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F-35 Flight Test Update Fighter Weapons Instructor Training C-130J To Dyess And C anada The Four Horsemen
Code One Goes Digital
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ur inside front cover article in the Volume 25 Number 1 issue celebrated the magazine’s twenty-five years of publication. In that article, we mentioned that we were putting the final touches on a major redesign for the magazine’s fourteen-year old website, www.codeonemagazine.com. The new site was formally launched on 29 June 2010. What the new homepage looks like, along with some helpful annotations, is shown below. The new site includes historical photos, videos, and other material not included in the print edition. Unlike our old site, the new site contains high-resolution photos. We also launched a Facebook fan site. The easiest way to find it is to log on to Facebook and search for “Code One Magazine.” We have been using the site to alert friends of new and exclusive content. Give us a “Like” when you visit the page. Readers can also be alerted to exclusive content as well as upcoming coverage by following Code One on Twitter. Search for “codeonemagazine” to find us. While our focus hasn’t changed, our methods for bringing you the latest articles, news, and special features about Lockheed Martin aircraft are more immediate and more expansive. We hope you enjoy the new website. We also hope you take advantage of all the new ways we now have to stay in touch.
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2 2 F-35 Flight Test Update
EDITOR
Eric Hehs
AS SOCIATE EDITOR
Jeff Rhodes ART DIRECTOR
Stan Baggett
Lightning II Testing Highlights Through August
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VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS
8 Exercise Combined Strength 2010
Joseph LaMarca, Jr. E XECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION PRESIDENT, AERONAUTIC S COMPANY
C-130J Operators Gather In Scotland
Ralph D. Heath PERSONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Send name, address, and $20 for a one-year subscription (four issues) to PO Box 5189, Brentwood, TN 37024-5189. Foreign subscriptions are $30 (US). Some back issues are available. CONTACT INFORMATION
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Send correspondence to Code One Magazine, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, PO Box 748, Mail Zone 1503, Fort Worth, TX 76101 Editorial office phone number: 817-777-5542 E-mail: eric.hehs@lmco.com Web address: www.codeonemagazine.com Fax: 817-777-8655 Distribution information: 888-883-3780 This publication is intended for information only. Its contents neither replace nor revise any material in official manuals or publications. Copyright © 2010 Lockheed Martin Corporation. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint articles or photographs must be requested in writing from the editor. Code One is a registered trademark of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Code One is published quarterly by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. ISSN 1071-3816 A10-31144
12 F-16 Fighter Weapons Instructor Training
Turning Fighting Falcon Pilots Into Weapons Officers
18 Dyess Delivery
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First Super Hercules Arrives In Texas
20 The Four Horsemen
Yes, There Really Was A C-130 Demo Team
26 Canucks Unlimited Updated
ABOUT THE COVER Front: Pilots from five European nations sharpened their F-16 knowledge at the Fighter Weapons Instructor Training at Leeuwarden AB in the Netherlands during the summer of 2010. FWIT, as the course is called, turns experienced F-16 pilots, usually captains qualified as four-ship flight leads, into weapons officers. Photo by Cristian Schrik Back: The first production C-5M Super Galaxy was flown for the first time on 19 September 2010 from the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia. A company flight crew made the 4.1 hour flight. This image was taken on the aircraft’s second flight on 21 September. Photo by John Rossino
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Canada Begins Super Hercules Operations
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F-35
FLIGHT TEST UPDATE
The previous installment of the F-35 Flight Test Update ended with the first vertical landing of an F-35B on 18 March 2010.
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ince then, US Marine Corps and Lockheed Martin pilots flying the short takeoff/vertical landing version of the F-35 have gone on to complete an additional nine vertical landings, as of 26 August 2010. More than sixty flights have been completed in BF-1, the first F-35B. The F-35B fleet has accumulated over 200 hours of flight time in more than 160 flights. The first carrier-capable version of the F-35, the F-35C, was flown for the first time on 6 June 2010. After completing thirteen more flights, the aircraft, called CF-1, was pulled from the flight schedule for ground vibration testing. It is expected to be in the air again in October. For the conventional takeoff and landing versions, F-35A AF-2 completed its first flight and was ferried with AF-1 to Edwards AFB, California. AF-3, which is equipped with mission systems, also completed its first flight and will soon join the F-35A fleet in California. Overall, twelve company and military pilots are currently qualified to fly the F-35. Fourteen total F-35 pilots have flown over 500 hours on more than 360 flights in the current System Development and Demonstration phase of the program. The F-35 flight envelope has been expanded to 39,000 feet and Mach 1.2. F-35 mission systems continue to be refined in ground-based laboratories and on the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed, a converted 737 that acts as an airborne laboratory. The CATBird, as the unique aircraft is called, has completed more than 130 flights, most of which have been in direct support of mission system testing for the F-35. The flights include deployments for testing at Edwards AFB, California, and Eglin AFB, Florida. (A full feature on CATBird will appear in the next issue of Code One.)
PHOTO BY TOM REYNOLDS
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1 April 2010 AF-1 New Paint AF-1, the first optimized Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II conventional takeoff and landing test aircraft, rolls out of the F-35 Final Finishes Facility sporting a new fin flash paint scheme on its vertical stabilizers. While at the facility, the aircraft also received highly accurate robot-applied coatings. AF-1 was flown twice in 2009 before entering an intensive period of ground testing. Photo By Neal Chapman
7 April 2010 BF-4 First Flight The first F-35 equipped with mission systems, BF-4, is flown for the first time. During the flight from Fort Worth, Texas, Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson climbed to 15,500 feet, verified engine response at varying throttle settings, performed a series of flight-qualities maneuvers, and checked the operation of the aircraft’s mission systems. The F-35’s avionics, or mission systems, process, apply, and transfer data from an array of off-board sensors providing increased situational awareness to the pilot as well as to other air and surface forces. Photo By Carl Richards
20 April 2010 AF-2 First Flight Lockheed Martin test pilot Jeff Knowles is at the controls for the first flight of AF-2. Taking off from NAS Fort Worth JRB, Knowles flies the aircraft to 15,000 feet and performs a series of test points during the one-hour mission, including throttle transients, landing gear cycles, speed brake cycles, and autopilot checks. Photo By Liz Kaszynski
AF-1 Completes Two Flights In One Day Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson flies AF-1 for its third flight. He follows the 1.4-hour morning flight with a 1.5-hour flight in the afternoon. The second flight of the day is the fourth for the aircraft. Photo By Liz Kaszynski
23 April 2010 F-35 ITF Director Completes First F-35 Flight US Air Force pilot Lt. Col. Hank Griffiths, director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards AFB, California, completes his first flight in the F-35. Griffiths performs several test points on the 1.6-hour flight in AF-2 at Fort Worth, Texas. Photo By Fred Clingerman
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27 April 2010 AF-1 Aerial Refuels Lockheed Martin test pilot Jon Beesley completes a 2.5-hour air refueling qualification mission on the eighth flight of AF-1. The mission includes flying quality checks in formation with a KC-135 tanker at 20,000 feet. Beesley performs boom tracking, simulated emergency separations, precision contacts, and disconnects. The boom operator transfers 4,300 pounds of fuel to AF-1 during the flight. Photo By David Drais
4 May 2010 F-35B Flies With Internal Weapons BF-2 is flown with an AIM-120 and GBU-12 during its twenty-fourth test flight. This flight is the first time an F-35B has flown with weapons in its internal weapon bay. Photo By Andy Wolfe
5 May 2010 200th Test Flight The F-35 program logs its 200th test flight when Lockheed Martin lead STOVL pilot Graham Tomlinson takes off in a short takeoff/vertical landing F-35B and flies for forty-four minutes near NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Tomlinson evaluates airframe loads during powered approach with the landing gear down and cycles the landing gear at different speeds and g loads. Photo By Andy Wolfe
11 May 2010 AF-1 And AF-2 Fly Together F-35A AF-1 and AF-2 are flown in tandem during aerial refueling testing in preparation for a ferry flight to Edwards AFB, California. Photo By Tom Reynolds
