Stars and Stripes reported today (April 25) that a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules four-engine turboprop established a new record by flying direct from Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) in Texas to Andersen AFB in Guam. The C-130J made a single fuel stop in Hawaii, with a total flight time of 26 hours, 33 minutes.
Since C-130s are not equipped for air-to-air refueling, the April 18 flight used a pair of external fuel tanks, according to the USAF 7th Bomb Wing press release. Two separate crews from the USAF 40th Airlift Squadron began shifting their circadian rhythms 49 hours in advance to help complete the marathon mission, meant to spotlight the Super Hercules’s maximum endurance capability.
USAF Captain and pilot Anna Santori said, “The external tanks have new capabilities for us, allowing us to fly farther without refueling. It gives us about 17,000 pounds of fuel, which translates to roughly four extra hours of flying.” The Super Hercules will now participate in exercises focused on enabling refueling and deployments in forward areas not previously accessible in the area near the Luzon Strait near Taiwan. The aircraft, whose internal and external fuel tanks can also serve as refueling assets for remote locations, can also transport U.S. Marines from Lal-Lo to Batan Island, “a strategically important island in the northern island chain that USAF mobility aircraft have not been to in over a decade,” according to the Air Force, which added, “Utilizing our external fuel tanks and ability to land in austere locations, we will be able to provide fuel for follow-on missions from USMC aircraft.”
Who made the brilliant decision not to include aerial refueling capability on C130J’s?
The Marine Corps has been doing this since the 1960’s..Un-augmented BTW.
I believe all AFSOC C-130J models have a UARRSI and have In-Flight Refueling capabilities.
I flew the MC-130E, we had IFR, and later the airplanes were modified with refueling pods to refuel helicopters.
IIRC, the MC and HC versions have in-flight refueling (IFR) but not the regular C-130’s, and I think that’s the way it’s always been. But I’m not seeing how a flight from Texas to Guam with a refueling stop in Hawaii constitutes a “direct” flight.
Kudos to Mark, that the article did not once reference the gender of the pilot, unlike the S&S original which seemed to go out of its way to do so. We’re getting there …
Kudos also from me.
Hmmm, I’m confused by this sentence: “The C-130J made a single fuel stop in Hawaii…”
So it wasn’t a direct flight from Texas to Guam, right?
It was a “direct” flight between Texas and Guam (with a fuel stop in Hawaii), but not a “non-stop” flight. The airlines have been bending these definitions for a while now too.
IDK if the Js have as much noise and vibration as the Es I flew, but after that long in a Herc I’d be a basket case.
Upon landing in Guam, the crew was greeted by Garrett Morris who will be helping them with communications for the next several days.
To reply to Brian Hope, and piggyback on Butch Gilbert & rblevy posts: back in Aug of 1954, having the C-130 AR-capable was not a consideration, and really was never a requirement for regular (non-special ops) Herks. It took all the way to the Falklands War and the RAF’s need to use their Herks for this long-range fight, that created an urgent and immediate need for AR for “straight-tail” Herks. They executed this mod, but the US has never really been sold on the idea, since we had and have other airframes that could fill the bill.
A big oorah for BA09’s comment! Semper Bert!
Aye!
S/F
Mark, please suspend my comment to Aviatrexx, I meant to Comment in a complimentary fashion and instead hit “Report.”
I’m a huge fan of women aviators and have known a number of famous one (Gene Nora Jessen (Gemini 13), Nancy Bird Walton (Royal Flying Doctor Service) and even my first wife (lost to cancer in 2014, NW Section Governor of the 99s, great pilot of her C180 which I still have.)
Tom Jensen