Inside Dyess AFB Air Park C-130A 55-0023

[viking73]

Okay, here are my photos from the interior of Dyess AFB Linear Air Park C-130A 55-0023. Once again, a BIG thanks to Doc and Kelly for taking the time to make this happen for me.





Once Doc opened her up, we stepped inside. A look to the right revealed the cargo area of this bird:




Looking up I took a shot of the stuff in the top of the interior:




Moving further back, a got a good shot of the ramp interior:




This bird is a Vietnam Vet and there are several photos on the wall inside of the damage she took while on duty in Southeast Asia:




Turning back to the front of the aircraft I took this shot:




Moving towards the entrance to the cockpit, her Purple Heart is on display on the bulkhead:



First stop is the navigator’s position:




Looking up above is the sextant:




Here’s the front office:






A view of the upper panel:




This was a neat panel on the left side of the pilot’s station:




Hope you all like these photos as well. She's still in great shape and has most of her equipment still in place. Keep up the good work Doc!

Maybe I’ll have more interior shots to post on my next visit to Dyess. I'd love to see the inside of the KC-97 or T-29

-Derek

[JohnB]

IIRC, occasionally they open the rear door for tours...on hot Texas days it would be most welcome.
At one time Doc and I talked about putting a Jeep in the back...just a chassis & body so no fluid leaks.

[viking73]

IIRC, occasionally they open the rear door for tours...on hot Texas days it would be most welcome.
At one time Doc and I talked about putting a Jeep in the back...just a chassis & body so no fluid leaks.

Yeah, Doc did mention that he could manually pump the rear door open and closed. He said that it took almost 300 pumps both ways so he doesn't do it much anymore

-Derek

[Pogmusic]

Seeing the upper interior of that Herk brought back memories of loading up loaded down with parachute, reserve, and what felt like a million tons of equipment for a jump. On take off when they went to full power, the air conditioning vents would be issuing tons of cold air that looked like the stuff rising from a smoke generator. Always a bit unnerving. That was one of my favorite jump platforms. I had about 45 jumps from 130's LOVE THE HERK!!!

[ffuries]

Here's her older sister C-130A 55-0022.

[b29flteng]

My career started on the C-130A, it looks as though everything is there. I think all of the A models I worked on were 56 models, 56-0540, 56-541, 56-0525, 56-0523 are some of the serial numbers I remember.

A lot of memories....

55-0022 came through Dallas NAS back in the 90s, it is/was the only A model to retain the front cargo loading door due to it's unique cargo. The original A models had the front cargo door blocked closed due to a few blowing opening in flight. The three bladed Aero Products props grounded the fleet, due to blade cracks, for a while back in the 70s until they were all retro-fitted with the Ham-Standard 4 blade.

I concur, it took forever to pump the door and ramp open with the hand pump.

No low speed ground idle for the engines, 4 DC generators, 2 AC generators (ours were modified to have 4 AC generators), no electric hydraulic pump to assist in opening the cargo door/ramp. Full 3,000 psi for aileron boost vs. 2,050(?) for the later models.

[APG85]

Great pictures! The plane looks very complete...

[tom d. friedman]

my ex wife's cousin was stationed at keesler afb in the early 90's. his squadron flew hurricane missions over the gulf of mexico (7th accs?? can't remember). i went to visit, & got the grand tour!! crawled all over the c- 130's their. on 1 herk he found a pair of nomex flight gloves at the flare drop station desk, & gave me the best pair of gloves i've ever owned to this day. he said...... "these are highly prized, & somebody was dumb enough to leave them", so here, you paid for them. near 20 years later they are still in great shape with plenty of use. best frikkin pair of gloves i've ever owned. man is it balls hot their in biloxi!!

[APG85]

my ex wife's cousin was stationed at keesler afb in the early 90's. his squadron flew hurricane missions over the gulf of mexico (7th accs?? can't remember).

That would have been the 53d Reconnaissance Squadron...The Hurricane Hunters. The 7th ACCS (Airborne Command and Control Squadron) flew EC-130E ABCCC aircraft and performand a battlefield command and control mission. At the time, both units were stationed at Keesler. In 1994, the 7th ACCS moved to Davis-Monthan. It later deactivated in 2000...

[JohnB]

It was said that the Dyess aircraft was the first operational USAF C-130. Certainly, it was with the first unit at Ardmore, Okla.

It was the 23rd ship made, so it's possible the others were used for test and training ork. Anyone know more?

And I see from Braugher's site, that it's the second oldest C-130 surviving...or at least on display.

[ffuries]

55-0022 was retired around 2001/2002 or so, and was flown from Duke Field (AKA Eglin AFB Aux Field 3) to another Eglin Aux field and parked, don't know if she's in one piece still or not.

[Ken]

Nearly every time I see a static display I wonder what the inside looks like - what a great opportunity to finally get to look in one. To top that off, the airplane looks like it was just rolled off the flightline! I am thrilled to see the old girl mostly intact - I imagine that's beyond rare. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us.

Ken

[RareBear]

Here's a photo of Hercules 55-0022 taken at Eglin Aux Field #2 (Pierce Field) in January of 2009. Photo is from Paul Freeman's site "Abandoned and Little Known Airfields". She can be seen at 30 34 47.19 N 86 26 49.45 W.




Walt

[viking73]

Nearly every time I see a static display I wonder what the inside looks like - what a great opportunity to finally get to look in one. To top that off, the airplane looks like it was just rolled off the flightline! I am thrilled to see the old girl mostly intact - I imagine that's beyond rare. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us.

Ken

You are welcome Ken. I love seeing this kind of stuff on WIX so I always try to contribute my small share when I can.

She is remarkably intact - all of the crew's flight manuals and other documentation are inside as well. I enjoyed thumbing through them. Doc Warner does a really great job there despite the small budget he has to work with. I sure hope to get another visit out there again soon.

-Derek

[hurk130]

We had a good day that day. Doc was cool to hang around with and the temps were good. Those planes have a smell you can't duplicate! I see 0023 everyday I go to work. The Dyess Airpark is not perfect but it is better than others and better than it was in the 80's. Doc's budget is 4000 dollars a year for upkeep on those planes. He paints two of them and his budget is blown for the year. He depends on Squadron volunteers to try to keep things in order. He can't fight OSHA, and lawyers with spray guns so we have to roller paint the planes. That hurts but there are just no resources for unbolting a plane, towing it to the corrosion control hangar, strip it down and spray a new paint job on it.

I wish they could move the front gate to the traffic circle so that everyone can visit the planes but that is not going to happen either. Anyway, I am glad you had a good time with the planes.

Kelly