This was in late 77 or early 78, and I was supposed to go up to Adak as a fill in for a guy who was going on emergency leave that day. Since the next scheduled P-3 wasn’t for a week, it was ‘decided’ that I could get up there via a C-130 that was flying from Moffett to Barbers to Elmendorf to Adak (ye ol’ trash hauler). Basically about a 24 hour trip…
So… Friday night I hie my ass down to base ops at 1800 with clothes in one bag, and flight gear in a parachute bag. At 2300 they FINALLY get all four fans turning and off we go into the night. About 9 hours later (e.g. sunrise) we finally touch down at Barbers Point. Now those that ‘know’ 130s ‘know’ the canvas seats are impossible to sleep in, and they’re colder’n hell; so no sleep for me.
Day 2-
Another reserve crew comes in to pre-flight and launch for Elmendorf, only to find that the airplane has gone hard down for a flap asymmetry (now it’s about noon); ETA for repair a couple of days!!!
Frantic scramble ensues as I:
a.- Phone home, now what coach? Squadron Duty Officer (SDO)- I dunno, see what you can find…
b.- Check with Hickam, all the P-3 Squadrons, and finally the Coasties. The Coasties have a C-130 departing for Kodiak the following morning at 0800, and yes they have seats.
c.- Go over with orders, show them to the Coast Guard SDO and get on the manifest (still dragging all my bags with me)…
Coastie takes pity on me and gives me a ride back to billeting. Since I don’t have Hawaii as a destination, I get 20 questions from billeting as to why I’m in Hawaii and NOT in Alaska where I’m supposed to be and am I UA???
Finally get THAT crap sorted out (I think), get a shower, get some sleep and back over to the Coasties at 0 dark 30. Phone home and tell the SDO there I’m on a Coastie bird to Kodiak, and can the squadron sent a pilot trainer to get me from Kodiak? Of course he has NO idea…
Load up, and off we go… For about 4 hours, UNTIL we start pissing hydraulics everywhere over the cargo bay… Divert into Midway Island after the gear is blown down for an emergency landing!
Now Midway is NOT real busy on a GREAT day, much less an average day; so there we sit, the ONLY airplane there, and broke, and no hydraulics guys handy. The engineer and loadmaster/observer, along with myself and a Coastie jet mech start trying to just ‘find’ where the leak is coming from and the engineer finally guesses it’s from the aft reservoir feeding PC2 and the landing gear (but there are no spare parts on the aircraft OR in Midway’s supply). So we sit, and I’ve now got a flight suit covered in hydraulic fluid… And I phone home and tell em I’m now in Midway (and the SDO is NOT happy)…
Day 3-
24 hours later, another C-130 shows up with the right people, equipment and pieces/parts to fix everything. About 12 hours later it’s fixed, BUT there is a test flight needed… So we sit, and I go wash the flight suit again… And I phone home and tell em I’m STILL in Midway (and the SDO is still NOT happy)…
Day 4-
The ‘rescue’ C-130 and it’s maintainers leave at 0600 as they have to assume the ready SAR at Barbers.
Our crew comes in about 0800 and the test flight is finally completed; C-130 returns, reloads the pallets, picks up us pax, and away we go. Until we hit two birds on takeoff and FOD #2 engine and crack an outer pane on the windshield… And come back and land at Midway AGAIN…
And as we taxi back, hydraulic fluid starts spraying all over the cargo compartment AGAIN…
And we have no support AGAIN…
And I’m REALLY dreading calling the SDO again…
Day 5- Another C-130 comes in with spares, repairs are made yet again, equipment is offloaded, another test flight is flown, and equipment is reloaded AGAIN… Phone home and the SDO doesn’t even want to talk to me!
Day 6- One more time… And this time we actually make it all the way to Kodiak (and an engine gets a chips light, and the cargo area springs yet another leak)… The flight engineer comes down and says F-it, Falcon 230 and I busted out laughing because that meant “This sumbitch has more downing gripes that the USS Arizona”.
So I call the SDO one more time, and he tells me the P-3 coming from Moffett will stop and pick me up on the way…
Day 7- I wake up and look out the window to 0-0 conditions, totally fogged in! SSS, get a ride to ops; and sure enough, the fog is NOT expected to lift all day. I sit around until the P-3 calls in (doesn’t even bother to descend/make an approach), and says they are going direct Adak. Call the duty office, and they don’t even want to talk to me…
Day 8- Get a call in the barracks at 0 dark 30, P-3 is inbound to get me, haul my ass down to ops, duty truck is waiting outside…
Grab my gear, haul it to ops, and sure enough here comes a P-3! Yea!!!
