The Big Sky
Atlantic Flyer Flies Fat Albert
I was feeling upbeat during Friday morning at Andrews AFB's 2010 Joint Services Open House. The misty overcast was breaking up to yield bright blue skies, the ramp was full of aircraft, and as I signed in at the military's Joint Information Bureau (JIB) for my media credentialing, I stood across the room from a white board with the words "Blue Angels C-130" written on it with the numbers 1 through 5 underneath. There were two numbers left without names next to them... soon to be one as I sauntered over and signed up. I figured that the list might pertain to a photo shoot with the crew, or an interview opportunity; that would be great. "Do you want to go?" asked a JIB officer, to which I replied "Go where?" She explained the list was for a seat aboard "Fat Albert", the Blue Angels' C-130 transport, during its' part of the air show. There was a catch... I had to be back at the JIB office by 1:15PM. I thought for a second... that would cause me to miss most of the afternoon air show... but then again... this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fly with the Blue Angels. There was no doubt in my mind... a representative from the Atlantic Flyer would take to the Maryland skies that afternoon!
The Marines' C-130 transport and crew that supports the Blue Angels is affectionately named Fat Albert Airlines, the plane is known as just " 'Bert ". After it carries cargo, spare parts, and team members to each show, the aircraft becomes the largest flight demonstration aircraft in the Corps, performing the opening act in each Blue Angels performance. This year, 2010, is the 40th anniversary of the Marine C-130 support aircraft as an integral part of the team.
Earlier in the day, a couple of friends voiced their concerns about air sickness with all of the turning and pitching the big transport does during its routine. Later, this possible affliction was nervously discussed again between the five of us "guests" while we were driven to the gleaming blue, white and yellow C-130. Soon after our arrival, we were invited to tour the aircraft, but warned not to touch any switches, as the aircraft was already pre-flighted. I headed up the stairs to the cockpit and immediately noticed that the avionics panels were painted the same deep blue as the outside of the aircraft, definitely non-standard. Another thing I noticed was the Hawaiian hula girl dashboard shaker doll on top of the instrument panel, complete with grass skirt. Wow, just like a sports car! Above the entry door was a circular hatch in the roof; from this hole the U.S. flag is flown before and after a flight demonstration. I looked at all of the nooks and crannies and crew positions, including the now-unused JATO control box in the rear cargo area and the observer's bubble seat in the roof of the cargo cabin.
When the entire crew had arrived at "Bert", we gathered around the open rear cargo door. There'd be a crew of seven aboard for our flight: Pilot Captain Edward Jorge, Co-pilot Major Brendan Burks, Flight Engineer Staff Sergeant Jarred McIntosh, Navigator Staff Sergeant Tommy Zurek, Crew Chief Gunnery Sergeant Adam Church, plus a pair of safety observers. Captain Jorge (acting as pilot in command) briefed the crew by memory, firing off a detailed checklist that included the sequence of maneuvers that we'd fly, with altitudes, angle of bank for each turn, speeds, and emergency maneuvers, if needed. It was fast paced, energetic, and precise. There were a lot of Marine "Hooo-Rahs!" too. They were enthusiastic, and chomping at the bit to go flying that afternoon! Then Captain Jorge briefed us - the five guest flyers. Part of his safety briefing included the fact that barf bags would be passed out to us... we'd return them if they were unused at the end of the flight... but we'd carry out what we brought in... and if you "lost it", it was your duty to clean up after yourself. Oh, and if you did use the barf bag, hold it tightly closed during those zero G pushovers... lest what went in would come back out! Another warning about cameras was that they'd have to be strapped down or tightly gripped, especially during the zero-G maneuvers... some cameras had come crashing down onto the floor in the past, and yes, it was your chore to clean up after that, too.
Then, we heard the sequence of our flight - takeoff and level off at five feet above the runway, all the way to the departure end where we'd pitch up to 45 degrees and climb to around 1000 feet of altitude where we'd perform a "pushover". Next, a turn back to the field for the "Parade Pass", a low altitude banked turning pass where the crowd can see the top of the plane. Then, a reposition for the high speed pass at around 375 miles per hour at no more than 100 feet above ground level, followed by a pull up into a minimum radius turn back directly towards the crowd, and climb overhead. Finally, we'd approach and perform a simulated combat assault landing from 1500 feet, landing the 110,000 pound aircraft in less than 2,000 feet. The Captain said that the crew would feed off our energy during the flight... I secretly hoped not, as I was as concerned about not having to use the barf bag as I was about the flight. Our seat assignments were made, and I was sent to the cockpit, which had to be the best seat in the house! I had secretly hoped to sit in the observation bubble in the rear of the plane, but at 6 feet 4 inches tall and more than 250 pounds, there just didn't seem like there was enough room for me up there, so I passed on the bubble ride!
