Workhorse - RAAF C-130s

Having one engine out was experienced by many a C-130 crew, probably multiple times in their careers. But having two out was rare. Even rarer was having two out on the same side - a MAYDAY situation. In this episode, Brett Gibson details one such incident in 1998 on a Royal Australian Air Force 37 Squadron C-130E, along with his career as a Flight Engineer on C-130Es and Hs.

With the Royal Australian Air Force buying 20 new C-130Js, divesting C-27Js, and in need of more heavy lift aircraft, force structure of the RAAF's Air Mobility Group is topical. In this episode of Workhorse, previous Commander Air Lift Group, John 'JOddie' Oddie discusses the options open to Australia's force designers. He also discusses his lengthy career stretching from form...

The Royal Australian Air Force has never crashed a C-130, but there have been a few close calls. One of the most remarkable close calls came three days after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin (24 December 1974). In the rush to get emergency equipment to Darwin, C-130E A97-190 was loaded without knowing the exact weight of the six generators in the cargo hold. Taking off on runway 10 at RAAF Richmond...

Chris Sinfield was the flight engineer on a Royal Australian Air Force C-130H during a 285 Squadron training flight mission during which the crew discovered they had a broken nose landing gear strut. Chris recounts the ensuing actions and landing in this episode of Workhorse. He spent his entire career at one base: RAAF Richmond, and he also recounts the many associated career experiences includin...

In early 2007, Royal Australian Air Force C-130Hs A97-003 and A97-010 were operating as Krait 61 - a formation flight conducting special operations support training during Exercise Red Flag. On the ground at a gravel strip called Keno Landing Zone in the Nellis range near Las Vegas, A97-003 was showered with rocks as A97-010 departed. The ensuing damage was repaired by changing all four engines an...

Anyone who has read about air mobility in the Royal Australian Air Force News over the past 20 years has probably been reading the work of Eamon Hamilton. He served as the Public Affairs Officer (journalist) for Air Lift/Mobility Group from 2006-2022. You can hear all about his career and how the media integrates with operations, exercises and training in the latest episode of 'Workhorse&apos...

C-130s are capable of landing very rudimentary runways, including grass, coral, sand, dirt, etc. Yet, they can't land on all types of surfaces because some are too soft to support the weight and tyre pressures of a C-130. In the Royal Australian Air Force, the science of figuring out which runways can support a C-130 belongs to the Airfield Engineers. This episode features Gilbert Gonthier wh...

Exercise Cope Thunder was run in the Philippines, providing combat air mobility training for anyone lucky enough to participate. Greg Scholes was a pilot with 36 Squadron and relates his experience on Cope Thunder, as well as details about his career on C-130Hs, VIP operations, and his RAAF career. 

Detachment 'S' was a loosely formed task force that conducted air transport operations in Vietnam during, circa April 1975. It was primarily a humanitarian assistance mission, providing food to refugees on the island of Phu Quoc, but it also conducted evacuations from Phan Rang, Operation Babylift, and evacuated embassy officials from Saigon. Ian 'Scooter' Scott was involved in...

Air Force safety systems evolved through the 1990s-present day. This journey included major shifts in policy that led the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to the current airworthiness system that oversights C-130 operations. Dave 'DT' Turner was a C-130H navigator and held many safety roles during his long career in the Royal Australian Navy and RAAF. In this episode, DT recounts the pr...

Shark 02 crashed on the island of Nias in 2005, resulting in 9 fatalities. Scott Olsen was a C-130H and J loadmaster, and in this episode, he recounts the repatriation mission that ensued, along with a rundown of his career.

Nicknames are rife in Australian culture; particularly in the Royal Australian Air Force. This episode of Workhorse dives into nicknames used by the RAAF C-130 community (aircrew, maintenance and support staff).  Tony Hall (Hally, or 'Tony Hall from Australia') and Graham Johnson (Johno 1, or Kramer) join me (K9) in presenting the top 100 nicknames and spinning tales about the nicknames...

Royal Australian Air Force C-130s participated in courses run by the US Advanced Airlift Tactical Training Center (AATTC) to hone their skills in combat environments. The course developed skills in airdrop, low-level flying, and threat avoidance. Michael 'Gus' Garside captained a 36SQN C-130H crew on this course in June 1998, and his crew experienced a double-engine failure during one of...