16 May 2010 More Refueling Tests Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson takes AF-2 through a series of additional aerial refueling tests during its sixteenth flight. The aircraft makes contact with the KC-135 tanker four times. The flight lasts 1.3 hours, and the tanker transfers 3,600 pounds of fuel to AF-2. Photo By Tom Reynolds
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17 May 2010 AF-1 And AF-2 Arrive At Edwards F-35A AF-1 and AF-2 are flown nonstop from Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards AFB, California, signaling an expansion of F-35 flight test operations. The arrival is the first in a series that will increase the Edwards F-35 test fleet to at least eight aircraft. US Air Force pilot Lt. Col. Hank Griffiths and Lockheed Martin test pilot Jon Beesley fly the jets for this first multiship, long-range F-35 flight. While assigned to Edwards, the F-35s will undergo ground and flight test activities, including propulsion tests, aerial refueling, logistical support, weapons integration, and envelope expansion. Photo By David Drais
28 May 2010 CF-1 Completes First Taxi Test Lockheed Martin test pilot Jeff Knowles takes the first F-35C, called CF-1, on its first taxi test in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo By Carl Richards
6 June 2010 F-35C First Flight Lockheed Martin test pilot Jeff Knowles is at the controls for the first flight of CF-1 from NAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas. He takes the first F-35C to 12,000 feet and performs a set of maneuvers to evaluate handling characteristics and throttle transients to evaluate engine performance. At 10,000 feet, Knowles cycles the gear and extends the arresting hook. The aircraft is flown in formation with chase aircraft from 10,000 feet down to 5,000 feet. Knowles flies a simulated approach and waveoff before landing the aircraft. Photo By Carl Richards
7 June 2010 BF-4 Arrives At Pax River The first F-35 equipped with mission systems joins the fleet at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson, BF-4 becomes the fourth F-35 to arrive and begin testing at the Naval Air Systems Command site. Photo By Andy Wolfe
10 June 2010 F-35B Goes Supersonic The F-35B is flown faster than the speed of sound for the first time. The supersonic milestone is achieved on the thirtieth flight of BF-2 as US Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Matt Kelly climbs to 30,000 feet and accelerates to Mach 1.07 near NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Photo By Liz Goattee Vol. 25 No. 2 2010
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22 June 2010 AF-3 Completes Taxi Testing Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti performs the last in a series of taxi tests in AF-3 in preparation for its first flight. Photo By Carl Richards
25 June 2010 BF-1 Completes Fiftieth Test Flight Lockheed Martin lead STOVL pilot Graham Tomlinson completes the fiftieth test flight of BF-1. The flight, from NAS Patuxent River in Maryland, involves several conversions to hover mode. Photo By Andy Wolfe
30 June 2010 BF-1 Completes Second Vertical Landing Lockheed Martin lead STOVL pilot Graham Tomlinson performs a ninety-knot short takeoff in BF-1 on its fiftyfirst flight and completes the second vertical landing. Photo By Phaedra Loftis
6 July 2010 AF-3 First Flight The third conventional takeoff and landing variant, AF-3, completes its first flight. Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti, AF-3 takes off from NAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas. AF-3 is the ninth F-35 to fly and the second test jet to fly with the avionics package that is used in all operational F-35s. Photo By Carl Richards
17 July 2010 CF-1 Completes Airworthiness Testing The first F-35C completes a series of fourteen airworthiness flights and enters a planned downtime for ground vibration tests. Photo By Tom Harvey
20 July 2010 300 F-35 Flights The F-35 flight test program marks the 300th test flight. US Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Matt Kelly completes the 2.7-hour flight in BF-4 from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Photo By Andy Wolfe
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29 July 2010 AF-2 Begins Wet Runway Tests AF-2, with Lockheed Martin test pilot Jeff Knowles as the pilot, begins a series of wet runway tests at Edwards AFB, California. Photo By David Henry
30 July 2010 Two Vertical Landings In Same Day US Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Fred Schenk completes two sorties on BF-1’s fifty-seventh test flight. (Note: A single test flight can have multiple takeoffs and landings.) The flight includes two short takeoffs, one at eighty knots and another at ninety knots, and two vertical landings. Photo By Randy Hepp
CATBird Ferries To Edwards The Cooperative Avionics Test Bed, known as CATBird, is ferried to Edwards AFB, California, for two weeks of mission system testing. The aircraft completes some of its longest flights (more than four hours) at Edwards. Photo By David Henry
21 August 2010 100th Pax River Flight Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson flies BF-3 on the 100th F-35 test flight out of NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Photo By Andy Wolfe
27 August 2010 AF-1 Completes Fifty Flights US Air Force pilot Lt. Col. Hank Griffiths completes the fiftieth test flight for AF-1. The one-hour flight, from Edwards AFB in California, is used to evaluate flying qualities. Photo By David Drais Eric Hehs is the editor of Code One. Editor’s note: The F-35 flight test program continues to make strides. To highlight progress, we will continue to update program milestones in coming issues of the magazine. See www.codeonemagazine.com for a more comprehensive list of F-35 program accomplishments, additional photos, and video clips.
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ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY ANDREW BEAUMONT AND BERRY VISSERS
Nine C-130J transports and thirteen crews from six nations came to RAF Kinloss, Scotland, in May to participate in Exercise Combined Strength, held as part of the regular meeting of the worldwide C-130 J Joint User Group, or JUG. The exercise provides an oppor tunit y for C-130 J operators to display key tenets put for ward in the char ter for the JUG Operations Working Group: identify areas of common operation, share information on procedures, and investigate areas for cooperation. The first Exercise Combined Strength was held in 2004 at the home of the Royal Air Force’s C-130J f leet, R AF Lyneham in Wiltshire, England. The second Combined Strength was held in 2009 at RAAF Richmond near Sydney, although in greatly reduced form. Between the first and second exercises, C-130J operators tended to real-world operations in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and at home. Combined Strength was held at RAF Kinloss because the base in northern Scotland offers large areas of uncongested airspace. R AF Squadron Leader Simon Brew is, chairman of the JUG Operations Working Group and director of Exercise Combined Strength 2010, noted that “RAF Kinloss has
great facilities in terms of being close to unrestricted airspace, a situation clearly different from RAF Lyneham. Because of the many busy civil airfields and the two major London airports not that far away, the airspace at Lyneham is more congested.” Another reason the exercise was moved to Scotland was to accommodate all participants. “This exercise is the largest Combined Strength ever,” continued Brewis, “so we needed a location where we could operate with relative ease and with more freedom than we have at Lyneham. Besides, R AF Kinloss is also the home of the RAF’s maritime patrol fleet, and we could learn a lot RAF Squadron Leader from them.” Simon Brewis Vol. 25 No. 2 2010
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The C-130J units at RAF Lyneham (XXIV and 30 Squadrons) led the exercise with an additional seven aircraft from other international operators, including the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Royal Danish Air Force, and the Italian Air Force. Operators from the United States included a first-time delegation from the US Coast Guard at CGAS Elizabeth C i t y, N o r t h C a r o l i n a . O t h e r U S participants included the 143rd Airlift Wing, the Rhode Island Air National Gu a rd u n it at Quonset Poi nt ; a nd the 37th Airlift Squadron, the United States Air Forces in Europe C-130J squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany. The 37th AS only recently converted fully to the C-130J. The Royal Australian Air Force was set to be the final participant, but their C-130J was stranded in North America because ash spewing from the Icelandic volcano restricted airspace over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe. The newest
C-130J operator, Canada, sent observers to Combined Strength 2010. The exercise lasted five days, with the aircraft and crews arriving on the Friday preceding the start of the exercise. Briefings were carried out during the weekend on low level f light rules, U K a ir t ra f f ic cont rol procedu res, and the overall aims of the exercise. The first sorties were single aircraft fa mi l ia r i z at ion f l ig hts to a l low non-UK crews an opportunity to get used to local air traffic control procedures, as well as to get used to the Scottish terrain with its many valleys and glens. The training objectives of the exercise were comprehensive with both day and night missions planned and carried out. Each mission had a quali f ied U K L ow F ly i ng Sy stem pi lot on board to ensure f light safety considerat ions a nd to ensu re t hat t he crews got as much as possible out of each mission.
