139th Airlift Wing receives propellers for third C-130 Hercules
Feb. 1—Rosecrans Air National Guard Base has propeller bases that will allow the 139th Airlift Wing to get a third C-130 Hercules flying in the skies. The base currently has two aircraft approved to fly.
The Air Force Air Mobility Command issued a grounding order 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.
Rosecrans received its first set of good propellers at the end of November. By the end of the year, the 139th Airlift Wing had propellers for a second aircraft, which it flew in January.
Maintenance crew members will be removing the good blades from bases that cannot be used any longer. The blades will go on different bases that then will be put on the third C-130 Hercules.
Once the new propellers are one, the aircraft will need to pass a functional check flight, which is a safety test. After it passes, the third C-130 Hercules will be in rotation for the wings' pilots to train with and for use in missions.
