Daryl Hunt
Your Worst Nightmare
- Banned
- #1
When I went through Tech School, we were told that we needed to just learn enough about the C-124 systems to pass the test as there were none in the inventory anymore for the Actives. That was early 1970. I vacationed in SEA and worked on Sprectre Gunships being the newest at 1956. Plus worked transit alert on more coming through. All were old, very old.
I was sent to Pope AFB where we had fairly new C-130 Models (E). I just got off a TDY when I was handed orders to Alaska. It seemed that a SSgt flew his light plane into Mt. McKinnely and a qualified replacement was need post haste. I had 20 days to make port in San Fran.
When I got there, low and behold, there was a flightline full of C-130D models. Thats and A with big skis. The newest was a 1956. There were two C-118s General Birds. And guess what else. Two C-124C models. I was supposed to be qualified on all of them. In fact, I was qualified on the C-130D models but had never touched a C-118 in my life and had never even stood next to a C-124. Talk about a learning curve.
I left there in 1975 and the C-124s were still there operational. Yet, all the places on the net including the AF records say they were gone in 1974, the last retired out of the Guards. Yet, there sat two.
The C-124 had a unique quality about it. It could land on gravel runways that would fod out a jet or a turboprop. And there was one of those in the Ailuetian Chain. A very short runway tilted down that fed off the end of a cliff. When you were landing, you were running up hill. When taking off, you were running downhill and dumped off the edge of the cliff. There was a period on takeoff that you were weightless until Ol Shakey got enough speed to actually fly.
We lost two while I was there. One landed in the Inlet and had to be sunk by the navy. The other was lost going into that short runway. It sheered off it's landing gear. Came to a complete stop. Bent and mangled the props down to the hubs and continued to run. The crew were standing next to the wrecked bird (no one was hurt since they were 3 stories above the bottom of the AC). The pilot turned to the Flight Engineer and said something like, "Don't you think you should shut off the engines". We flew into that area with 2 C-130D models to pick up what parts could be salvaged. We few out with two fully loaded C-130s. Of course one Herky Pig flew out on 3 engines since it tried to suck up the real estate.
After rebuilding those parts, we loaded them up and headed for Davis Mothen where we found another C-124 with hours still left on the Air Frame and install all 4 engines and props, and a ton of other parts. It took us about a week. We flew that back to Anchorage.
The reason the C-124 was so important back then was the weather was so nasty you could only get a ship in there only a couple of months a year. The C-124 could fly in a complete 8 wheeled fire truck just by driving it on and off. That C-124 that was lost there, another C-124 flew in a D9 Cat and it was shoved off the edge of the cliff.
I was sent to Pope AFB where we had fairly new C-130 Models (E). I just got off a TDY when I was handed orders to Alaska. It seemed that a SSgt flew his light plane into Mt. McKinnely and a qualified replacement was need post haste. I had 20 days to make port in San Fran.
When I got there, low and behold, there was a flightline full of C-130D models. Thats and A with big skis. The newest was a 1956. There were two C-118s General Birds. And guess what else. Two C-124C models. I was supposed to be qualified on all of them. In fact, I was qualified on the C-130D models but had never touched a C-118 in my life and had never even stood next to a C-124. Talk about a learning curve.
I left there in 1975 and the C-124s were still there operational. Yet, all the places on the net including the AF records say they were gone in 1974, the last retired out of the Guards. Yet, there sat two.
The C-124 had a unique quality about it. It could land on gravel runways that would fod out a jet or a turboprop. And there was one of those in the Ailuetian Chain. A very short runway tilted down that fed off the end of a cliff. When you were landing, you were running up hill. When taking off, you were running downhill and dumped off the edge of the cliff. There was a period on takeoff that you were weightless until Ol Shakey got enough speed to actually fly.
We lost two while I was there. One landed in the Inlet and had to be sunk by the navy. The other was lost going into that short runway. It sheered off it's landing gear. Came to a complete stop. Bent and mangled the props down to the hubs and continued to run. The crew were standing next to the wrecked bird (no one was hurt since they were 3 stories above the bottom of the AC). The pilot turned to the Flight Engineer and said something like, "Don't you think you should shut off the engines". We flew into that area with 2 C-130D models to pick up what parts could be salvaged. We few out with two fully loaded C-130s. Of course one Herky Pig flew out on 3 engines since it tried to suck up the real estate.
After rebuilding those parts, we loaded them up and headed for Davis Mothen where we found another C-124 with hours still left on the Air Frame and install all 4 engines and props, and a ton of other parts. It took us about a week. We flew that back to Anchorage.
The reason the C-124 was so important back then was the weather was so nasty you could only get a ship in there only a couple of months a year. The C-124 could fly in a complete 8 wheeled fire truck just by driving it on and off. That C-124 that was lost there, another C-124 flew in a D9 Cat and it was shoved off the edge of the cliff.