The day-to-day coordination of the exercise was the responsibility of the RAF, with Flight Lt. Matt Compton, an aircraft commander with 30 Squadron, leading the flying schedule and mission coordination. The other RAF pilots from XXIV and 30 Squadrons planned each mission route on a mobile version of their planning software, the J Advanced Mission Planning Aid, or JAMPA. JAMPA is the C-130J-specific version of the RAF’s main mission planning software program developed for the R AF’s Harrier and Tornado forces. JAMPA simplifies mission planning and emulates the computers on board the C-130J. The software allows the crews to easi ly t ra nsfer t he mission data straight into the C-130J computers via a data transfer card. Once the route and timings were planned, the route was briefed to the other crews to allow them to plan their missions. RAF pilots noted that these routes were not rigid, but rather flexible
“The purpose of the Operations Working Group and the key area that we are trying to exploit with Exercise Combined Strength is to identify any areas that we operate in common with the other C-130J users.”
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– RAF Squadron Leader Simon Brewis
enough to give crews a point at which to start their missions. Once under way, crews could make realtime changes to the route if needed. Each mission was planned to last approximately two hours and encompassed a significant part of Scotland a nd its mou nta i nous ter ra i n. T his allowed C-130J crews from participating nations a chance to f ly in unfamiliar terrain. All participating nations conducted low level missions through the Scottish low f lying area. Only the US Coast Guard was exempted from low level tactical routes missions because it does not normally f ly those types of missions. Two drop zones were identified in the route to allow simulated drops by a number of the participants. The RAF conducted a simulated drop using 75 kg loads. Practice drops were also conducted to simulate procedures without releasing cargo. The Coast Guard crew in their missionized HC-130J conducted missions over the sea range north of RAF Kinloss and close to R AF Lossiemouth. The Elizabeth City crew’s specific search and rescue, or SAR, tasking was of particular interest to the British crews. The RAF C-130J crews have recently taken over long-range SAR coverage following the early retirement of the Nimrod MR2
maritime patrol aircraft previously used to perform this mission. The HC-130J crew provided capability demonstrations both in the air and on the ground to enable foreign crews to collect pointers on how the Coast Guard crews conduct SAR. The learning opportunity was appreciated by the other crews attending the exercise. In total, participating crews f lew thirty sorties over the course of the exercise. Combined Strength provided a n idea l scena rio for pa r t icipat ing nations to exchange ideas and to discuss recent experiences gained through operating the C-130J. The RAF C-130J crews, for example, have racked up experiences as part of 901 and 904 Expeditionary Air Wings in the Middle East, airlifting troops and supplies into main airfields and for ward operating locations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their lessons learned and the procedures and tactics gathered through their operational experience will benefit all operators through such exercises as Combined Strength. “ T he pu r pose of t he Operat ions Working Group and the key area that we are trying to exploit with Exercise Combined Strength is to identify any areas that we operate in common with the other C-130J users,” noted Brewis. “We then share any information we may
have on procedures, tactics, and techniques and then look at ways to make our areas of operation better by collaborating and cooperating with other operators. We try to get as many crews as possible to fly with other nations so that all crews can share their experiences.” The final part of Exercise Combined Strength was to have been a friendly spot la nding a nd airdrop accurac y competition. But because of the volcanic ash-induced airspace restrictions, off icials felt competitor departures could be severely delayed. Rather than ta ke that risk, the competition was cancelled, and t he teams were sent home a day early. Because the Australians were the winner of the airdrop competition at Combined Streng t h 2004, the trophy will remain at their base at RAAF Richmond until the next Exercise Combined Strength. JUG leadership for the Operations Working Group rotates each year. The Royal Norwegian Air Force will host Exercise Combined Strength 2011 next spring at Bodø AS, Norway. Andrew Beaumont is a freelance aerospace journalist and photographer. Berry Vissers is a director of Squadron Prints Ltd., in addition to being a freelance aerospace journalist and artist. Both live in the United Kingdom.
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F-16 Fighter Weapons Instructor Training By ERIC HEHS PHOTOS BY CRISTIAN SCHRIK
FIFTEEN PILOTS FROM THE NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, BELGIUM, DENMARK, AND PORTUGAL SHARPENED THEIR F-16 KNOWLEDGE AT THE FIGHTER WEAPONS INSTRUCTOR TRAINING AT LEEUWARDEN AB IN THE NETHERLANDS DURING THE SUMMER OF 2010. FWIT, AS THE COURSE IS CALLED, TURNS EXPERIENCED F-16 PILOTS, USUALLY CAPTAINS QUALIFIED AS FOUR-SHIP FLIGHT LEADS, INTO WEAPONS OFFICERS. 12
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“ We a p o n s o f f i c e r s f u n c t i o n a s squadron ex per ts on tact ics a nd weapon systems,” explained Maj. Pascal Smaal, Royal Netherlands Air Force pilot who served as supervisor for the
latest course. “They are responsible for ma inta ining tact ica l sta nda rds within the squadron. Weapons officers i nst r uc t ot her pi lot s a nd upg r ade syllabi for training f light leads and
for mission qualifications. They advise leadership on tactical subjects related t o s p e c i f ic op e r at ion a l a re a s , for example tactics related to operating in Afghanistan.”
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FWIT usually takes place twice over a three-year span. The latest course, called FWIT ’10, is the fifteenth course since the training began in 1984. The extensive six-month course consists of three f lying phases: air-to-air, air-toground, and mission employment. The f lying phases are preceded by three weeks of ground instruction.
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The air-to-air phase, which always takes place at Leeuwarden, begins with basic fighter maneuvers followed by air combat maneuvering, then by tact ica l i ntercepts, a nd f i na l ly by a i r combat training. The air-to-surface phase begins with two weeks of academics at Leeuwarden and then moves to another location for flying (at Monte
Real AB in Portugal this year). The f lying portion of the air-to-surface phase begins with basic range missions followed by basic surface attack and then by opposed surface attack. Two weeks of close air support training finishes the phase. The students f ly approximately twenty sorties during each of the three phases.
T he f i n a l m i s s ion e mploy me nt phase, which also took place at Monte Real this year, combines all the techniques and tactics taught during the previous phases. The phase included f lying with live ordnance and coordinating with other air and ground assets in complex real-world missions. Besides pa s si ng e x a m s for ac adem ic s a nd
passing all the rides in the syllabus, students wrote articles on specific tactical subjects for publication in a class technical journal. FWIT plays a critical role in keeping participating air forces current on the latest software upgrades and capabilities of the F-16. The most recent software upgrade, called M5, was highlighted
during the air-to-surface phase. M5 increases the Link 16 datalink capabilities of the jet; incorporates a new enhanced GPS-aided inertial navigation system; improves the radar performance; and gives the pilot the ability to employ modern, combined GPS/laser guided weapons, such as the GBU-49 enhanced 500-pound Paveway II bomb.
