XV290 for scrap :(

Today I was in at work and cleared my desk. Now all that's left is to go around the sections next week and clear. I did take an opportunity to go out to the "Wash Bay" at Lyneham and wander round an old friend which is being slowly dismantled for spares and for scrap. It is/was XV290 C130K Hercules CMk 3 (a stretched herc... the RAF version of the US H model).

So now I'm home I am leafing through my logbooks and I can tell you the following about this aircraft and gosh me and this baby have history.....


As a Co-pilot...

On 7 Sep 1999, I flew this aircraft from Lyneham to Blackpool to Aldergrove to Blackpool and home to Lyneham.


As a Captain...

On 2 Mar 2002, I took this aircraft airborne from Thumrait and landed back at Thumrait after an hour and ten minutes with Smoke and Fumes on an emergency!

On 3 Mar 2002, I flew this aircraft from Thumrait to Kabul then onto Karachi.

On 5 Mar 2002, I flew this aircraft from Karachi into Kabul and back to Muscat.

On 6 Mar 2002, I flew her from Muscat to Kabul and back to Karachi.

On 7 Mar 2002, I flew her from Karachi to Muscat and onto Thumrait.

On 8 Mar 2002, I flew this aircraft from Thumrait to Karachi to Kabul to Islamabad and finally to Karachi. I'll never forget that night! We landed at Islamabad and had to shut down. We couldn't get fuel and had only enough to get back to Karachi. When we got airborne out of Islamabad there was the mother of all thunderstorms and we had to deviate from the departure to avoid it. We flew back to Karachi in the dark with St Elmo's fire dancing along the leading edges of the wings and all along the prop blades. I had to chat to one of the other RAF Hercs to get them to move level so we could fly at the optimum level for our fuel burn to make it back!

On 10 mar 2002, I flew this baby from Karachi to Kabul to Karachi then Thumrait.

For those who know my testimony, these flights were part of my eventual return to faith!

On 20 Aug 2002, I flew this aircraft on a training trip which turned into a compassionate run from Lyneham to Hannover to Isle of Man and back to Lyneham.

On 16 Sep 2002, I flew her from Akrotiri back home to Lyneham as part of a slip pattern. We were on our way home from Afghanistan again!


So you see I have quite a history with her... only one emergency and some hairy weather encounters! It is sad to see her retired in this way. Many others will have long entries in their logbooks telling other stories of where she has been.