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I should have mentioned that in some of the more hostile locations the C130's would feel like they were going vertical after taking off. They supposedly did this to avoid the risk of random ground fire. It was like being on a roller coaster. Scary and fun at the same time.
 
Bongo Lewi said:
I should have mentioned that in some of the more hostile locations the C130's would feel like they were going vertical after taking off. They supposedly did this to avoid the risk of random ground fire. It was like being on a roller coaster. Scary and fun at the same time.
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Did they use the "JATOs?"
 
Racer88 said:
Did they use the "JATOs?"
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I dont recall ever seeing those. I've seen the videos though. I presume those were used in combat zones where there's a constant threat of ground fire. In my case it was less intense. Now and then people on the ground would shoot at the planes as they took off. North Africa, where I spent a lot of time, is pretty much lawless chaos. Crazy people everywhere. Paramilitary groups, cities under permanent marshal law enforced by military troops, armed tribals. It's insane.

I flew from Tunisia to Naples on C130s quite a few times. Also in and out of Wadi Seidna, which was pretty sketchy. Sudan is a shit show of violence. The only thing more dangerous than the flight in or out was hoping you didn't get intercepted on the way to Khartoum and back. We were evacuating Brit and American nationals.
 
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Bongo Lewi said:
There's an 'upper deck' in some of them that kind of resembles a no frills airliner. I dont know if they all have that but in addition to the cargo it can haul a lot of personnel too. I'd guess about 50 or so. A smaller space with cots too. And crappers!

I would try to get on military transport any time I could. I found the flight more comfortable than commercial airliners. Uncle Sam doesn't pay for first class on commercial unless you are a Big Mahoff. C130s didn't have a the same creature comforts and were noisier. But the hops were usually shorter. Even so, it beat the hassle of airports and sitting in coach with the cattle. Especially in Europe. The carriers jam passengers in even tighter than in the US.
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In late 1982 I flew in a C130 from Masirah Oman to Diego Garcia, hunched in the jump seats against the bulkhead, and then in a C5 to Clark in the P.I. The C5 was luxurius compared to the C130, and yes, it had an airliner upper deck. Just getting into the C5 is a climb, and then getting to the upper deck is another long climb.
 
We lived near Travis AFB, and they had those glorious C5's galore. They had such a unique sound to them with that whine- I had a AF guy tell me one day that they'd changed/upgraded the programming in the superchargers, which mitigated much of that signature whine. To think one of those monsters, esp full of armor as BL pointed-out, can even get off the ground is just amazing.
 
Did anybody get to see the Blue Angels' airshow display where they had their own C130 with JATO, and did a demonstration take-off with those? Absolutely stunning!!
 
Saw that in-person some time ago and it left a permanent impression!!! That's da one!
 
Random snip from FB, I think...

skyhook21.JPG
 
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Racer88 said:
I don't recall, it's been so long. But here's a video from YT:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHOvoO-6nWQ
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I hitched a ride in a few C130s but never in one that had the rocket assist. Even without, they can climb really fast. It's a little unsettling the first time. You feel like you are suddenly going vertical as soon as the wheels are off the ground but it's not quite that steep of an angle.
 
How bout landing a C-130 on a carrier?

Impossible you say?
No arrested landing.
No catapult launch.

Lt. Flatley did it over 20 times to test the feasibility of it. Won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.

After proving it could be done, the Navy deemed it too risky.
The C-130 is the largest and heaviest aircraft to ever land and take off from a carrier.

Love the nose art, "Look Ma, No Hook". 😜


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5AI3YSV3M
 
no4mk1t said:
How bout landing a C-130 on a carrier?

Impossible you say?
No arrested landing.
No catapult launch.

Lt. Flatley did it over 20 times to test the feasibility of it. Won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.

After proving it could be done, the Navy deemed it too risky.
The C-130 is the largest and heaviest aircraft to ever land and take off from a carrier.

Love the nose art, "Look Ma, No Hook". 😜


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5AI3YSV3M
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Not only extremely risky (to the C-130 crew), but utterly impractical, as they had to clear the flight deck of any other aircraft. So, sure... it can land / take-off, but when is a carrier ever OPERATIONAL at sea without a flight deck FULL of other aircraft?

But cool just to see if it could be done!
 
Growing up in the thumb of Michigan we would quite often get to see the fighter jets flying low and fast trying to evade the radar in Port Austin. Every once in awhile one or two of them would come through fast enough to create a sonic boom as they went over. Don't ask me what jets they were as I had no idea then. Late 70s into the early 80s before they shut down the radar.
 
Curmudgeon said:
Growing up in the thumb of Michigan we would quite often get to see the fighter jets flying low and fast trying to evade the radar in Port Austin. Every once in awhile one or two of them would come through fast enough to create a sonic boom as they went over. Don't ask me what jets they were as I had no idea then. Late 70s into the early 80s before they shut down the radar.
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It's been illegal (FAA) to fly supersonic over the entire continental USA since 1973 for civilian aircraft. Military are exempt over designated (usually unpopulated) areas.

Flying low might evade some radar. But supersonic flight does not evade radar.

I suspect they were not sonic booms. But when subsonic / trans-sonic military jets fly low over you, it is very loud. They'll do that at airshows. It scares the crap out of the audience!
 
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Racer88 said:
It's been illegal (FAA) to fly supersonic over the entire continental USA since 1973 for civilian aircraft. Military are exempt over designated (usually unpopulated) areas.

Flying low might evade some radar. But supersonic flight does not evade radar.

I suspect they were not sonic booms. But when subsonic / trans-sonic military jets fly low over you, it is very loud. They'll do that at airshows. It scares the crap out of the audience!
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They were always causing sonic booms but they did occasionally. There were definite "booms" that were separate from the jet engine scream and roar as they went through. And I will agree that they can scare the crap out of you when you are sitting in a quiet spot and they come screaming over you unannounced.
 
Curmudgeon said:
They were always causing sonic booms but they did occasionally. There were definite "booms" that were separate from the jet engine scream and roar as they went through. And I will agree that they can scare the crap out of you when you are sitting in a quiet spot and they come screaming over you unannounced.
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At supersonic speeds, you don't hear them at all as they approach and go over or by your position. It's actually entirely silent until AFTER they pass your position. After they pass, you hear a crack / BANG and then a roar AFTER they've passed you. You don't hear a roar as they approach or go over / by you.

A supersonic flyby of my aircraft carrier would actually send a shudder / vibration through the ship. We could hear / feel it below-decks. But I was up ON the flight deck for several supersonic flybys. It's pretty cool. And you DEFINITELY want hearing protection.

Here's a video (not mine):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOJ6yApmujg
 
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I recall hearing a couple of sonic booms when I was a kid. Military jets flying by. I thought it was cool.
 
Bongo Lewi said:
I recall hearing a couple of sonic booms when I was a kid. Military jets flying by. I thought it was cool.
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+1 here. “Those were the days…” lol

And while they are as of 1973 deemed illegal over US doesn’t mean they haven’t happened since then….
 
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