Haul my crap out to the airplane, get aboard, check in with the PPC, and find out we’re heading BACK to Moffett. They’d flown a replacement up on the P-3 that went over Kodiak yesterday…
So eight days later I get back to home base, without ever having actually made it to where I was supposed to be, only to find out that in fact billeting at Barbers Point DID put me on report for being UA from day 2 since I was in Hawaii instead of Adak… Sigh…
So NO, I don’t particularly ‘like’ C-130s…
And teh funny… From my daughter, the ‘hellhound’ slobbering, drooling and whining over his CASE of 48 tennis balls. And those eyes…
Damn dog ‘eats’ about 2 tennis balls a week, so hopefully these will last a while…
I will never, ever complain about any of my civie travel issues ever again.
In some warped way I miss “adventures” like that every once-in-a-while. Perhaps it’s peering back at them through 30+ years that eases the pain! 🙂
I always liked the 130. I agree they could be a chilly ride, but that never seemed to affect my ability to sleep like a log – the wife assures me I have not lost that skill!
wow …
NFO, I have to disagree about one thing in your post. Jarheads can sleep anywhere, including the canvas of a C130!
Daaaanng! Sounds like the old man upstairs just decided by george he didn’t want you in Adak! If I hadn’t served 4 years in VP-48 I might not have believed it.
We had a crew that went to Midway on a det that took a week to get back because of mechanical issues. Every time they did a check flight something else broke.
I gotta say though, your trip really takes the cake!
Mark
I heard various versions of that story during my two years on Adak (from whence I departed in April ’77 – missed you AGAIN).
Ok, then so hitting a little traffic on the way to DC, not such a big deal.
Too bad I don’t have a blog. I could tell stories! Next time we meet up I’ll have to tell you about Major “Banzai” and the 9 day trip from NAS NOLA to MCAS Yuma. Yes, we missed our WTI slot.
Not quite as bad, but just be glad you didn’t have to ride a C-124. They’re drafty!!
Here’s my story, although not nearly as bad as yours.
Awesome story!
I’ll have to tell you the Singapore story some time.
It’s been too long. We should shoot some guns and have dinner (on me)
Well the link didn’t work. Here it is, again.
http://crucis-court.com/?p=661
Gotta agree with Tango – you just weren’t tired enough! Having made a couple of 3 trips ‘up North’ on CG C-130s I can attest to how ‘comfy’ they can be – if you are wore out.
Old(broken)MCPO sends…….
Andy- It came ‘with’ the territory…
eia- Even today I don’t sleep on airplanes! sigh…
Julie- It was just ‘another’ day(s) at the office… 🙂
Tango- I can’t!
Mark- I DID have a couple that were worse, but those were on P-3 dets… 🙂
Rev- yep, and they were ALL true!
Agirl- Nope… 🙂
Don- I’ll remind you next time I’m up that way!
Crucis- Good story, and glad it didn’t freeze and backup/overflow!
MSgt- Just waitin for the invite 🙂
Anon- I STILL can’t sleep on airplanes… sigh
Just slightly reminds me of a trip I had to make from MCAS Yuma to Mather AFB to fix a leaking A-4M Skyhawk in 84. Except I fixed the bird, the pilots bug out and I’m left at Mather (Sacramento) for 3 days with no ride home.
Got one to tell you some time about a 2ron in Malta that turned into 32 days before ever hitting home base again.
Any idea what happened to Knuckledragger? Did the FBI scoop him? or Homeland Security. His blog is gone!!!
ERR, He’s back! my ‘puter must be having a bad day!
Now I’m really confused because he is gone again! I give up but let me know if you hear anything please. Thanks OBTW, yours was the best one of the multiple RON’s that kept on giving!Fits that is!
Marc- THAT could have been fun! 🙂
Ev- Dunno, and yeah that one just kept on giving… sigh
Classic example of SNAFU.
Tim- Nah, just the ‘reality’ of military transportation…LOL
Seems there were some good things about being a ground pounder in the green machine.
Everett- He’s on an informal Hiatus
NFO- Re: the seats- This is why my flight kits always includes a hammock and 25′ of 550. But then, I’m a Dirt Blue Shirt, we’re even better at sleeping than Marines are.
WSF- OH I have a story about an Army guy… LOL
DS- Good to hear from you, and you are smarter than I was! Besides, we didn’t have 550 cord laying around back in those days.
Stories like that make us realize today wasn’t so bad after all.
Remember trying to get out of Charleston AFB back in 1980 on a Air Guard 123. He did the run up and the Port engine just blew. Didn’t get to go to Vermont for cold weather training that week. Hopped a 130 Later that month and slept on the palletized Cargo. 😉
I once flew on a USAF Reserve C-119 to March AFB around 1970. We landed and as we were taxiing to Base Ops, the right engine broke free of its mount and fell onto the taxiway.
I flew commercial back home.
That Reserve unit upgraded to C130s the following year.
Hey dirt sailor, remember having 9 hurricane tie downs around your neck, holding two chocks and falling asleep in the catwalk with a dozen jet engines screaming about 10 feet over your head?
Ed- Yeah, I can laugh NOW 🙂
PA- Good for you…LOL
Crucis- Don’t blame you!
Ev- Hell I DID that before… 🙂