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The overall FWIT course design is based on US Air Force weapons officer training conducted at the Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada. “One major difference between our course and their course is that our instructor team consists of weapons officers from operational squadrons of each participating nation,” said Smaal. “For FWIT, every student
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brings his or her ow n ex perienced weapons officer. So both the graduating students and the instructors return to their squadrons with the latest information on weapons and tactics. In the US system, instructors all work full time at the Weapons School.” Another difference: FWIT students and instructors show up with their own
aircraft and maintainers. The additional aircraft with their diverse markings always draw crowds of aviation enthusiasts to the fence line at Leeuwarden. A variety of aircraft and air forces support this training. For the 2010 class, the Netherlands provided Red Air assets from Leeuwarden and Volkel ABs and C-130 and Fokker 50 cargo aircraft
and KC-10 tankers from Eindhoven AB. US Air Forces in Europe supported with F-15s and KC-135 tankers from RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall air bases, respectively, in England. The Portuguese Air Force contributed additional F-16s as well as transport aircraft. Germany took part with both Eurofighters and F-4 Phantoms. The RAF flew
Eurofighters and the DA-20 jammer aircraft in some of the training missions. Norway also sent jammer aircraft. “The quality of the European participating air forces, which includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, a nd Por t uga l, depend s on t hese weapon i nst r uc tors,” sa id Lt . C ol. Johan van Deventer, the commander
for 323 Squadron at Leeuwarden. “The five nations invest a lot in these FWIT students and expect a lot in return for this training. Their investment produces k nowledgeable and capable weapon instructors who will improve the quality of all pilots in their squadrons.” Eric Hehs is the editor of Code One.
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BY JEFF RHODES
PHOTOS BY JOH N ROSSI NO
“For more than fifty years, there has been a C-130 flying over Abilene. With this delivery, we continue a great legacy fostered by many generations of maintainers and operators,” said US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz at the 16 April 2010 arrival ceremony for the 317th Airlift Group’s first C-130J at Dyess AFB, Texas.
Schwartz, who f lew the new C-130J to the ceremony, is the first chief of staff to have spent much of his flying career in the Hercules. After he taxied in, the Airmen of the 317th—as well as the numerous civic and government leaders in the crowd of more than 600 people—broke into spontaneous applause. The arrival of the first Super Hercules at the base in Abilene had been an eagerly anticipated event. The 317th AG, a tenant unit to the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess, currently operates thirt y-three 1970s-vintage C -1 3 0 H s . M o s t o f t h o s e a i rcra f t a nd a sig n i f ic a nt amount of the group’s aircrew a nd ma i nta i ners a re usually deployed at any given time for operations in Kuwait and Afghanistan. US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz
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The first C-130J, nicknamed Pride of Abilene, is the first of twenty-eight longer fuselage Super Hercules that will be delivered to the group’s two flying squadrons through early 2013. When all the aircraft are delivered, the 317th AG will be the largest C-130J operator in the world. The 40th Airlift Squadron, k nown as the Screaming Eagles, will convert to the C-130J first, followed by its sister unit, the 39th AS. “One of our group commander’s directives was that we have no loss of capability while we transition to the C-130J,” said Lt. Col. Keith Green, commander of the 40th AS. “We are not standing down, so that helps us keep our focus. We have to maintain our ops tempo with C-130H deployments and ramp up with the J-model at the same time. We will have to manage our aircraft and our Airmen well.” Complicating the transition is the aircraf t deliver y schedule. The 40th AS received one C-130J in April and isn’t scheduled to receive its second Super Hercules until late September or early October. “It is very hard to get and keep crews qualified with only one aircraft,” notes Green. “So we found a partner to help us.” Twice a month, the 41st AS, the Air Mobility Command C-130J squadron at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, sends a crew and aircraft to Dyess for a couple of days. “The Little Rock
crew gets a chance to f ly out of their local area. We interf ly with them to gain additional experience and to give our C-130J copilots flight time,” says Maj. Jeff Brown, one of the initial g roup of C -13 0J i n s t r uc tor pi lot s assigned to the Screaming Eagles. Additionally, instructor and evaluator pilots from the 40th AS regularly f ly with the Little Rock squadron and often deploy with that unit. “Our partnership with the 41st will give us a solid cadre of C-130J instructors as we ramp up,” notes Green. The Dyess squadron is scheduled to have five aircraft on its ramp by the end of 2010 and is expected to achieve initial operational capability with the C-130J by mid 2011. The two C-130 f lying squadrons at Dyess are across the hall from each other in a facility built in 2006 that is shared with the group’s lone aircraft maintenance unit. The process of converting to the Super Hercules was under way in t he maintenance shops well before the first aircraft arrived. “We have received almost all of our initial spares, bench stock, and test equipment, and we are just starting to build up our skills,” observed SMSgt. Rodney Jones, the 317th Aircraft Maint e n a nc e S q u a d r on s u p p or t f l i g ht superintendent. “We will have separate s e c t ion s for t he H-mo del a nd t he J-model at f irst. We will have some maintainers dual qualified for both the
C-130H and the C-130J, but we are trying not to dual-qualify our people in avionics and propulsion. Those areas are different enough between the aircraft that a level of specialization is required.” To support the C-130J, renovations on the group’s existing isochronal maintenance dock are now under way. The hangar, built in 1952, will look considerably different by mid 2011. The facility will have everything from a new fire suppression system in the ceiling, to new offices and a controlled tool crib on the floor, to new tow lines painted on the ramp. “We can’t put two C-130Js in the hangar tail to tail,” says SMSgt. Shawn Bustillos, the 317th AMS flight chief. “We can fit two J-models inside if we offset the aircraft by ten feet and put the tails next to one another. To do that easily, we’ll need new yellow lines.”
The process of converting to the Super Hercules was under way in the 317th Airlift Group’s maintenance shops well before the first aircraft arrived.
Ground was broken for a new 70,000-square-foot double-bay fuel cell maintenance hangar in late 2009. This facility, which can accommodate either two C-130Js or one C-130J and one of the 7th BW’s B-1B bombers, is expected to open by late 2011. “Our C-130J simulator is late to need,” notes Green. “We’ll have the J-model operational for two years before we get our own simulator. In the meantime, we have contracted for simulator time at both Little Rock and at Keesler [AFB, Mississippi]. We’ll manage.” “The first C-130 arrived at Dyess on 8 February 1961,” said Col. Dan Dagher, the 317th AG commander, at the delivery ceremony. “But today marks a new day. The arrival of this C-130J strengthens the 317th, Air Mobility Command, and the US Air Force. We’re going to put this aircraft to the test.” Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.
Vol. 25 No. 2 2010
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The Four Horsemen in 1959: Team lead Capt. Gene Chaney, Capt. Bill Hatfield, Capt. James Akin, and Capt. David Moore Facing page, some of the surviving Horsemen in 2010: Retired Lt. Col. Bill Hatfield; retired Col. Bill Mills and retired Col. John Dale, both Horsemen copilots; and retired Lt. Col. Jim Akin flew the C-130J simulator at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.
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By Jeff Rhodes
T h e i d e a f o r t h e Fo u r H o r s e m e n , t h e wo rl d ’s o n l y fou r- eng ine - per- ai rcra ft f lig ht demons t rat ion team , sprang from some pilots looking to fill time.
T
he C-130A Hercules first entered US Air Force operational service at Ardmore AFB, Oklahoma, in December 1956. “In early 1957, four of us were at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for a week to drop Army paratroopers,” recalls Jim Akin, one of the Horsemen. “One of the scheduled drops was cancelled because of high winds. So, we said, ‘Let’s go fly formation.’ We needed to log formation time and flight hours.” The four pilots—Akin, Gil Sanders, Jim Fairbanks, and Gene Chaney—were all Air Force captains, aircraft commanders, and qualified instructor pilots. Assigned to the 774th Troop Carrier Squadron, the first operational C-130A unit, each of them had logged roughly fifty flight hours in the brand-new Hercules. They started in loose formation in the airspace over Kentucky and Tennessee but gradually brought their aircraft closer and closer together. “We discovered we really liked f lying formation,” recalls Ak in. The foursome made a couple of low passes in close formation over Fort Campbell before landing. A second cancelled paratroop drop later that week led to a second formation f light. The idea for a C-130 demonstration team had been planted. It would take more than a year to come to fruition.
