[MilCom] FAT ALBERT

[Duane Mantick]

Another source tells me that next year they get a new Fat Albert, a C130J, which possibly doesn't even have a provision for RATO bottles????

Duane
WB9OMC


--- On Sat, 10/17/09, Jack Nesmith <jnesmith2 at cfl.rr.com> wrote:

> From: Jack Nesmith <jnesmith2 at cfl.rr.com>
> Subject: [MilCom] FAT ALBERT
> To: "milcom" <milcom at mailman.qth.net>
> Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009, 6:28 AM
> There's nothing like solid rocket
> fuel bursting into flames to get an 
> air-show crowd's attention.
> 
> The jet-assisted takeoff, or JATO, is a fan favorite at the
> annual Oceana 
> Air Show, which takes place this weekend. But this is the
> final year you'll 
> be able to see it.
> 
> The maneuver is performed by Fat Albert, the Marine-crewed
> C-130 cargo plane 
> that carries the Blue Angels' gear. At takeoff, the crew
> fires eight rocket 
> "bottles" that blast the mammoth plane 1,000 feet into the
> air in about 15 
> seconds - simulating a launch under hostile conditions.
> 
> Trouble is, the bottles date to the Vietnam War, and it
> costs about $16,000 
> to get one reinspected and approved for use, said Capt.
> Edward Jorge, one of 
> the plane's pilots. The expense has become prohibitive.
> 
> "We're going to be very sad," he said. "But ya know, all
> good things come to 
> an end."
> 
> 
> 
> Jack
> 
> Deltona,FL.
> 
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