Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Ha!

Okay, that's about awesome.
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11 comments:

Dan said...

I haven't had a smile that big in days. :)

10:17 AM, November 18, 2009
tjbbpgobIII said...

I guess thats either a C141 Starlifter or a C117. Both are huge jump aircraft but it looks to me like that one is a little light on the birdshit, I have been in C130's with more jumpers than that.

12:05 PM, November 18, 2009
tjbbpgobIII said...

Sorry, I should have also said how awesome it is and how much I appreciate anything with a paratrooper theme. Thanks for the post.

12:07 PM, November 18, 2009
fast richard said...

I've been in C-130s with more jumpers than that too. But we were just a bunch of adrenalin junkies, without the training and equipment that makes this a Can-O-Whoopass. I too appreciate the dedication and determination of those at the point of the spear.

12:20 PM, November 18, 2009
tjbbpgobIII said...

Fast Richard, do you remember the jump commands for a C124 Loadmaster?

12:27 PM, November 18, 2009
fast richard said...

No, my jumping was all strictly civilian. The C-130 I jumped out of was from South Africa and had been brought up to Germany for a special event.

We were packed in like sardines and it took two passes to get everyone out. The loads were split up into groups of anywhere from four to thirty jumpers, mostly doing sequential relative work type dives.

The jump commands in sport jumping are often quite informal, especially in smaller aircraft where the pilot is right next to you, and is one of the guys you were drinking with all the night before.

1:28 PM, November 18, 2009
Anonymous said...

That is in a C-17. They're far more comfortable than a C-130.

Jim

2:40 PM, November 18, 2009
fast richard said...

Reflectoscope, thanks for the info. I would probably have guessed C-17, but I've never been inside one to be sure. I don't think there is any way to actually be comfortable when loaded down with full combat gear, in addition to the parachute gear. I am glad that the current aircraft have better seating for troops than previous generations had.

That is definately an improvement over any C-130 I have ever seen. The C-130 was a big step up from the old and decrepit C-119 that I rode in on the way to and from summer camp, as a Civil Air Patrol cadet in the late 1960s. That was one very noisy airplane. It was also the first time I ever wore a parachute, which I was happy not to have to use.

5:31 PM, November 18, 2009
Anonymous said...

Next to a C-130 the C-17 is the lap of luxury. It is quiet enough for earplugs to be effective and there is an airline-style can. It isn't first class, but it isn't bad, either.

Never mind that it goes an awful lot faster, too.

Jim

7:13 PM, November 18, 2009
Alan J. said...

I'll give full credit to the Herky bird crewdogs for how important their job is and how great their plane is, but comparing the C-130 to the C-17 is like comparing riding in the back of your Mom's Chevy station wagon to cruising in a Cadillac Escalade. In my 20+ years of being a crewdog, the worst flight I ever took was 7 hours in the back of a C-130 droning from St Louis (Scott AFB) to Sacramento (Mather AFB) thanks to a 120kt headwind. I'd rather be back in my B-52 than do that again. Oh, and according to Wikipedia, the C-17 can accomodate 102 paratroopers while a C-130 can take 64. For my Army buddies, Go Airborne! Hoo-ah!

9:58 PM, November 18, 2009
tjbbpgobIII said...

Alan J., I imagine everything later than the 130 is more comfortable and quite but the 130 is the latest reference I have as a parachutist. I have never done any skydiving but all the guys I know who do say it's great. My rush was always from 1000 ft. or less. My favorite jump of all times was a training jump in /ga. from 600 ft. Jump/chute opens/hit the ground all very fast. I jumped from everything available from the 130 back to a C46 Skymaster that was pressed into service as a backup while undergoing war games at Ft. Bragg in the early 60's.

5:25 AM, November 19, 2009

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