Photo by SrA Steele C. B. Britton
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The Horsemen Mount Up Returning home to Ardmore, Chaney and Ak in, a long with severa l other pilots, would practice formation maneuvers on training missions or when they were deployed. “A group of us liked to f ly format ion, a nd we wou ld go out a nd t r y maneuvers to see if they worked and we could do them safely,” notes Bill Hatfield, one of t he copi lots on t he f irst f l ig ht, a nd who wou ld e v e nt u a l l y b e c o m e t h e team’s regular slot pilot. At t hat time, Tactica l Air Command, the forer u n n e r o f t o d a y ’s A i r Combat Command, opera t e d t h e A i r F o r c e ’s f ighters—a nd t he C-130 f leet. In ea rly 1958, t he na s c ent te a m s ei z e d a n 22
Code One
opportunity for its first demonstration. The parent unit of the 774th TCS, the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, was tasked to put up all thirty-six of its assigned C-130s for a mass f lyby at a ceremony at Ardmore. Most of TAC leadership would be in attendance. “We asked our wing commander if we could do something special at the
end of the f lyby,” Akin recalls. “As we f lew past, the four of us broke out, came back in a diamond formation, scorched over the field at about 300 k not s at low a lt it u d e , a nd c lo s e d with a bomb-burst maneuver,” said Akin. “The crowd was expecting the Hercules to come lumbering by. But we wa nted to show t hem what t he aircraft could really do.” For that show, the team called themselves the Thunderweasels, combining the n a me of TAC ’s pre m ie r fighter demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, with the n i c k n a m e o f t h e 7 74 t h TCS, the Green Weasels. A lt hou g h t he T hu nderweasels name raised more t ha n a fe w of f ic ia l e ye brows, the demonstration had been a huge hit.
A Full Show Sparked by t heir performance at Ardmore, enthusiasm began to build. Eventually, the pilots began seriously working up what evolved into a twentythree minute show—and coming up with a new name. “We thought long and hard about it and finally settled on the Four Horsemen after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. There were four of us,” notes Akin. “The name fit.” By late 1958, the team was ready for its first official show, which came at Sewart AFB, Tennessee, the team’s new home. Ardmore AFB was closing, and the 774th had been reassigned to the base near Nashville.
The permanent Horsemen—Akin, Hatfield, Chaney, and Capt. David Moore— f lew with a rotating cast of squadron copilots who were all aircraft commanders and instructor or standardization/evaluation pilots. For demos, the pilots also f lew with a f light engineer and a scanner, normally an aircraft mechanic. “The enlisted crew members would just about get into fist fights trying to f ly with us,” remembers copilot Bill Mills. “Their pride in what we were doing was top to bottom.” To start the demonstration, the pilots, wearing scarves and a distinctive shoulder patch featuring the silhouette of a horse head with the Roman numeral IV in its neck, taxied out and lined up on the runway in a diamond formation. Normally, Moore, whom Mills described as “a very smooth pilot,” f lew lead. Akin f lew right wing, which the Horsemen called the number two position. Hatfield f lew the slot, or number four position. Chaney, the team leader who had been the ferry pilot when the first operational C-130 was delivered from the then-Lockheed Georgia Company facility in Marietta, Georgia, f lew the left wing, or number three position. “The left wing was the hardest position to f ly,” said Hatfield. “The pilot had to look across the f light deck and out the right window the whole show to stay in position.” The Four Horsemen would take off nearly simultaneously in about 1,500 feet. The slot aircraft, which was getting extra lift from the leader’s propwash, actually got airborne first, followed by the other three aircraft. Quickly retracting the landing gear, the four pilots would be in tight formation at 1,500 feet altitude over the end of the runway, climbing at 4,000 feet per minute. Next, the team made a left banking turn, repositioned, and f lew in a close line astern, slightly stacked trail formation down the show line. That arrow formation was followed by the arrowhead formation, where lead and number two remained in trail formation, while the number three aircraft moved to the left wing of number two, and the slot moved off two’s right wing. After repositioning, the group made a flyby in the diamond formation. The four pilots then transitioned to an echelon right formation to turn. Coming back toward the crowd at approximately 200 feet above the runway in the diamond, the team performed the bomb burst—what they called the Horsemen Burst—with the lead pilot pulling up and making a forty-five degree left climbing turn, while the right wing pulled up and made a ninety-degree right climbing turn. Left wing pulled up and turned ninety degrees to the left, while the slot climbed and made a forty-five degree turn to the right. After completing their turns, the pilots leveled off and returned to the original heading. The team rejoined in the diamond, and then went to an extended trail formation. With sufficient spacing between the C-130s, the four pilots simultaneously broke to the left for landing. The Horsemen then touched down on alternate sides of the runway. The Horsemen Burst was performed approximately 200 feet above the runway, starting from the diamond formation.
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The Famous Horsemen Crowds everywhere were astonished. “The C-130A had a wingspan of 132 feet and weighed more than 100,000 pounds. But it could move,” notes John Dale, a Horsemen copilot. “It was very responsive, even f lying past thirty degrees of bank. We were able to do the maneuvers because of that aircraft. It was the closest thing to a fighter I ever f lew.” But the wow factor was something the team had to work at. “We had to schedule two- to four-hour f lights a couple of times a month to train for the maneuvers,” notes Akin. “We were working in Four Horsemen practice bet ween operat iona l m issions a nd deployments. Anytime the four of us were somewhere, though, we f lew a show. We didn’t have dedicated aircraft, so we f lew whatever C-130 was available. We performed from Bangor to Bangkok.” Hatfield adds, “We didn’t fly standard formations, so we had to practice. Our show required a lot of concentration.” The two wingmen flew with barely ten feet of horizontal separation between their wingtips and the horizontal tail of the lead and at the same altitude. Hatfield, in the slot position, flew seven to ten feet behind and slightly above the lead. “I had to f ly on the lead and react to him. We weren’t that far apart.
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Code One
But we never had a close call, and we never even scratched an aircraft.” As the team’s notoriety spread, airs how re que s t s s t a r te d c om i ng i n, including a surprisingly large number of requests from Strategic Air Command bomber bases. At that time, a fairly intense rivalry existed between the Air Force major commands that flew bombers a nd f ighters. Many SAC base commanders simply preferred to see fourengine “heavies” flying a demonstration versus single-engine fighters. The C-130 did make for a different kind of airshow. At one demo, lead had to shut down an engine. The Horsemen continued on as if nothing had happened. By late 1959, sales of the C-130, both in the US and internationally, were starting to pick up. Lockheed capitalized on the popularity of the Four Horsemen by producing promotional items as sales tools. Today, a L ock heed postca rd showing the Horsemen in formation occasionally turns up on online auction sites and usually sells for about $30. Lockheed also made a docu menta r y ca l led Hercules And The Four Horsemen. Thousands of feet of footage were shot of the team f lying their demonstration over the
Gra nd C a nyon a nd nea r Wi l l ia ms AFB outside Phoenix, Arizona. The re su lt w a s a mov ie t he Hor s emen really disliked. The movie producers used actors, including one with a harsh nasal voice, to spout ridiculous dialog, rather than use the crisp, precise radio calls the Horsemen actually made. That was irritating, but what was particularly galling to the team was that most of t he footage was shot at a n a ltitude of 10,000 feet so the aircraft would appear against the clouds. “We flew at 500 to 1,000 feet during our shows,” notes Akin. “We never flew for shows as high as we did for that movie.” Despite its faults, the fifteenminute film is the only official visual record of the Four Horsemen in action. The film can be seen on www.codeonemagazine.com, but turning the sound down is recommended. Today, a Lockheed postcard showing the Horsemen in formation occasionally turns up on online auction sites and usually sells for about $30.
Retired Col. John Dale (left) and retired Col. Bill Mills (right), both Horsemen copilots, chat with retired Lt. Col. Bill Hatfield and retired Lt. Col. Jim Akin after signing autographs in the 62nd Airlift Squadron history display at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, in March 2010.
