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The C130: The USAF’s Workhorse Of The Sky

By R.Gregg, The Raleigh Telegram

Thursday, February 4, 2010

PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI - Before our week long trip to Haiti to view relief efforts as part of our embedded reporting with the Army’s 82nd Airborne, we had to hitch a ride down to the Port au Prince airport.

After being processed at the Pope Air Force Base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, we were ushered onto an Air Force C-130 attached to the 317th Air Group out of Texas.

The C-130 is considered a “workhorse of the sky” as it is a versatile airlift plane that has been around for decades and can almost land anywhere you can find a flat patch of land.

Commanding the aircraft was Captain Lance Dorenkamp, a clean-cut experienced pilot who certainly looks the role and his crew of seven who help keep the large aircraft in the air.

As we we left Fort Bragg headed towards Haiti, we took off with two Airborne soldiers, a Humvee, a radio trailer with a generator, and two USAF armed escorts to protect the plane once we landed.

The C-130 is a propeller driven aircraft with four large turboprop engines that are quite loud and when a crewmember handed me a set of earplugs, I gladly accepted.

Able to take off and land in a short distance, the C-130 can negotiate runways that the much larger C-17 can’t handle.

Pretty much capable of carrying anything that can fit inside its rear doors, the C-130 can carry paratroopers for low level drops. One of the crewmembers points out a flap in the back that goes out several inches when paratroopers jump out so that they don’t get stuck in a “dead zone” of air behind the aircraft.

As evidenced by recent trips, the C-130 can carry vehicles, equipment on palettes, or even civilian passengers as seen recently Haiti, where the aircraft has ferried refugees from the country.

An airplane that has been in service for over 50 years, the first C-130’s were first put into duty in 1957 and are still being produced today by Lockheed. The aircraft that I was flying on was built in the 1970’s, making it older than some of the soldiers that are flying on it.

With the Humvee and trailer in here, there’s wasn’t much room for stretching out especially with a giant tire in front of your knees, so we took short breaks by walking to the back of the aircraft and stretching out on the Humvee.

Because of the influx of air traffic to the Port au Prince Airport, our arrival was delayed and we landed at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida to take on more fuel.

Picturesque with palm trees and water in three directions, the warm breezes were a nice change from the cold winter air in North Carolina that we had just left behind.

Located on our end of the base was a NOAA crew that operates some “Hurricane Hunters,” aircraft that fly through the middle of hurricanes to study them. A very nice NOAA worker who used to be in the Air Force was kind enough to show us where the restrooms were located and also let us take a quick photo with the giant propeller-driven aircraft in the hangar.

After being given the delay orders, we overnight at an Air Force hotel, which had one of the largest and nicest rooms I’d ever seen for only $39. As Air Force people will tell you, they know how to take care of their personnel.

After we’re all checked in, we later grab dinner at the base club, which seems like a short walk on the map, but was a lot longer in retrospect. The club seems to have a little too much diamond metal plating on the wall but really good food.

As we learned, be sure to order at the bar if you ever go there to get your food more quickly and you can’t go wrong if you try the jalapeno poppers or sweet potato fries.

After teaching the two Airborne soldiers and one of the USAF personnel how to play hearts, I crawled into bed, which seemed incredibly comfortable after laying down on a metal bracket in the aircraft earlier in the day.

Our take-off in the morning is pretty amazing as Captain Dorenkamp and his crew perform a very short take off that is used quite often during war time.

After taxiing across the tarmac, we reach the beginning of our runway and the captain puts on the brakes, while simultaneously throttling up the engines to full speed.

When they let go of the brakes, the C-130 jumps forward and for such a large aircraft, we use very little of the runway as we seemingly lifting off before we should be able to. In a short amount of time, the C-130 is in the air climbing to a cruising altitude.

After riding on civilian jet aircraft for so long where they tend to use more of the runway for a flatter angle of take-off, the short military take-offs can take some getting used to.

During the second leg of the flight, I noticed that the crewmembers are continually checking the tiedown chains for the Humvee and the trailer and also making other checks during the flight. The captain and crew are vigilant in the details and I noticed that there seems to be a checklist for everything.

As the C-130 has no lavatory like the larger and more modern C-17, I also learn how to “use the facilities” while in the air. It involves standing on a step and standing next to a flap to give you a modicum of privacy. It’s a little hard as first to use the restroom while other people are watching but you get used to it.

For more intense bathroom applications, the crew also says they have a “honey pot” that looks like an old cooler but they joke that if you use it, you have to take it with you when you leave the airplane.

Cruising at over 200 miles per hour, the C-130 took around three hours to go from Florida to Haiti and when we approached, the crew and passengers were excited. Looking out the various windows, we looked down on the turquoise green water below.

When we land, the crew of the C-130 is able to stop quickly as the pitch on the blades on the propellers can be rotated 180 degrees in order to reverse thrust, bringing us to a halt faster.

As the Port au Prince Airport tarmac is valuable real estate right now with plenty of airplanes bringing in supplies from around the world, the C-130 is unloaded quickly and the crew prepares for a fast turnaround, mentioning that they may be taking back some Haitian civilians to America.

The Airborne soldiers and I were not privy to what was being loaded as were directed to clear the runway as quickly as possible to make room for helicopters and other aircraft loading supplies.

The US Air Force Captain Dorenkamp and his crew have made another faultless mission, delivering personnel and equipment from one country to another in the C-130, the workhorse of the sky.

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NOTE: Watch an eight minute video showing the C-130 loading up in the US, taking off, and landing in Haiti by clicking below.

Click here to watch video