‘Lucifer’s Chariot’

[ClearedHot]

‘You are the reason I drink’ — Airmen bid adieu to decrepit aircraft dubbed ‘Lucifer’s Chariot’

“four terrible and terrifying years that aged me well beyond where I should be.”

“You are the reason I live to forget.”

“582, you’re a real nasty lady,” said Markham. “I had some great memories, but most of them involved getting off the aircraft and sprinting away from you.”

[arg]

Oldest Herk I flew on was a '61 model going through school at Little Rock. We had a '62 model at Hurlburt for a few years, 62-1855, but it flew pretty well. I remember one particular trip to Vegas in it(pretty sure it was that one) among others. The '69 model gunships and the '64 model OG Talons I flew on were the reason I drank, some tails more than others.

[ClearedHot]

4 hours ago, arg said:

Oldest Herk I flew on was a '61 model going through school at Little Rock. We had a '62 model at Hurlburt for a few years, 62-1855, but it flew pretty well. I remember one particular trip to Vegas in it(pretty sure it was that one) among others. The '69 model gunships and the '64 model OG Talons I flew on were the reason I drank, some tails more than others.

Vegas was with me wasn't it?

[disgruntledemployee]

1st Herk I flew shook on takeoff, in the climb, and most of the sortie.  And when I say shook, it's wasn't vibration, I mean it shook side to side, and hard.  "They" said it might be due to the external tanks and removed them, but it probably wasn't.  Plane was grounded shortly after I flew it and was retired, which probably prevented a pending Class A.

Same with oldest Herk.  61-2358 was the 1st E-model and they said it spent a lot of it's life as a test bird. but it came to LR  its final days with the 62d doing Pro sorties.  It's now back at Edwards as a display.

[lloyd christmas]

I had 2200 hours on E model Hercs.  They ranged from 61-2358 to various 64 models.  I have time on 62-1787 which was the most decorated and easily has one of the most harrowing stories ever involving a C-130.  It’s now on display at the AF Museum.  

https://www.troopcarrier.org/spare617.html

 

 

 

[Sua Sponte]

Any KC-135 crewmember knows the stories, or flew on, 58-0050 aka Spook 50. I once convinced an MCT student to make sure the ghost of Spook was annotated on the Form F when we flew on her.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChilluminatiPod/comments/hi50qs/the_time_i_flew_on_spook_50_the_haunted_kc135/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.macdill.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2002055952/
 

Spook even has a book on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Spook-Short-Story-David-Joseph-ebook/dp/B00EK3443W/ref=nodl_

[arg]

I lied, can't believe I forgot about the AC-130A. Only two flights, one as as a gunner helping out the Duke bubbas and the other, years later, as an evaluator FE during an ASET. The ASET flight was on 129, the First Lady. 129 was the first C-130 the AF bought, it's a ''53 model.. It sits at the museum on Eglin.

[08Dawg]

Every Buff flying today is a 60 or 61 tail. Some are champs. Some, like 60-0059, live to make the lives of crew dogs hell!  She’s had flame outs over the Pacific, hydro leaks forcing real world no flap landings…even has her own song, set to the tune of “sweet Caroline”. “Balls 59…wouldn’t fly you if I could”

[Prosuper]

Worked on KC-135R 57-1440 MPRS last night doing an oxygen purge, it just got out of the paint barn at PDM. MPRS birds are road hard and put up wet. Of course, this one will go back to McConnell to be flown hard with no TLC ever given. Lucifers Chariot is an old Looking Glass EC-135 that was converted into a sniffer. Those engines are TF33P102A's, they were already used up because all the 102's came off high time retired airliner B707's along with the nacelles. The only 135's that came off the assembly lines with TF-33's were the C-135B's and some of them became Rivet Joints. The two recently retired OC-135B's were the last of the TF33P5's powered C-135B's, the rest now have the CFM-56. 

[Scooter14]

I flew on 582 multiple times as a Nav. I got checked out on her in Aug 2001…we were having the Offutt Air Show and they kicked a bunch of the oddball jets off station. We flew it to Hickam along with one of the TC-135s and provided air refueling training support since it still had a boom at the time.

It was a fun jet back then but it was an oddball for sure.

[Prozac]

2 hours ago, 08Dawg said:

She’s had flame outs over the Pacific,

Ah yes….the dreaded seven engine approach! 😂

[Sua Sponte]

2 hours ago, Prosuper said:

Worked on KC-135R 57-1440 MPRS last night doing an oxygen purge, it just got out of the paint barn at PDM. MPRS birds are road hard and put up wet. Of course, this one will go back to McConnell to be flown hard with no TLC ever given. Lucifers Chariot is an old Looking Glass EC-135 that was converted into a sniffer. Those engines are TF33P102A's, they were already used up because all the 102's came off high time retired airliner B707's along with the nacelles. The only 135's that came off the assembly lines with TF-33's were the C-135B's and some of them became Rivet Joints. The two recently retired OC-135B's were the last of the TF33P5's powered C-135B's, the rest now have the CFM-56. 

Worst MPRS jet of all time is Triple Cripple, 333.

[08Dawg]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:35 PM, Prozac said:

Ah yes….the dreaded seven engine approach! 😂

This was multiples engines if I recall correctly. Been a minute since that happened!

[Prozac]

28 minutes ago, 08Dawg said:

This was multiples engines if I recall correctly. Been a minute since that happened!

Just givin’ the BUFF guys a little shit. 😎

[08Dawg]

37 minutes ago, Prozac said:

Just givin’ the BUFF guys a little shit. 😎

I mean, shutting down #7 for a rando high oil temp is one thing, but them TF-33s don’t usually flame out 😂