Into The Sunset The pinnacle of Horsemen history came when the team appeared on the 18 January 1960 cover of Aviation Week a n d S p a c e Te c h n o l o g y m a g a z i n e , regarded as the world’s leading aviation publication. Ironically, shortly after that, the team was disbanded. A number of factors led to the demise of the Horsemen. Some issues were political: For instance, when Chaney was asked if he would like to fly a dedicated C-130 as a support aircraft for the Thunderbirds, he said no. Separately, Congress, following Senator William Proxmire’s lead, refused to allocate money for additional f lying hours to practice because the team was seen as frivolous. Other factors were operational: The Horsemen were all overdue to rotate to other assignments. “The C-130 was heavily tasked for operations at t hat point,” reca l ls A k in. “Even though preliminary plans had been made for the team to have five permanently assigned C-130s, the aircraft was just too valuable to dedicate to a demonstration tea m. Those pla ns were quickly killed.” The main reason for the end of the Horsemen, t hough, was t he advent of t he C-130B. By spring 1960, t he
Hercules squadrons at Sewart were rapidly converting to the B-model. “The B-model Hercules had a number of features t hat made it better for long missions,” notes Hatfield. “It had different engines and pro p e l le r s , a nd mu c h lowe r hydraulic pressure on the controls. It was not as responsive as the C-130A and just not as good for formation f lying. We tried to use the B-model for the Four Horsemen, but it simply didn’t f ly like the A-model.” Once the Four Horsemen rode no more, the aircrew members went their separate ways. Chaney and Moore have both passed away. Akin, who flew B-24s and P-38s during World War II before reentering the Air Force, retired after a twenty-eight year service career. Hatfield, who first served as an enlisted cryptographer, spent most of his twentyeight year career in C-130s. He was also part of the initial cadre of Air Force pilots to fly the C-141 StarLifter. A mong t he Hor s emen c opi lot s , Mills, who had been an enlisted radio operator in the Berlin Airlift, went on to serve as the commander of the first C-130 squadron equipped with the All-
Photo by JEFF RHODES
Weather Aerial Delivery System during his thirty-six year Air Force career. John Dale was in charge of DC-130 drone director operations during Operation Linebacker in Vietnam. He also commanded a U-2 squadron and was later director of reconnaissance at 15th A ir Force headqua r ters du ring his thirty-two year career. From the first practice to the last show, the Four Horsemen f lew fifteen official airshows and additional demos when the four pilots were deployed. But the effect the team had was lasting. “What we did was prove to the rest of the Air Force, and, more importantly, to t he A r my, w h at t he C -13 0 w a s c apable of doi ng. T hat wa s show n during the Vietnam War,” notes Akin. “And the C-130 is still showing that capability today.” Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.
Vol. 25 No. 2 2010
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CANUCKS UNLIMITED UPGRADED BY J E F F R H O D E S P H OTOS BY DA M I E N G UA R N I E R I
“ The goa l is to have our f irst C-130J in t heater by January 2011 and a second aircraft f lying in Afghanistan four months later,” states Capt. Spencer Selhi, a pilot with 436 Squadron, the Canadian Forces airlift unit at CFB Trenton, Ontario. That goal puts the Canucks Unlimited, as the squadron is called, on an ambitious track—a little more than seven months between first aircraft delivery and first combat deployment.
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Canada’s first Super Hercules was delivered to 8 Wing at CFB Trenton, Ontario, on 4 June 2010. The ferry flight crew arrived precisely on time, making a high-speed pass at 200 feet above the crowd of approximately 600 military members and local civic leaders before landing. A 436 Squadron crew took the CC-130J, as it’s officially designated in Canada, up for its first training mission just four days later—a night vision goggle, low-level tactical sortie. At the delivery ceremony, Canadian Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay summed up the sense of urgency both 436 Squadron and the Canadian government have for the CC-130J: “The expectations for this aircraft are great.” “Tactical airlift is the lifeblood of the Canadian Forces. In any future relief effort or combat operation, the CC-130J will be first on the scene,” noted Maj. Gen. Tom Lawson, the assistant chief of the Canadian Air Staff. “The US Air Force let us jump a few notches on the production line so we could get this aircraft.” The first CC-130J was delivered six months ahead of schedule with at least three more expected to be delivered to CFB
Trenton, Canada’s main transport base, by the end of 2010. The last of Canada’s seventeen CC-130Js on order is scheduled to arrive at Trenton in the second quarter of 2012. Canada’s current E- and H-model Hercules fleet has been heavily tasked for many years to conduct numerous military and humanitarian missions both in Canada and around the world. Canada also uses its legacy Hercules fleet for search and rescue missions and aerial refueling. The first CC-130J was delivered five months shy of fifty years since operations with the CC-130B began. Canada’s E-models have logged more f lying hours than any comparable Hercules in the world. In his remarks, MacKay noted, “I recently f lew in a forty-three-year-old E-model aircraft in Afghanistan that had approximately 50,000 flight hours on it.” With the arrival of the Super Hercules, the CC-130E fleet will eventually be retired. Six of the nineteen E-models in the Canadian f leet have already concluded their f lying careers and have been parked, while several more of the older aircraft are literally within dozens of f light hours of reaching the end of their service lives. Once all CC-130Js are delivered, the 8 Wing CC-130Hs will become dedicated search and rescue assets at Trenton or t r a nsfer red to C a nad a’s ot her SA R s qu ad rons i n Manitoba and Nova Scotia. In all, Canada f lies thirteen CC-130Hs, which includes five CC-130H(T) aerial tankers. The Canadian H-model aircraft are expected to remain in service for another decade. “The legacy crews have been heavily tasked with some of them having been deployed three times already,” notes Master Cpl. Derrick Styan, a 436 Squadron loadmaster who has been through J-model training. “But once we go to the J, we don’t go back to the legacy aircraft.” Not having aircrews dual-qualified on both types of CC-130s creates a unique situation in the short term for Canucks Unlimited. “Normally we send three crews per aircraft to theater at a time,” adds Capt. Joseph Tufenkdjian,
a CC-130J-qualified pilot. “But our first J-model to deploy to theater will only have one crew. We don’t yet have sufficient aircraft or trained crews to send three.” Formed in Burma during World War II, 436 Squadron had four qualified crews when the first CC-130J was delivered. “Eventually, we will have fifty-one total crews,” notes Tufenkdjian. “About thirty-seven crews will be available for operations. The training school and the standardization/ evaluation section will make up the rest.” Currently many of the CC-130J crews are going through the US Hercules training school at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, with follow-on tactical training with the 146th Airlift Wing, the US Air National Guard unit at Channel Islands ANGS, California. “The US Air Force doesn’t have excess C-130 training capacity,” observes Selhi. “So, all of our crew training now is based on the availability of slots at Little Rock.” By 2012, 8 Wing will conduct all Canadian aircrew training, including the training for tactical missions. Canada plans to purchase courseware and academics from the US Air Force to accompany a full mission simulator and several part-task trainers at Trenton. Construction of a new on-base aircrew and maintenance training facility is scheduled to begin in late 2010. Construction of a new hangar for the CC-130Js is also planned in the next few years. Maintenance is another area of 8 Wing operations that will change with the arrival of the Super Hercules. With its full digital avionics suite, different powerplant, and even the longer fuselage length, the CC-130J is distinct enough f rom t he legac y Herc u les to have it s ow n ded ic ated maintenance. “Our airplanes, our maintenance,” notes Cpl. Trina Kozlik, an aircraft structures maintainer. “It’s a big shift from what we were doing before.” “There’s been a lot going on to get ready for the arrival of the J-model,” notes Sgt. Jason Snow, a CC-130J loadmaster. “But we are ready to give it our best shot.” Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.
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HC-130J First Flight
Aloha!
PHOTO BY SRA GUSTAVO GONZALEZ
Top military, government, and local officials formally dedicated two F-22 Raptors—including bestowing the traditional leis—in ceremonies at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on 9 July 2010, inaugurating the base as the newest home for the aircraft and marking the start of a partnership between the Hawaii Air National Guard and the active duty US Air Force. The F-22s will be flown by pilots from the 199th Fighter Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, and pilots from the active duty 19th Fighter Squadron. A combination of Guard personnel and active duty Airmen will maintain the base’s eventual fleet of twenty Raptors. Operational F-22s are currently assigned to Langley AFB, Virginia; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; and now at Hickam.