Ash Pendergast had a long association with the Royal Australian Air Force's 36 Squadron where he was a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI); took part in original NVG trials; and was a Flight Commander. Ash recalls these roles and his RAAF career in this episode.

In mid-March 1997, the yacht Queen Charlotte was being skippered from New Zealand to Japan by Australian Bob Cornell, with four passengers. On 19 March, the yacht was located approximately 600 nm east of Cairns when it ran into Cyclone Justin and its emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated. In response, Ben Charters and his crew from 37 Squadron flew A97-181 on a search-an...

This episode features a wide-ranging discussion of the flight engineer category and its place on the C-130 Hercules. Tony Hall also covers his operational C-130 experience, along with his transition onto Caribous and then as a Loadmaster on C-130Js. The discussion ranges into: RAAF B-707 operations based in Kyrgyzstan (where Tony was an Operations Officer) Impact of the Safety system on Flight Eng...

Gav Nicholson recounts his involvement with systems integration on RAAF C-130Hs during the late 1990s to the late 2000s, including electronic warfare self-protection, the FMS-800 flight management system, and other modifications of that era. Also discussed are PNG operations, Operations Falconer (Iraq 2003), Shaddock (PNG), Catalyst (Iraq, as C-130J Detachment Commander) and a mission on Spitfire...

Royal Australian Air Force C-130s airdrop parachutists and equipment to force project Australian military capabilities. C-130s flew in formation as a tactic to concentrate Army parachutists on a target area as quickly as possible (thereby minimising the risk to the paratroopers and aircraft).  In this episode of 'Workhorse', Andrew "Stretch" Elliott discusses the many factors t...

Graham 'Johno' 'Johno1' 'Kramer' Johnson flew C-130Hs on a variety of operations from 1989 to 1999, including Operations Solace (Somalia 1993), Immune (Pilot Strike 1989) and Ples Drei (PNG famine 1998), all of which he discusses in this episode. Johno also discusses the differences between pushing crew training to the boundaries of aircraft limits and when that trans...

The Royal Australian Air Force's C-130J fleet was acquired in 1999, but it was not fitted with electronic warfare self-protection systems. When C-130Hs deployed to the Middle East in early 2003, 37 Squadron had only just begun training its C-130J crews in tactical procedures. Thus when Middle East operations were extended into 2004, 36 Squadron's C-130Hs remained in the Middle East on an...

Reports arising in 1996 from Australian-flagged fishing vessels indicated the presence of dozens of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing vessels in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Exclusive Economic Zone.   In response, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) sought an enforcement action and requested Defence assistance with search, reconnaissance and apprehension. The fi...

The FMS-800 flight management system was installed on RAAF C-130Hs in 1999 under Project AIR 5195. The FMS-800 delivered a range of enhanced capabilities for C-130Hs making them even more ideally suited for the Airborne Operations and Special Operations support roles. These capabilities included GPS precision navigation, airdrop navigation, receiver autonomous-integrity monitoring (RAIM), jamming...

On 26 December 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale struck north of Simeulue Island in the Indian Ocean. The earthquake lifted an estimated 30 cubic kilometres of water which radiated from the epicentre devasting coastal communities around the Indian Ocean. Banda Aceh was hardest hit, and the RAAF responded immediately. This episode features 36 Squadron pilot Charlie Siedentopf w...

WARNING: This episode discusses a graphic account of the 2002 Bali bombing and related PTSD issues. On 12 Oct 2002 two bombs exploded in the Kuta district, Bali, Indonesia, destroying two popular night clubs – Paddy’s Irish Bar and the nearby Sari Club – showering the patrons with shrapnel and causing fierce fires at both sites. More than 500 people were either killed or injured in the blasts; 202...

Royal Australian Air Force C-130s arrived in Doha 11 February 2003 to support Australian, US and Coalition efforts as part of the US-led invasion of Iraq.  In this episode of 'Workhorse', Anthony 'Locky' Lock describes his role as a Liaison Officer supporting Australian Special Forces air mobility requirements during the early stages of Operation Falconer and his deployment on...