death Valley on the coldest wettest day they had for years. To be continued.
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Smudge
Your memory is fine and it does sound as though you are indeed describing the Rio, seen in the 6 o'clock of the picture in #1339. Not to be missed is the Voodoo Lounge in the same hotel and the rooms are all suites. Sundowners in the Voodoo Lounge is an absolute must and, before City Centre was built, it had the very best view of the strip available. First went to Vegas in '87 from Goose and haven't missed a year since ....... Well you either love it or hate it.
Your memory is fine and it does sound as though you are indeed describing the Rio, seen in the 6 o'clock of the picture in #1339. Not to be missed is the Voodoo Lounge in the same hotel and the rooms are all suites. Sundowners in the Voodoo Lounge is an absolute must and, before City Centre was built, it had the very best view of the strip available. First went to Vegas in '87 from Goose and haven't missed a year since ....... Well you either love it or hate it.
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Don't know about anyone else, I SO wish I'd had a digital camera for all those years - or even an iPhone camera!
I have nothing on Red Flag at all - we took the Buccaneers out in 1977 and nary a piccy.
I have nothing on Red Flag at all - we took the Buccaneers out in 1977 and nary a piccy.
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Dengue_Dude's demise (virtual)
So no confusion is caused, my alter-ego Dengue_Dude is gone from today. 
He (me) is replaced by the person I've been for the other 64 years, anonymity is no longer required.
I'm only saying it here as this is where I comment most of all.
He (me) is replaced by the person I've been for the other 64 years, anonymity is no longer required.
I'm only saying it here as this is where I comment most of all.
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DD ... Not to worry 
If people feel restricted in only having B&W or faded colour prints (even from a Kodak Instamatic ... remember those) and no scanner ... please shout as there are a few of us I'm sure who would be only too glad to help
If people feel restricted in only having B&W or faded colour prints (even from a Kodak Instamatic ... remember those) and no scanner ... please shout as there are a few of us I'm sure who would be only too glad to help
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It's not so much a case of only having B&W photos but more a case of not having any photos from those times. I am like many on here and wish I had taken my camera and used it far more than I did when I was down route
I have just returned from a holiday in Gib and reckon I took as many photos in those 10 days as I did in my entire 3 year tour.
I have just returned from a holiday in Gib and reckon I took as many photos in those 10 days as I did in my entire 3 year tour.
TBT,
Thanks for that, it's weird how memory works, the Rio came to mind as I was typing the post, hence the mention, but your post confirms the location Thankyou.
DD, Coff and Nov 4,
Like you, I failed in the photography department, and those I took have gone astray it seems. The ones I can find are full of people, who may not want their mugshots on the web. I must admit that when I took photographs it was for the memory of some of the great people the K fleet was blessed with.
Now, can anyone tell me where the longest piece of continuous, unterminated wire was fitted on Albert. Perhaps part of a trivia quiz.
Smudge
Thanks for that, it's weird how memory works, the Rio came to mind as I was typing the post, hence the mention, but your post confirms the location Thankyou.
DD, Coff and Nov 4,
Like you, I failed in the photography department, and those I took have gone astray it seems. The ones I can find are full of people, who may not want their mugshots on the web. I must admit that when I took photographs it was for the memory of some of the great people the K fleet was blessed with.
Now, can anyone tell me where the longest piece of continuous, unterminated wire was fitted on Albert. Perhaps part of a trivia quiz.
Smudge
Ahh, Bingofuel,
Spot on, please tell me you were never a copilot. I understand the genny field winding wasn't far short of several miles, the buggers were heavy enough. While we are waiting for the Red Flag and other pics, any other Albert "isms" worthy of challenge ? Perhaps our two winged operators could explain where they could get a "meal and a drink" from the instrument panel (according to rumour)!
Smudge
Spot on, please tell me you were never a copilot
. I understand the genny field winding wasn't far short of several miles, the buggers were heavy enough. While we are waiting for the Red Flag and other pics, any other Albert "isms" worthy of challenge ? Perhaps our two winged operators could explain where they could get a "meal and a drink" from the instrument panel (according to rumour)!Smudge
The alcohol and the pea in the slip ball!!!!
Easy!
So, what was the 'Phenolic Scraper' used for? (Think this question originated from Ginge the GE, but not 100%!)
Easy!