PHOTO BY Damien Guarnieri
The US Air Force’s first HC-130J personnel recovery aircraft was flown for the first time on 29 July 2010 from the Lockheed Martin facility adjoining Dobbins ARB in Marietta, Georgia. Lockheed Martin is on contract to build twenty-one HC- and MC-130J aircraft to start replacing the Air Force’s aging special mission MC-130s and the fixed-wing rescue HC-130s that were both first flown in the 1960s. The Air Force requirement is for thirty-seven HC-130Js for Air Combat Command and thirtyseven MC-130Js for Special Operations Command. The HC-130J, which has been given the nickname Combat King II, is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in 2012.
Invincible Spirit A joint US-South Korean maritime and air readiness exercise called Invincible Spirit took place in the seas east of the Korean peninsula on 25–28 July. In the larger photo, a duo of US Air Force F-22s and F-15s are flanked by a trio of F-16s over a formation of US and Republic of Korea Navy ships. In the inset photo, a KC-130J Super Hercules tanker from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 151 (VMGR-151) at MCAS Futenma, Japan, along with three Marine AV-8B and three F/A-18 fighters, are flown over the USS George Washington (CVN-73). Invincible Spirit is the first in a series of joint military exercises that will occur over the coming months.
PHOTO BY MCS3 CHARLES OKI
PHOTO BY MCS3 JACOB D. MOORE
Rewinged Orion Airborne The first P-3 Orion to receive the Mid-Life Upgrade, or MLU, modifications was flown for the first time on 19 July 2010 from Lockheed Martin in Greenville, South Carolina. On board was a Lockheed Martin aircrew consisting of James Daniel (pilot), Dick Schroeder (copilot), Nick Blehm (flight engineer), and Maurice “Frenchie” Levesque (scanner). This Airborne Early Warning aircraft, without its familiar radar rotodome, was redelivered to US Customs and Border Protection in ceremonies on 13 July. The P-3 MLU program replaces the outer wings, center wing lower surface, horizontal stabilizer, and horizontal stabilizer leading edges on the Orion.
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Code One
PHOTO BY JOHN ROSSINO
Pakistan Flood Relief
Raptor Reorganization
A C-130H Hercules crew from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, delivered relief supplies to Islamabad, Pakistan, on 31 July 2010 in response to catastrophic monsoon flooding. The C-130 flight was the first international assistance to arrive in the affected area. The first flight delivered nearly 8,000 Halal meals, prepackaged rations prepared according to Islamic law. Almost one million people were affected by the monsoon rains, and thousands of people were marooned in flooded areas and needed immediate assistance, especially food and medicine. Relief efforts continued through September.
The US Air Force announced an F-22 fleet consolidation on 29 July 2010. While no final decisions have been made nor timelines determined, it is anticipated that the 7th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, will relocate to Tyndall AFB, Florida, the F-22 training base. The 8th FS at Holloman will be deactivated, and its aircraft redistributed between Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Langley AFB, Virginia (six F-22s each); and Nellis AFB, Nevada (two aircraft). The announcement did not mention plans for the 301st FS, the Reserve Associate F-22 unit at Holloman. Under the plan, Holloman will get two F-16 squadrons while the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman will transition to F-16 training.
Marietta F-35 Subassembly Begins
Canadian Lightnings
PHOTO BY SSGT. CHRISTOPHER BOITZ
PHOTO BY DAMIEN GUARNIERI
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on 27 July 2010 to inaugurate F-35 Lightning II center wing production at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia. The F-35 work will occupy more than 320,000 square feet in the site’s 3.8 million square foot main assembly building. The first Marietta-built center wing is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2011 to the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where F-35 final assembly takes place. At full-rate production in 2016, the Marietta line will employ approximately 600 people and will produce one F-35 center wing shipset per workday. Establishing F-35 subassembly in Marietta alleviates capacity constraints in Fort Worth and takes advantage of available manufacturing capability.
The government of Canada announced on 16 July 2010 it plans to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II as the country’s nextgeneration fighter aircraft. Canada plans to acquire sixty-five F-35As with deliveries expected to begin in 2016. The F-35 will replace Canada’s fleet of CF-188 (popularly referred to as CF-18) Hornet fighters that entered service in the early 1980s. Canada’s CF-188 force is based at 3 Wing, CFB Bagotville, Quebec, and at 4 Wing, CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. The three variants of the F-35 Lightning II now in production were developed together and will use the same sustainment infrastructure worldwide. The F-35 will replace at least thirteen types of combat aircraft for eleven nations.
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C-5M Surge
Pakistan At Red Flag
Ten C-5 aircraft—two C-5M Super Galaxys and a total of eight legacy C-5As/Bs—were used to transport more than 100 US Army helicopters and more than 400,000 pounds of related equipment from Naval Station Rota, Spain, to Bagram and Kandahar Airfields in Afghanistan during a thirty-day surge in June and July. The eight C-5As/Bs, replaced as necessary for maintenance, were flown on twenty-three missions, while the two C-5Ms were flown on twenty-two missions. Although the Super Galaxys flew one fewer mission, the two aircraft hauled fifty-five percent of the total cargo. Air Mobility Command officials said the C-5Ms completed the operation with a ninety-six percent maintenance departure reliability rate versus an eighty-two percent rate for the C-5A/B aircraft.
Approximately 100 Pakistan Air Force pilots, maintainers, and support personnel deployed to Nellis AFB, Nevada, in mid July for Red Flag 10-4. This marks the first time that Pakistan has participated in a Red Flag exercise, the world’s premier large force employment and integration exercise. Here, a Pakistani crew chief chocks an F-16 after arriving at Nellis. Red Flag 10-4 ran 17–31 July and included pilots and support personnel from the US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Pakistan also participated in a Green Flag exercise at Nellis in August. Green Flag is the new designation for close-air support and precision-guided munitions delivery training.
PHOTO BY LAWRENCE CRESPO
MAFFS 2 In Action A California Air National Guard C-130J Super Hercules with the roll-on/roll-off Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System 2, or MAFFS 2, installed was used to respond to a fire in Riverside County, California, on 17 July 2010. The Super Hercules crew flew one sortie for almost two hours and dropped 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on what was dubbed the Skinner Fire. The 146th Airlift Wing was the first to transition to the MAFFS 2 system in 2008, and it remains the only unit flying the new system on the C-130J. The aircraft was requested by the US Forest Service through the National Interagency Fire Center after lightning caused a brush fire near Temecula.
A1C Nicholas Carzis
Orions Aboard
PHOTO BY MCS2 MEAGAN E. KLEIN
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Code One
P-3C Orion aircraft from seven US Navy patrol squadrons—VP-4, VP-5, VP-8, VP-40, VP-47, VP-62, and VP-69—line the Rainbow Fleet tarmac at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, at the start of the Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, 2010 exercise on 5 July 2010. AP-3C/CP-140/P-3 crews from Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Korea also participated in the exercise. RIMPAC is a biennial, multinational exercise designed to strengthen regional partnerships among participating countries on both sides of the Pacific and to improve interoperability between armed forces.
Dropped On Purpose
First Step To Earth Orbit
PHOTO BY KYLE RYAN VOUGHT AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES PHOTO
The F-35C Lightning II carrier variant successfully completed simulated aircraft carrier landing testing on 23 June 2010. During the testing, the test vehicle was dropped from heights of more than eleven feet during a series of simulated aircraft carrier landings. The tests validated predictions and will help confirm the structural integrity of the F-35C for carrier operations. The ground-test article, known as CG-1, underwent drop testing at Vought Aircraft Industries in Grand Prairie, Texas. No load exceedances or structural issues were found at any of the drop conditions. All drops were conducted at the maximum carrier landing weight for the F-35C.
