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10/16/2001 --
15 Years of C-130's
189th Airlift Wing Public Affairs LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Arkansas -- Fifteen years ago this month, the Arkansas Air National Guard's 189th Airlift Wing graduated its first students. Since then, more than 4,800 students have graduated from the basic C-130 course or the unit's aircrew instructor school, which began in 1998 after a mission modification. The unit has taught aircrew members in all crew positions -- pilot, navigator, flight engineer and loadmaster -- the basics of flying a C-130. The Guard unit has taught students from the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard and almost 30 allied nations. The announcement On Feb. 5, 1986, the Air Force announced its fiscal year 1987 programming actions for the Air National Guard. A message, R071300Z FEB 96, was sent to the field and stated the 189th Aerial Refueling Group would convert its eight KC-135 aircraft to eight C-130E aircraft, historical documents show. Col. Charles Linz, the unit's group commander at the time, broke the news to the unit in the March 1986 issue of the unit's newsletter, Strato News. Linz is now a retired brigadier general. "The 189th AREFG will be responsible for conducting 28 percent of the basic qualification mission in the C-130 formal school," the newsletter stated. According to the newsletter, the purpose of the conversion stems from the reserve forces growing to a point of owning 54 percent of all airlift aircraft. In order to achieve "across-the-board" participation by the reserve forces, the Air Staff directed the Air National Guard to provide a portion of C-130 training mission at Little Rock Air Force Base. On July 1, 1986, the Arkansas Air National Guard's first C-130 arrived at Little Rock Air Force Base from the 130th Tactical Airlift Group in Charleston, W. Va., and signified the beginning of a mission change from in-flight refueling to training C-130 aircrews for the Air Force and its reserve components, sister services and 27 allied nations. October 1986 marked the first graduates: two pilots, a navigator and two loadmasters. The unit faced many challenges with the mission change. Aircrew members were especially concerned about the conversion. "Morale hit an all-time low," said Linz. "Members of the unit were writing their senators, congressmen or anyone else they thought could stop the conversion." He said their main issue was "Will I be retained?" He said the National Guard Bureau briefed that overall authorizations would increase but most members "just wouldn't believe it." As people saw the manning document it became clear, Linz said. "Their attitudes changed somewhat, and everyone worked in harmony to make it a smooth transition, he said." The unit also faced logistical challenges, but Linz said the C-130 changeover was the easiest he'd been involved in. He had been through four others -- F-84, B-57, RF-101 and KC-135 -- before the unit started flying the C-130. "We had a lot of logistical support from the NGB and the base to get the school off the ground and flying," he said. He said unit members were crowded into existing facilities until new construction projects were completed for operations and the loadmasters. Training today In the beginning, the plan was for unit aircrews to provide three categories of training: initial qualification, re-qualification and aircraft commander upgrade. Today, the 189th Airlift Wing is the home to the only C-130 schoolhouse for C-130 aircrews to become instructors in their respective crew positions. The unit has been the exclusive provider of that training since 1998. The Guard has always touted the amount of experience its members have, and the 189th Airlift Wing is no different. Perhaps the biggest reason for the mission modification in 1998 was because of experience. Unit pilots average more than 3,200 hours in the C-130, navigators almost 3,500 hours, flight engineers more than 3,100 hours and loadmasters almost 2,900 hours. One pilot has recorded more than 8,000 flying hours and another is closing in on that mark. By comparison, the active duty 314th Airlift Wing's instructor pilots here average 2,600 flying hours, navigators 1,800 hours, flight engineers 3,000 hours and loadmasters 3,500 hours. The unit has embraced the training mission and knows the important role it plays for the Air Force. "It's hard to believe we've been doing this for 15 years," said Col. Riley Porter, the current 189th Airlift Wing commander. He said the unit continues to turn out instructors even though its fleet of C-130s continues to pile on the age and hours. He said the unit is wearing the C-130s out from the ground up with all the takeoffs and short-field landings for the schoolhouse mission. "Right now, the average age of my fleet is almost 40 years," the colonel said. "And each plane averages more than 26,000 flying hours. "Our maintenance people do an outstanding job, though," the colonel said. "They average about 20 years of experience and know the ins and outs of these C-130s. The maintenance and aircrew experience we have is the main reason these Herks are still safely flying." Currently, the unit flies about 5,000 hours each fiscal year. Since taking on the training mission, the unit has only lost one aircraft, which occurred when one of the cargo aircraft crashed short of a runway at Greenville, Miss. The aircraft, with three instructors and three students aboard, was practicing touch-and-go landings when it crashed. No one on board survived.
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