C-130 formation

[Vandal]

In the formation phase of t-37s right now and loving every minute of it! Just wondering what kind of formation flying I will be doing back at my c-130 unit. Any herc drivers able to fill me in?

 

[Spur]

Well, there are 2 basic types of formation for the slick 130s, Visual (Vis) and SKE (station keeping equipment) used in IMC.

The standard vis formation is an element of 3 aircraft each 2000 ft in trail (see avatar) generally down at 300ft modified contour. This is what you will practice most in the schoolhouse but it's primarily used to achieve mass on the DZ. Once at your operational unit you will use a variety of different formations. Fluid trail is similiar to T-37 extended trail, except greater distances, 3 a/c, and of course max 60 deg of bank (120 deg not so smart at 300 ft in a herk ) Also you can fly line abreast (similar to tactical), box, and a bunch of others generally limited only by your imagination.

The SKE formation is much more structured. Standard formation is 4000 ft separation, flying off instruments to maintain position. Pretty much like doing a ILS for hours at a time.

 

[Vandal]

...and ILS for hours at a time...sounds AWESOME!! Thanks for the input, sounds like it will be pretty sporty though, 300ft, 60 deg of bank. Can't wait!

 

[Tweetdrvr]

A herc at 2k looks like a tweet in route

Vandal,

A hercules at 2000 feet looks about like at tweet does at 500' on the rejoin line.

You will love Vis just as Spur describes, but you will hate SKE, it is like flying a 2 hour ILS, and the person not flying will sound like a GCA controller giving an ASR/PAR whenever you make turns in formation.

Stop by the reserve office or L-flight if you have any more questions about 130s in the ANG.

 

[Afterprop]

Flying SKE can be like flying an ILS for hours on end . . . and that's how a lot of people fly SKE. I like to think of it as flying an NDB . . . being close to position enroute, always making small corrections, but keeping the big picture enroute . . . the equipment the E-model uses to fly SKE is old, but it does the job. The one drawback though, is it's probably the toughest instrument crosscheck out there, between your ADI and PPI (plane position indicator). Remember, in SKE you are training to deliver "beans, bullets, people" in IMC -- very very challenging, but fun, too.

The flip side is, it can be very very scary . . . due to pilot error, or a mechanical glitch. But there are procedures to cover those . . . but again, it can get scary at times. The handsome, high performance C-130 Hercules is an absolute blast to fly with a varied mission. Good luck at the Rock.

 

[Goose17]

Special Ops formation...

The Spec Ops side is a little different when it comes to formation. You can fly formation off the terrain avoidance radar - it is like playing a video game in the Talon-II. On the flip side, the MC-130P has sort of an extreme version of formation. Lead flies low-level while on NVGs and 2 is stacked nose to rudder clearance, directly behind, and 500' in trail. You are so close, you could scratch and sniff lead.

Goose17

 

[pb4ufly]

expect to be in Formation (Vis) in Tent City waiting for chow, gym, showers, etc. 6 months out of the year. OIF/OEF is single-ship airland/NVG for slicks - save the airdop for the Globemaster...

 

[Spur]

- save the airdop for the Globemaster...

Once the AF no longer feels they have to prove the C-17 to Congress, the airdrop will flow back to the herk, while the C-17 sticks to strat airlift just like the 141. I'm not implying that the C-17 doesn't have a place in tac airlift, but eventually it will be the same as the 141-- mainly strat will a little tac here and there. Iraq was just an opportunity to show what the C-17 could do, not what it will typically be doing. Just look at how they NVG qual'd all the crews in days (as fast as you can say omni-omni-vor), while maintaining the same BS program for the Herks (all of which are NVG qual'd) which takes weeks if not months and drives schedulers f^%$ing crazy.

Also, I imagine after that 17 took the heater out of Baghdad (defensive systems and all) that the AF is reevaluating how often it is used in hostile areas. And remember the C-5 was also billed as a transport that could land on dirt fields (it can!). But it takes a beating and so does the dirt strip. And you can't have your high dollar strat airlift sitting on ramps all over the world waiting on engine/gear/brake/tire/runway repair, so eventually they'll figure it out and give it back to the Herk: Hero of the skies.

 

[Vandal]

As a C-17 driver put it, C-5s are the master of long range airlift, C-130's are the inter-theatre tac airlift master, and C-17's do both, just not as well.