Ode to the Mighty Herk-a-lerc

Oh mighty Herk,

You are more perfect than a spork,

You soar far above the clouds if they are low,

With strong tailwinds no one calls you slow,

You are awesome for adventures,

But not for those with dentures,

Oh mighty Herc.

I bet most of you didn't know I am an amazing poet, my sis rubs off on me from time to time.

I've been meaning to do this for awhile now, but it keeps slipping my mind. The C-130 is seriously one of the coolest planes in the AF's inventory. Funny thing about it, I distinctly remember on casual (waiting for flight school) returning from my first C-130 ride, calling dad and saying I still didn't know what I want to fly, but it wasn't the herk. By the time I left my mind had definitely changed and became my top choice. (you can read a previous post about how that happened. The C-130 is by no means the poster child of the AF, but it definitely is the workhorse along with the newer more luxurious C-17. And you wouldn't think so, but the 40 year older herk is FAR more gas efficient.

This past week I got to go Norfolk VA, Gitmo Cuba, St. Croix and back again, with a really fun crew, on a routine run to deliver supplies, mail, etc. Apparently this was a very common thing before the wars kicked off, but since then we have been pre-occupied. As we were making the return jump to VA I laughed and realized I needed to document how awesome the trip was. I'll try to be unbiased as well though.

I'll start with the obvious niceties of the plane that make it the ultimate roadtripper:

- it has a small oven, so toasted sandwiches, pizzas, and cookies are common

- we have water heaters, but usually prefer the cool drinks from the cooler

- after all that you'll be happy to know we have a sit down toilet

- we have 2 crew bunks, but can put in more litters for more nappers, we take turns for napping

- we can put music over the interphone

- we can bring our own ride by loading up a truck

- there are regular plug ins so guitar hero has been played in the back on longer trips (it was monopoly on the lap-top this trip)

To be unbiased: (with the secret pro behind the con)

- the auto-pilot is pretty shady so flyer beware (we actually get to FLY the plane)

- we couldn't climb above 30K because we didn't have necessary equipment, most of the time we can't climb above 24K the plane just can't take it

- we have 4 huge speed brakes called propellers, in strong winds we barely move

- we can't refuel in flight (the last three combine to mean we get to make more stops, seeing more of the world and stay over night in St. Croix)

- in the back you are either freezing or sweating depending on the location of your seat (both warm and cold blooded people are happy)

- we don't have fancy computers to communicate over the ocean, so we make hourly position reports to verify we are still there (you get to say hello to lots of different people)

- no fancy computers for navigation and systems monitoring (we carry a larger crew to party with, always a pro)

We also flew a retired family from VA to WY to go skiing (space A). It was funny to bring the kids up front and see them very unimpressed with the flight deck. Even more funny to hear them screaming in the back as we practiced a rapid descent into an assault landing.