139th Airlift Wing flies third C-130 Hercules, fourth is on its way

Monica Dunn, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read

Feb. 7—A third C-130 Hercules is in St. Joseph airspace as the 139th Airlift Wing continues to slowly revive its aircraft fleet.

The U.S. Air Force gave the wing additional propellers for its fourth C-130 Hercules, which guard members are working to join the flying fleet in the next few weeks.

Ryan Stepp, Rosecrans Air National Guard deputy operations group commander, said these aircraft came in sooner than he anticipated. The third allows pilots to practice three-aircraft formation flights.

"Our normal schedule during the week is two aircraft, but you can have two aircraft and a spare aircraft," Stepp said. "In case something goes wrong and breaks with one of the primary aircraft, you can go to a spare without canceling the line and crew members not getting the training requirements they showed up to get."

The fourth aircraft will expand the 139th Airlift Wing training operations further.

"When you get into four and five aircraft, it allows us to get back into the mission-ready airlift portion, so flying across countries and supporting the enterprise with off-station training and off-station flying," Stepp said.

Guard members' first off-station training mission is scheduled for this month, Stepp said. In March, members will travel to San Diego to work with the Navy Special Warfare Center on personnel airdrops.

"It's actual training with actual personnel, which is more challenging to do locally," Stepp said. "So, each aircraft that comes online allows for more of those cross-countries, more of those off-station training opportunities."

All of Rosecrans Air National Guard's aircraft were impacted by the U.S. Air Force grounding all C-130 Hercules on Sept. 27 after a maintenance crew discovered a persistent hydraulic fluid leak in C-130 Hercules propellers. The Air Force collected all of the good propellers across the country to prioritize which wings get the fixed propellers first.

The 139th Airlift Wing hopes to have its fourth C-130 Hercules flying in the next couple of weeks.