Col. Fred Foote, group commander of the 129th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard, talks about flying the final flight of an MC-130P cargo plane from California to Sheppard Air Force Base.
A massive Lockheed MC-130P cargo plane landed at Sheppard Air Force Base Wednesday afternoon, touching down with only three of its four powerful turbo prop engines running.
One had been turned off during the last leg of the journey from California to Texas due to low oil pressure.
The plane is being retired from its mission with the 129th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard based at Moffett Federal Airfield.
It made its final flight to become a training tool for aircraft maintainers and mechanics in the 982nd Maintenance Training Squadron at SAFB.
"The C-130, in general, is kind of like a utility truck for the Air Force," said Col. Fred Foote, a member of the flight crew. "It can get into extremely small dirt strips, take off and land in areas where no other airplane can."
The workhorse military transports were developed in the mid 1950s and have been adapted to more than 40 variations, including cargo, troop transport, gunships, refueling, aerial firefighting, and search and rescue.
The versatile C-130 Hercules is known for its reliability and is the longest continually-produced military aircraft. The updated Lockheed-Martin C-130J Super Hercules is currently being produced.
"Just the reliability in general, it's my favorite airplane the military has ever developed and I'm excited that a new generation, the J-model, of the same exact airplane, can continue on as long as I'm alive," Foote said.
Original article ➤ https://www.timesrecordnews.com
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