C-130 LEP Milestones and beyond
WGCDR Darryn Webb
WGCDR Darryn Webb, CO No. 40 Squadron
We have lift-off. Watching NZ7003 take to the air was an exciting and emotional experience for those lucky enough to be on site on the 27th of June under sunny Edmonton skies. The first of our fleet to undergo the upgrade transformation has been away since October 2005, which feels like a lifetime, so the two and a half hour maiden voyage represented a significant milestone for all involved.
The contractor, L-3 SPAR, cite the RNZAF programme as the most comprehensive and innovative aircraft Life Extension Package ever offered by a single service provider. It seems such lofty claims have been met just as enthusiastically by those behind the wheel.
Project pilot SQNLDR Pete Saunders commented that ‘the aircraft flew straight and smooth. The modern avionics suite is an aviator’s dream. This is a solution that will enhance our interoperability, increase situational awareness and decrease crew workload in the operational environment that this aircraft is all about. By design, it should also improve reliability and maintainability’.
As a unit familiar with squeezing every ounce out of the available resources, this is an exciting proposition.
Both airlift projects have the potential to reshape the focus at No. 40 Squadron. Capability enhancements, inherent with the B757 project, offer the NZDF considerable opportunities into the future. The B757 OT&E programme now underway aims to confirm how the operations, maintenance and support teams will maximise the platform.
The new cargo door and palletised load carrying capabilities should see the Boeing cross back over into territory previously associated with the smaller B727, and more recently the sole domain of the venerable C-130. It’s not hard to imagine a combination load of propeller, engine, spares, plus passengers, enabling one aircraft to carry NZDF operations or exercise personnel in relative luxury faster and further than previously made possible.
Importantly, this should then free up C-130 aircraft to get back into the core business of tactical airlift operations; working with our key customers, including, for the first time, a night vision imaging system capability. Obviously conducting such missions safely and efficiently is the end goal and, as a Service who thinks and acts in miles per minute, patience will be a virtue.
We shouldn’t expect miracles as both platforms re-enter service. This statement is as much about the support to the aircraft as it is about the aircraft themselves. Personnel are spread thin across a number of areas in an effort to concurrently maintain and introduce capability. There is much left to do before we are again operating at maximum and continuous capability.
For example, while the C-130 has had 100 major structural replacements, a number of legacy systems will remain susceptible to unserviceability. I am conscious that the incredible efforts to date may evaporate under unrealistic expectations. This is where we need your help.
These should be rewarding times. Inevitably frustrations will occur. Nonetheless, to succeed over time will require an upbeat sense of positivity as well as patience. I congratulate the collective achievements to date, and along with everyone else, look forward to seeing and hearing about more of the same.