Jumping the C-130.

[Skysoldier]

I met a young Soldier the other day, he was home on leave from the 82nd.

We had a fun time talking, and I had a blast telling him some stories about jumping back in the 60's.

I told him my favorite jump was back at Fort Campbell in 1967. It was a combat equipment jump......64 Paratroopers wearing 2 chutes, and almost 100 lbs of equipment!

The C-130 taxied down the runway, and the takeoff was smooth. Then the Jumpmaster stood up, smiled, and said. "The Loadmaster will now take command!"

We all knew what that meant.

So this Air Force Master Sergeant stood at the rear of the plane, put his finger to his lips to command silence, and raised his hands slowly like a conductor of the Boston Pops.

We all stood up. And he waited for the newbie Pilot to finish his slow right turn and level out.

Then he quietly motioned for all of us on one side to shuffle quietly to the other side of the plane. As the pilot adjusted the trim to keep the plane level, we would gradually keep moving, packing like sardines to one side of the plane.

Then we waited......

The Loadmaster would then smile, and make the final frantic jesture.

And 64 Paratroopers with full combat equipment would rush to the other side of the plane!

As the plane violently slipped sideways, you could hear the scream of the newbie pilot from the cockpit as he tried to correct the balance of the plane while pissing his pants!

 

[bpm990d]

That is funny, but also sounds a little scary. Ever jump from a C119 Box Car or were they all replaced by Hercs?

B

 

[FPrice]

That young soldier must have been very naive.

 

[Skysoldier]

That is funny, but also sounds a little scary. Ever jump from a C119 Box Car or were they all replaced by Hercs?

B

All my jumps were the Hercules......except for a deuce-and-a half jump.....but that is another story!

 

[FPrice]

That is funny, but also sounds a little scary. Ever jump from a C119 Box Car or were they all replaced by Hercs?

B

My first four jumps at Ft Benning were from a C-119. As I recall it wasn't that bad. Then for our graduation jump we got a C-141 Starlifter. IIRC it was also an equipment jump and I finally got to experience what a sardine feels like.

 

[dustoff22]

As a once newby pilot I chuckle because you know the newby pilot in the right seat was trying to impress the pilot in command or perhaps even a check pilot. But you can bet your boots that whoever was sitting in the left seat of the C130 was fully aware as to what was going on. Same kind of stuff went on in the Army but of course to a much smaller scale

 

[Andy in NH]

The opening shock of the parachute is worse jumping from a C-141 than it is from a C-130. From either aircraft, if you didn't have the saddle pulled over your ass correctly, you'd really feel it in the family jewels if the legs straps weren't adjusted properly.

Exits from helicopters were more forgiving, but the additional length of the static line and the seven second count (vice four from an airplane) could create its own problems.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

C-130 is probably fun, but probably my favorite jump was out of one of these:

Went free fall though - no dope-on-a-rope crap for me.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

If they did this in the Polish army you would have instability due to too many poles in the left half plane.

 

[FPrice]

IL-76? Neat!

C-130 is probably fun, but probably my favorite jump was out of one of these:

Went free fall though - no dope-on-a-rope crap for me.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

IL-76? Neat!

Yup. About 120 of us. Out at 10,000' 90°N, 0°.

 

[Andy in NH]

0'Lat, 0'Long.

Was it a water landing in the Gulf of Guinea?

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Was it a water landing in the Gulf of Guinea?

D'oh! I DO know the difference.

 

[95blklsc]

If they did this in the Polish army you would have instability due to too many poles in the left half plane.

Haha...... Only a small audience will get that one.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Haha...... Only a small audience will get that one.

I figured Skysoldier would .

 

[garandman]

The opening shock of the parachute is worse jumping from a C-141 than it is from a C-130. From either aircraft, if you didn't have the saddle pulled over your ass correctly, you'd really feel it in the family jewels if the legs straps weren't adjusted properly.//

I had two from a C141. First one: seven twists.

The second we were the last stick out and they were low on fuel, so the pilot told the jumpmaster that "He was having a hard time staying in the jump window" which I think is 140 knots? Anyway, got blasted in the jetstream. I loved me my C130's....

 

[Andy in NH]

seven twists.

Kinda like this (but worse):

 

[FPrice]

I had two from a C141. First one: seven twists.

The second we were the last stick out and they were low on fuel, so the pilot told the jumpmaster that "He was having a hard time staying in the jump window" which I think is 140 knots? Anyway, got blasted in the jetstream. I loved me my C130's....

One of the problems with jumping the C-141 is that you don't "jump" like you do the C-130. On the -130 you want a vigorous exit, but on the -141 as I recall you want to "walk" out at a 45 degree angle. A vigorous exit will place you in the slipsream which will likely turn you around during opening.

The nicest jump was a tailgate from a CH-47...very slow and gentle opening shock.

 

[garandman]

A buddy - a 40-something lawyer in Suburban CT - got called up a few years ago to be the JAG for an SF Group in Afghanistan. When he got down to Bragg, he got the chance to jump out of a DC3! IIRC correctly it belonged to a foreign military (maybe South American?) and was still in active service.

He was attached to 18th ABN Corps for a while on AD and had all kinds of "straphanger" jumps. But although he did have a jump into Uzbekistan - no IL-76 to my knowledge - that's a unique one.

 

[Nick-mc]

I liked the C-130, had four on it, got to try out one of the new T-11s too, way easier to manipulate then the t-10 deltas.

 

[ArmaNotSoLite]

5 jump chump, veteran of Fryar DZ reporting in.

We made our 5 jumps out of C-130's and C-17's. Best story I have is watching a Butter Bar puke into a plastic bag that he kept in his ACU top, just in case. I don't know what happened to the bag after he jumped.

Also, on my first jump, I was almost to the ground, and I pulled a slip left, when I should have slipped right to slow down. A Sergeant Airborne, using a megaphone yelled up at me, "You slipped the wrong way! You need to.......never mind, too late!" while pondering why it was "too late" I slammed into the ground at roughly Mach 1, was knocked unconscious and was dragged halfway across the DZ before I managed to pop one of the Canopy releases.

Fortunately, my buddy Brown witnessed the whole thing, and regaled everybody with the tale while we were drinking beers at the Benning Brew Pub. Helpful guy, that Brown was. [sad2]

 

[jnyav8r]

Ahhhhh I remember how goooood those beers tasted after that first jump. I wonder if the hidden door bar is still there?