First flight in a C-130J

Editor's Note: This is the third and final in a series of three posts by Tech. Sgt. Jerome Baysmore's about his recent trip to Afghanistan. Sergeant Baysmore is a member of the 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs Office.

It was the final leg of our trip, and I was excited. We had waited all day for this, and our flight was to Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan. About every 90 seconds, an Air Mobility Command jet is rolling down a runway somewhere around the world – and this time, it would be ours.

This fact was apparent as we stood on the Bagram Air Base flightline. Everywhere you turned, there was an AMC “gray tail” offloading, onloading, taxiing or taking off. Even at one of the busiest hubs in Afghanistan, it was apparent that AMC really does handle over 60 percent of the missions.

We stacked our bags and watched as the cargo team tied them down to an aircraft pallet.

Soon, a Bagram passenger service rep passed back our IDs, which doubled as boarding passes for this flight, and we loaded onto the bus and driven to the flightline.

But this time, something had changed…

Instead of a tanker or C-17, one of AMC’s newest aircraft—the C-130J Hercules stood waiting for us.

The Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., aircrew was going through the finishing stages of their preflight checks when they marshaled us on board.

I had heard about the new C-130 and seen it before, but this flight to Kandahar, which would take little more than an hour, would be my first flight on one.

Even with about 50 pounds of body armor, a helmet and equipment cinched to me, I was still a bit anxious to see how this aircraft performed since I was a frequent flyer on the older four-propeller per engine E and H models.

It was like my fourth test ride in a month—I had test driven a car for my wife and two motorcycles for my possible future commutes prior to this trip, so I had my mental checklist ready.

I asked to see the flightdeck before we had to strap in and was pleasantly surprised. The old-school analog needle and dial systems were gone. In its place, was a newly designed, software-based digital system that would make any commercial pilot, exotic car owner or weekend gamer a little envious—one check for cutting edge technology.

There were digital displays, navigation equipment and other mods that I didn’t have time to take in because the loadmaster gave the signal for me to get back to the troop seats.

I walked back, strapped in, and I heard the drone of the auxiliary power unit shut down and the fuselage vibrate as the engines came to life – one check for a smooth startup.

Since I was back there, I had time to look around the fuselage of the C-130. Hey, there were more improvements here; the cargo capacity has gone up from room for 6 aircraft pallets to 8.

Not to mention the newer engines were turning outside, powering the redesigned system that went from four to six propellers – another check for power upgrades.

We had our safety briefing, and we taxied out to the runway.

Here’s where the difference was made for me, the older “Hercs” had a characteristic where you felt every bump, jolt, pebble, or surface imperfection on the way to takeoff. But this new Herc was smoother and quieter – one check for all around coolness.

Right when I was ready to bookmark the section on power, I felt the brakes engage and we took a slow turn onto the runway. After a momentary stop, the pilot throttled up and the Herc surged with power, bared down and raced to take-off speed. I thought I even heard a subconscious National Hot Rod Association top-fuel dragster tire-screeching burnout as our Herc gathered speed and leaped into the air.

Yeah, bookmark and underscore the section on torque—it really moves; quick.

After what seemed a short flight, we were on our final approach and soon landed in Kandahar.

We were briefed by a passenger service rep and marshaled from the flightline to the terminal—we were finally here. I was thrilled with our flight, and impressed with the new airframe.