majortomski Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Phound the Photo's (slides) I'll get them scanned this weekend. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 That is truly a pretty bird. Speaking of KC-135 accident reports, does anyone have info on a possible KC-135 crash while taking off from Westover AFB (in Western Mass) back in the early 60's? While reading up on the history of the base, I found a one paragraph newspaper article about a tanker that crashed on take-off while attempting a trans-atlantic speed record. The other aircraft in the flight flew over the burning wreckage (which was strewn across the Mass Turnpike). I've found nothing else on this crash. Google "KC-135 crash Westover" and you'll get all kinds of information on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Another unique KC-135A. 59-1481 was delivered to the Federal Aviation Agency for use in proving jet routes and navaid calibration. She later became NASA's N930NA, one of the famous Vomit Comets.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 The other FAA loaner was 59-1518 and flew as N96. When I first encounterd this plane it was sitting on the south ramp of Tinker with no markings other than "old smokey" on the nose. We later installed a jurry rigged passenger interior in it. The FAA flew the planes as SHORT TAILS starting in 1960 up to the mid 70's. Don't know when they got tall tails. Monday I'll snoop around the engineering office and see if I can find the actual paint drawings for these planes. Flight Check aircraft maintenance is what I do for a living! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 That would be great Tom! You can email me direct at. jrh@pemtel.net Tks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Some of the last photo graphs of 0316: After all the useble parts have been removed Removing the nose to clear the ramp and to "demilitarize" The burned interior Our joke "For Sale" in arabic As we left it: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) WOW! So if you scrub the "U.S." off from in front of "AIR FORCE" nobody will know to which air force the KC-135A with SAC markings belongs, eh? Is that the idea? :) That would make a great diorama! Thanks for posting Tom! J PS: You don't happen to have a pic of her late in her career, but before the accident, do you?? I don't think I've ever seen one. Did she have TF33-PW-102s?? Edited February 11, 2012 by Jennings Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Nope still just J-57s with really really polished inlet sections. That's the only thing that 8th AF said they HAD to have back in B'dale. Nope sorry nothing on the intact photo list. I also personally removed the dataplate off the nose section. T Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) Here she is at Andrews AFB on 17 August 1969. USAF photo from the collection of Al Lloyd. Note the fully armed Lightning F.1's in the background! At Andrews? Why?? How'd they get there?? What were they doing?? Edited February 12, 2012 by Jennings Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'd heard or read that at some point along the way the overhead windows above the nav station were removed/plated over...is this the case across the fleet, and if so, what was the reason for it? Jonah Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 It happened sometime after 1988. A US Army NCO was hitching a ride home. Nav offered to let him have a look out the sextant. Some how as the poor guy stood up on the pedistle one of the windows let go. I hope he never realized what killed him. The solution was to replace the glass panes with sheet metal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I had no idea it was that late. That goes into the file... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 That's terrible...thanks for the info. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Sorry guys the FAA -135 paint drawings do not exist any longer 8..-( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Dang it... Thanks for trying Tom! And speaking of tricked out boss birds, here's Casey 15 from the 22nd ARW at March AFB in the late 1980s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Annnnnnnd... just for gins and giggles. What if the RAF suddenly found itself with really old, unsupportable tankers and had to buy a few soon-to-be-retired, low mileage KC-135Rs from the USAF to go with their almost new RC-135Ws? Might they look something like this? :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Right Oh! Good Show old Boy!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sentry30 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 (edited) Isn't 982 being used for spares? I haven't found any reference to it, nor seen any photos. Do you have any more information?? Thanks! J Thats right Jennings, the third one is on reserve and is not flying. 982 Was seen flying @ Lacland mid March in full FACH markings, and has been delivered to the FACH late March. It for sure is not being used for spareparts! Daniël Edited April 20, 2012 by Sentry30 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B-17fan Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Location: 183rd TFW, Springfield, IL. Date: unknown Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Planes of the Past Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Jennings you have to stop scraping open my healed wounds! We did a survey of oddball -135 paintschemes just to have them documented, don't remember catching this scheme in that survey. But...by the time it burned -0316 was 8AF CC's "staff" bird and it had been painted externally to look like a plain ole buck tanker. However, the interior was another story. That was back in the days of the KC-135E conversion program when the USAF was buying old 707's for parts. One of the donor 707s came from the (I believe) Drexler Oil company. It had a custom $1.1 Million interior, that somehow under the graces of CinC SAC found its way into -0316. Inlaid ornate wood trim in the wainscoating from nose to tail. Etched smoke glass room dividers (with oilfield images) and a multi-blue hue sunburst pattern carpet that ran from nose to tail. The aircraft actually burned at Cairo EAST=THE Cairo International Airport! Not on a military ramp.And in full view of the passengers in the terminal. There was even a story that a bus load of Japanese tourists drove around the wreckage snapping photo's all the way. The mishap investigation team moved the damaged airframe to the Egyptian military side of the airport on the east side of the runway. At the time there was a USAF MAC detatchment that supported the US embasy on that side of the field. I went with a CLSS team a week after the accident investigation to salvage what we could. A week after that we loaded the engines, struts, landing gear, tail feathers, outboard wings and all the avioinics into a C-5 and brought them back to Tinker. The rest of the plane was scrapped in place by the Egyptians. The US embasy had to make it clear that the company removing the plane had to actually take the rest of the plane away. Many Egyptians were bidding on the 3 tons of wood shoreing we left under the plane when we took out the gear. They didn't want the aluminum, just the wood. I'll hunt for my slides of the operation tonight. The fork and spoon I've been using for lunch at work for the last 23 years are from -0316s galley! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Planes of the Past Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I flew on this airplane, 61-0316, circa 1970 from MacDill AFB to Andrews AFB, and return. I wish I remembered more of the details of the passenger compartment; it was relatively small, and I think there were only about 6 of us on board, heading to a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery for one of our co-workers at MacDill. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sentry30 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) edit: link went dead... Edited September 16, 2012 by Sentry30 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gary1701 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Hi, That Michigan ANG bird with the colourful fuselage strip is reported as having arrived at RAF Mildenhall a few hours ago. Looks like a trip over is on the cards now for the morning. Hope he departs tomorrow... Gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Location: 183rd TFW, Springfield, IL. Date: unknown The modeling high point of my career! I did the almost final version of that paint scheme. MINE had realy nice waves in the dark gray over light gray on the engines to complement the waves on the fuselage. My commanding General didn't like them and said to make the nacelle lines straight as shown here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gary1701 Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 (edited) Gents, Here she is, under tow this afternoon at RAF Mildenhall. This one, and another more conventionally marked came in from Geilenkirchen last night. I was hoping they were going to go, but they sat on their stands all day until the colourful one was towed late afternoon around to where the other one sat, on the 100th ARW stands. Local rumour mill is they may stay for a while, so perhaps another chance. I have done a certain amount of editing behind the aircraft to get rid of some of the distractions. Only other movements during a seven hour wait was two 22nd ARW '135s coming out of the East so they're probably going home. The second was fitted with MPRS. Gary Edited September 16, 2012 by gary1701 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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