The Navigator, Staff Sergeant Tommy Zurek, made sure my lap belt was tight and my headset worked. I was sitting underneath the flag hatch, and he warned me that part of the Navigator's duties was to man the flag, so he'd be standing up over me at times. Everyone checked in on the intercom, and the checklists were read... with the crew grunting out the items in their best "Fat Albert" gravelly voices! Engines started, everything worked correctly, and we suddenly were talking to "MO", or the Maintenance Officer. After mentioning some severe weather warnings forecasted for a couple of hours in the future, we were cleared to taxi to the runway. While holding short of Andrews' runway 1 Left, the final checklists were completed, and the Captain rehearsed his lines that he'd say to the crowd over the PA system before departure. We were advised to taxi into position and hold, and soon were told the narration was commencing for the crowd. Then, Mo stated the winds (a 12 knot crosswind) and the famous words "we own the airspace, you're cleared for takeoff!". Power came up on all four engines, Captain Jorge relayed his energetic greetings to the crowd, and immediately I felt the airplane lurch ahead.
The acceleration was steady, but not overwhelming. Airspeed was called out, and we floated off the runway. At the call "three feet", the Captain said "let's stay here, set at three feet", and there we were, roaring down the Andrews runway a yard off the deck. As we reached the end of the runway, the call was made to pull up... and I was pushed backward mightily. Suddenly, all I could see was blue sky. Major Burks was calling out the angle of attack... "20 degrees... there's 30...35...40... and 45". For a few seconds we climbed at that angle, until someone announced "1000 feet, pushover". Then, as the saying goes, all hell broke loose - seat belts and headset cords began to fly upwards into the windows, things clattered against the cockpit walls, and the Flight Engineer, Staff Sergeant Jarrod McIntosh, was floating horizontally, holding onto the backs of the pilot and copilot's seats! The pushover had produced zero Gs - weightlessness - just like flying in space. My cameras bumped up into my chin, and I suddenly remembered to grab them, even though they were firmly around my neck. I didn't think to look, but I'm sure that the Hawaiian hula girl on the dashboard was working really hard to keep her grass skirt in place, too.
After a few seconds, the ground became visible in the windows, and we reverted to 1 G. Again, things clattered against the walls as they came down (but SSgt. McIntosh didn't hit anything or anyone), and 'Bert quickly cranked into a hard left descending turn to set up for the Parade Pass. There were more lateral G forces this time as we turned and descended simultaneously, rolling out abeam the crowd. Seconds later we banked hard right, and more G forces tugged at me. It was here that I checked in with my stomach, and patted my empty barf bag... so far so good. After the pass, we climbed and rolled out behind the crowd. Someone stated "well inside the tower", meaning we had passed between the crowd and the control tower... which had required a rather tight turn to accomplish. Another course reversal to the left had us lined up with runway 1 Left again. A warning came across the intercom, "watch those three towers out there", and Captain Jorge replied, "I got them". We were descending from 500 feet down to 60 feet above the runway to do the high speed pass at 375 miles per hour for our next maneuver. We began a hard climbing right turn with 60 degrees of bank at midfield. Looking out the left windows all I saw was blue sky, out the right side were flashes of green trees and multicolored roofs of buildings just a few hundred feet below. Reaching 550 feet, we maintained the bank angle, feeling a good amount of G forces, the most of the flight. I was beginning to sweat, but my stomach stayed put.
We turned 270 degrees and rolled out heading directly at the crowd, and climbed a thousand feet over it before making a final left turn to set up for our last maneuver... the assault approach. With Major Burks confirming full flaps on both sides, we pushed over again and immediately all I saw was runway in the windshield. Strangely, we decelerated some 25 knots, from 120 knots at pushover, to 95 knots on touchdown, while in the alarming nose-down descent... which didn't turn out to be the controlled "combat" crash that I was expecting. After the rather smooth touchdown, I felt the anti-skid braking grab hold of the runway as we quickly decelerated, and with a short back-up and a flash of the landing lights to the crowd, our performance ended. SSgt. Zurek stepped over me, opened the hatch, and anchored the U.S. flag in place. After taxiing back to our parking space, someone announced "Fat Albert Airlines... never oversold, always on time"! I happily gave my unused barf bag back and took off my headset. The grin on my face was ear to ear, and was still there a day later; what an adrenalin rush!
After the flight, I got to talk to Major Brendan Burks, who acted as co-pilot, for a few moments. I marveled at the crew coordination, from seemingly automatic checklist queries and responses, to knowing exactly where they were during the flight. He explained that before the season, the crew does 120 practice flights to get it down right. Even though the show site changes each week, the routine is pretty much the same. Photographs and maps of the show site are studied, and the flight profile is overlaid to look for hazards and obstructions. Even when flying a dusk air show, the crew flies the profile during normal daylight hours to see how it looks. Those precise altitudes (3 feet on departure, etc.) are held by autopilot and radar altimeter that help the crew. For the future, two items of interest will transform Fat Albert Airlines. They're looking forward to receiving a faster, more aerobatic KC-130J in a few years to replace the current C-130T. Plus, with the retirement of the popular JATO launch, a new pyrotechnic display is being discussed, that of an "Angels Wings" infrared flare salvo. As the Blues' F/A-18s began their show, we loaded into a van and headed back to the JIB, much too soon for me. I thought things were looking up on Friday morning... and by the end of day they were sky high, thanks to the Blue Angels and Fat Albert Airlines!
My thanks to the members of the Blue Angels, and especially those who are part of Fat Albert Airlines, for sharing their skills and professionalism with me (and thus to readers of the Atlantic Flyer). Thanks to the JSOH Joint Information Bureau for sponsoring the flight too!
Article and Photos by Ken Kula