So, what was the 'Phenolic Scraper' used for? (Think this question originated from Ginge the GE, but not 100%!)
My Red Flag det continued. So life went on with the usual amount of incidents.
One of my jobs was to obtain Jetplans (remember those ?) for the 'shinies'.
My TORs said I was to get them from Brize. After the first abortive attempts I decided to deal with AOS ? our flight watch agents in San Francisco. Perfect service.
I got a 'wingegram' from group so rang them up and explained the real facts of life 'out west'. I also pointed out that scheduling a Herc and a 'shiny' into different airfields at the same time was not a good idea as I could not be in two places at once. When that occurred I would see to the Herc first. This was not mere Herc preference but common sense. The VC10/Tristar had the benefit of an appointed handling agent geared up to deal with 'airliners'. The Herc was dependent on the very stretched USAF facilities. Besides the Herc as often as not carried DAC so would be parked light years away in the sin bin. One dark night the crew coach driver got lost, and said later that he had never been so far out on Nellis.
I would meet the a/c take the crew to ops, ALM to inflight, and do a BX run.
Put them in the transport to Las Vegas and follow to ensure that everything was OK at the hotel. There were some very long days if more than one a/c pitched up.
My wife meanwhile was learning how the USA selected the sprinters for their Olympic team. The amount of time that the pedestrian green light was on was usually insufficient to allow leisurely crossing of their wide roads.
In typical Darwin fashion the survivors were obviously the right stuff to become Olympic sprinters! More next time.
One of my jobs was to obtain Jetplans (remember those ?) for the 'shinies'.
My TORs said I was to get them from Brize. After the first abortive attempts I decided to deal with AOS ? our flight watch agents in San Francisco. Perfect service.
I got a 'wingegram' from group so rang them up and explained the real facts of life 'out west'. I also pointed out that scheduling a Herc and a 'shiny' into different airfields at the same time was not a good idea as I could not be in two places at once. When that occurred I would see to the Herc first. This was not mere Herc preference but common sense. The VC10/Tristar had the benefit of an appointed handling agent geared up to deal with 'airliners'. The Herc was dependent on the very stretched USAF facilities. Besides the Herc as often as not carried DAC so would be parked light years away in the sin bin. One dark night the crew coach driver got lost, and said later that he had never been so far out on Nellis.
I would meet the a/c take the crew to ops, ALM to inflight, and do a BX run.
Put them in the transport to Las Vegas and follow to ensure that everything was OK at the hotel. There were some very long days if more than one a/c pitched up.
My wife meanwhile was learning how the USA selected the sprinters for their Olympic team. The amount of time that the pedestrian green light was on was usually insufficient to allow leisurely crossing of their wide roads.
In typical Darwin fashion the survivors were obviously the right stuff to become Olympic sprinters! More next time.
Not a pic of Red Flag (I did not take a camera) but taken from the VC10 on the way home from Nellis I think. It is much easier in this digital camera/phone age to carry one about and snap away.
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DCT
The phenolic scraper was a piece of bakelite type plastic, used for scraping paint. It was thus, to stop causing flaking of the metal on the elevator mass balance horn, which contained.......depleted uranium
I think
C130K 81-97
The phenolic scraper was a piece of bakelite type plastic, used for scraping paint. It was thus, to stop causing flaking of the metal on the elevator mass balance horn, which contained.......depleted uranium
I think
C130K 81-97
Red flag of course must have been a magic detachment. Only really good GEs were ever sent, hence my never doing the detachment. What I did enjoy about Albert though was wherever you went, unlike the 10, Tri et al, we never went anywhere very fast, and often enjoyed some out of the way places on the way. As we have already seen from the posts to date, even "way back when", the fleet operated out of some remote airfields and strips. And were probably seen by government as great ambassadors for Great Britain. For myself, as non aircrew, my greatest joy in the 5000+ hours I managed to clock up as a GE (mostly operating my hammock), I will always remember climbing through cloud out of Lyneham on an early winter morning, and finding the sun and beautiful clear blue skies above. Standing in the para door porthole, with a cup of coffee seeing that made my day every time. I bet there are plenty of K photographs to come, taken in many locations. Let's be having them chaps, and if anyone captured that early morning sun, please post it. As a second thought, I can only be jealous of those that had a seat at the front rather than the para door, but I knew my place
Smudge
Smudge
Last edited by smujsmith; 5th Sep 2014 at 19:22.