The first Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite was successfully shipped across the country on 23 May 2010 aboard a C-5. The C-5B crew from Travis AFB, California, picked up the satellite at Moffett Federal Airfield in Sunnyvale, California, and arrived at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida early the next morning. It was launched on an Atlas V launch vehicle from nearby Cape Canaveral AFS in late August. The AEHF system, which is expected to include four satellites, will provide US military and national leaders with global, protected, high capacity, and secure communications. AEHF is the successor to the five-satellite Milstar constellation. The AEHF satellite, the Atlas V launch vehicle, and the C-5 were all produced by Lockheed Martin.
30k For CBP P-3 One of the US Customs and Border Protection P-3 Orion Airborne Early Warning, or AEW, aircraft reached the 30,000 flight hour mark during a mission on 6 July 2010. The milestone came while the aircraft was on an airspace deconfliction mission over the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. First delivered to the US Navy in 1966, it was acquired by Customs in June 1990 and reconfigured for Airborne Early Warning duty. The Orion, based at the Customs facility in Jacksonville, Florida, has been flown on missions for the State, Justice, and Energy departments as well as for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is expected to receive the P-3 Mid-Life Upgrade program improvements in FY2014.
Lot’s Full Seven C-5 Galaxys—assigned to wings at Westover ARB, Massachusetts; Dover AFB, Delaware; Memphis, Tennessee; and Travis AFB, California—line up at Naval Station Rota, Spain, in mid April where they were diverted because airborne ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland made flight impossible. Naval Station Rota and nearby Moron AB absorbed many US military flights diverted from Northern European routes because of the ash. The number of daily flights arriving at Rota, typically eight to thirteen, doubled over the weekend of 17–18 April. Moron AB, which averages one or two flights a day, saw a tenfold increase in traffic because of the ash.
PHOTO BY MSGT. KEITH MEYERS
Vol. 25 No. 2 2010
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SDBs Away!
Exercise Pitch Black Australian F-111 crews participated in Exercise Pitch Black, the Royal Australian Air Force’s biennial, multinational air combat exercise, for the last time. Pitch Black, which ran from 16 July through 6 August 2010, involved a combination of day and night flying from RAAF Darwin and RAAF Tindal. The Australian Army and the Royal Singapore, Royal New Zealand, and Royal Thai Air Forces participated in offensive counterair and close air support operations during the exercise. The RAAF is the only remaining F-111 operator. Its F-111s, flown by crews from 6 Squadron at RAAF Amberley near Brisbane, were originally expected to be withdrawn from service in 2009, but retirement was postponed until late 2010.
AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE PHOTO
Family Portrait
PHOTO BY DAVID HENRY
Maj. Drew Allen, a test pilot from the F-22 Combined Test Force, releases four GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs in a ripple release for the first time during a test flight from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, on 19 May 2010. The F-22 can carry up to eight of the 250-pound, Global Positioning System-guided weapons in its main internal weapons bay.
Nearly 800 military and civilian members of the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, gathered for a group photo on 18 June 2010 in front of the three models of C-130 (an E-model and an H-model in front with a J-model in the center) flown by the wing. The 19th AW is the primary schoolhouse, or training wing, for C-130 training in the United States and for many allied nations operating the C-130.
Historic Flight Commemorated The village of Ainsdale, Merseyside, England, recently installed a large metal sculpture of a Lockheed Electra flying over the New York City skyline in one of the PHOTO BY PETER SIMMONS city’s traffic roundabouts to commemorate the 13 May 1937 transatlantic flight from Ainsdale to New York City carrying news photos of the coronation of King George VI for the Hearst newspaper chain. The flight, known as the Coronation Flight and flown by American pilots Dick Merrill and Jack Lambie in a Model 10E Electra, took off from the Ainsdale beach. The two pilots arrived in New York nearly twenty-four hours later. The artwork was officially named Ocean Pioneer in ceremonies on 11 July 2010.
PHOTO BY SRA CHRIS WILLIS
Dragon Lady Pilot Honored
PHOTO BY ANDY MORATAYA
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Code One
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presented Lt. Col. Joseph Santucci the Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy in ceremonies on 1 June 2010. Santucci, 99th Reconnaissance Squadron commander at Beale AFB, California, earned the service’s top flight safety award for safely recovering the U-2 he was flying during a training mission on 12 February 2009. When Santucci turned off his autopilot at 52,000 feet to begin his descent for landing, the aircraft pitched forward violently. Holding the control yoke tightly to his chest, he managed to keep the aircraft level. Under manual control, he began a slow descent and safely recovered the U-2. The annual award is named for Lt. Koren Kolligian Jr., an Air Force pilot declared missing when his T-33 trainer disappeared off California in 1955.
Static Testing Completed
ATF Returns To Edwards
Full-scale static testing of the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the F-35 Lightning II was completed in early June. The static testing was completed with no structural failures five months ahead of schedule and in less than half the time of legacy programs. The test program was conducted on AG-1, an F-35A airframe dedicated to validating the strength of the design. During testing, the strength and stability of the aircraft structure were verified to 150 percent of design limits, or 13.5 times the force of gravity, with 174 critical load conditions, or pressures, applied to the airframe to evaluate its structural integrity. Testing was conducted primarily at the BAE Systems Structural & Dynamic Test Laboratory in Brough, England.
One of the two YF-22 fighter prototypes that was flight tested at Edwards AFB, California, in 1990 was recently returned to the High Desert. The aircraft, which had been on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, was airlifted via C-5 and delivered to the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards where it was officially welcomed in ceremonies on 11 June 2010. More than 100 people, including Dave Ferguson and Tom Morgenfeld, the two then-Lockheed test pilots who flew the YF-22, were in attendance. The aircraft was flown forty-three times during what was then called the Advanced Tactical Fighter, or ATF, competition’s demonstration/ validation phase.
PHOTO BY STEPHEN K. ROBINSON
Precision Red Exercise Precision Red, the twice-yearly aircrew graduation exercise for Royal Australian Air Force C-130J aircrew members, completed its latest iteration on 7 July 2010 at RAAF Townsville, Queensland. The exercise, which includes night vision goggle operations and dirt field landings, is the capstone for Super Hercules aircrew members who are either completing the basic conversion to the aircraft or upgrading to aircraft commander. Loadmasters also go through the course. Precision Red prepares Australian aircrews and ground forces for operations in the Middle East. RAAF 37 Squadron crews have amassed 20,000 flying hours on C-130H and C-130J model aircraft in the Middle East since beginning a continuing deployment there in February 2003.
AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE PHOTO
Heritage Award Winner The Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia, was named the 2010 winner of the Air Force Heritage Award for its Ambassadors in Blue—US Air Force Thunderbirds exhibit on 8 June 2010. The 2,286 square foot exhibit, sponsored by the Carl Vinson Memorial Chapter of the Air Force Association, opened in May 2009 and displays an F-16A Fighting Falcon that was a part of the flying team from 1982 to 1991. Museum officials obtained the aircraft in February 2008 from Sheppard AFB, Texas, where it had been used as a maintenance trainer after it was retired from the Thunderbirds team to bring on a newer model of the F-16. Museum technicians restored it to its red-white-and-blue Thunderbird markings.
Blue Nose Raptor The F-22 flagship for the 192nd Fighter Wing, the Virginia Air National Guard unit at Langley AFB, sported a blue nose in preparation for its annual joint Maintenance Professional of the Year Award Banquet earlier this year. The awards banquet was held in conjunction with Langley’s active duty 1st Fighter Wing. The nose of the F-22 was prepared as a tribute to blue noses worn by the 328th Fighter Squadron during World War II. The unit, stationed in Bodney, England, and nicknamed the Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney, flew P-51 Mustangs and was led by Maj. George E. Preddy, Jr., the sixth highest scoring American ace (inset photo). Preddy recorded 26.83 victories in several Mustangs, all named Cripes-a-Mighty.
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