Chapter Visit to Delaware Air National Guard – Tour of the versatile Lockheed C-130H
Monday, May 23rd 2022: At the invitation of Sarah Gault and Thorne Harkin of DANG, Chapter members were treated to a visit to the base at New Castle Airport KILG and a detailed tour of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules that they operate.
‘The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling, maritime patrol, and aerial firefighting. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including civilian versions marketed as the Lockheed L-100, operate in more than 60 nations’. Eight aircraft are based at KILG.
Thorne (co-pilot) and Sarah (navigator) outlined recent international flight missions they had undertaken demonstrating the versatility of the aircraft and its value to the US services.
Chapter members were encouraged to occupy the cockpit seats and to make aircraft noises….and they did. The flight controls and nav equipment were described, payload arrangements, safety and defensive capabilities and much more was shared with the visiting EAA240 team.
It was a fascinating visit and Sarah & Thorne will try to repeat for a further group of Chapter members later in the year.
Our thanks to Sarah & Thorne for arranging and hosting the visit, and for spending so much time with us. Very much appreciated.
We all took lots of photo’s (with approval), and we’ve loaded a bunch to the Chapter Photo Albums area of the Chapter web site here, samples below. Full album here.
Mike Parry
President, EAA Chapter 240
