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Iraq-Jordan
Iraqi Air Force training on U.S. plane
2005-03-07
BAGHDAD, March 6 (UPI) -- Iraq's air force, out of practice from 12 years of observing a no-fly zone, has been training on U.S.-made C-130 transports.
The Middle East Newsline said one five-man crew has been trained to operate the C-130 so far. The crew made its first flight outside Iraqi airspace by flying from Talil to Amman in Jordan. The Iraqi Air Force also has aircraft supplied by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Iragi AF is getting a small fleet of C-130's so that they can fly supplies for their own forces. We've set up a english language school in Iraq to teach english to pilots and ground crews before training them on the C-130. My sources tell me things are going very well.

Posted by:Steve

#10  Jackal, with the right people and the right equipment, the answer is yes.
Posted by: RWV   2005-03-07 11:10:07 PM  

#9  There are quite a few C-130s out at D-M. I can see maybe 10-20 from the road, so there could be many more back farther.
Posted by: jackal   2005-03-07 10:24:50 PM  

#8  Can you "field upgrade" a C-130 into an AC-130, or something close to it?
Posted by: jackal   2005-03-07 10:23:16 PM  

#7  Especially since the wings came clean off during a drop in Walker, CA on the border with NV. I see the memorial (and remember the video - that poor crew) every time I go on 395 through the Sierras
Posted by: Frank G   2005-03-07 8:39:43 PM  

#6  I read somewhere recently that there are over 3000 Lockheed Hercules flying in some 56 different varieties, by about 40 different governments and a few private airlines (Saturn, for one). Lockheed is still manufacturing them, and has orders enough for the next three years at least. The Forestry Service is trying to replace all its older water-bomber aircraft with C-130's.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-03-07 3:24:15 PM  

#5  and with the price tag that Lockheed put on the C-130J, even the USAF has to gulp before they place the order.
Posted by: RWV   2005-03-07 3:04:42 PM  

#4  Don't expect there's too many decent/flyable C-130s in the boneyard, those things are like gold.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-03-07 12:19:30 PM  

#3  This is good. How many old C-130s are in the boneyard in Arizona? I think we could spare a few dozen.
Posted by: Steve White   2005-03-07 12:02:55 PM  

#2  Not just to fly outside the country, to learn to fly them. Reports are that they first tried it with a translator sitting behind the Iraqi pilot and the American instructor. That wasn't very....productive.
Posted by: Steve   2005-03-07 10:53:13 AM  

#1  They certainly have to have English competency to fly outside of Iraq - the global ATC system uses English... of a sort, anyway.
Posted by: .com   2005-03-07 10:07:20 AM  

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