RC-130 57-0512

57-0512 Still Flying

Former 1370th PMW RC-130A 57-0512 as N118TG, tests parachute drop for Space Xnear Coolidge, Arizona.

Thanks to John Limbach forVIDEOand article link

Click

Former 1370th PMW RC-130A 57-0512 as N118TG, stars in Mountain Dew commercial at Inyokern, CA. Thanks to John Limbach for video

Former 1370th PMW RC-130A 57-0512 performs in DOD test at Yuma, AZ as N118TG, by International Air Response, Chandler, Arizona

This was part of the Killer Herc technology demo program for DOD. It involved airdropping a running UAV which was controlled from the C-130, scouted out the target and sent video back, then we launched the Hellfire and killed the target. Cool stuff for trash haulers.

Pilot was Woody Grantham and the Co-pilot was Dave Kunz. FE was Mark Meginnes who now flys for Blackwater in Afghanistan.

I'm a retired loadmaster and contract with IAR to provide loadmaster services for their airdrop test contract at Yuma Proving Ground.

John F. Limbach

Click HERE for Killer Herc Video

Click HERE for DOD Demo Video

Click Thumbnails for larger images

Remember When

More Recently

I received the following messages from Fritz Wester:

28 DEC 2002
Hi Jim,

My name is Fritz Wester, I am the operations Manager for International Air Response in Chandler Arizona. We own 57-0512, it came to our company in 1989 from Quanset Rhode Island Air National Guard. It sat parked until about a year ago we we began a big push to get it together and converted for fire fighting. After 12 years on the ground and a million dollar investment, August 29, 2002 I flew as FE on it's test flight. I was hoping you could e-mail me the jpg files you have on it so I can photo print them and add them to my collection on the wall. Thank you.
Fritz Wester

29 DEC 2002
Dear Jim,
Thanks so much for the photo's, they will be printed with all captions. If anyone you know remembers 0512 and any interesting things that happened or maybe that for the whole time in Ethiopia it never had a single thing go wrong, or any other places it was deployed, I would like to add it to a historical file I am putting together. We also formerly owned RC-130A's 57-0517, 57-0518 and 57-0523. I flew on 57-0517 many times while it was leased to a company in Panama in 1991. We later sold it along with 0518 to a Mexican cargo company. We never moved 0523 as it had it's outer wings, engines and propellers removed, but was otherwise complete. It has had it's flight deck removed and was sold to a Canadian company for a simulator. The left wheel well in the GTC area was removed and sold to Allied Signal (formerly Airesearch and now Honeywell), for a mockup of C-130 GTC compartment so they could test fit redesigned GTC's, specifically the G! TCP85-180L which they tried to sell the Air Force as a mod, but they didn't buy it. 0517 and 0518 both retained their Aeroproducts propellers to the end. I believe both aircraft are now derelict in Mexico. 0512 on the other hand was converted to the Hamilton Standard 54H60-91 4 bladers in about 1979 or 1980. I did work the Aeroproducts propeller on 0517 and also on an Aussie A. I got it through FAA conformity inspection for the owner. I have to admit, from the outside I like the sound of the Aeroproducts prop better, but inside it is something undescribably loud except on the flight deck. I am very proud of 57-0512. My team and myself worked very hard putting it together. After 12 years as a cann bird it was a rather daunting task. We built engines and propellers and stripped the paint down to it's skivies and gave it a beautiful new paint job in our company colors. It flys like a dream, one of the straightest flying C-130's I have ever seen. It now has just at 14,000 hours on it. We have anly managed to put about 20 flight hours on it since we completed reactivation the end of August. It is registered as N118TG and I will send you some digital photo's soon. Take care and thank you again.
Fritz Wester