GW's Budget cuts funding from new C-130 program...

[slugshooter]

....while half of Pope AFB's C-130 fleet is grounded due to maintenance issues. Pope AFB supports Fort Bragg and the Army needs C-130's.

C-130E's fate cloudy

By Henry Cuningham

Military editor

Pope Air Force Base officials will attend a meeting in Illinois today to talk about the service's aging C-130Es.

''They are basically old airplanes,'' said Lt. Col. Chris Pehrson, commander of the 43rd Airlift Wing's operations support squadron. ''They are tired.''

Fourteen of Pope's 31 C-130Es are grounded because of maintenance concerns.

''Aircraft will remain grounded until the center wing box is repaired or replaced or the aircraft are retired,'' Col. Darren W. McDew, 43rd Airlift Wing commander, said Tuesday.

Seven airplanes are subject to flight restrictions, and three others have been sent to an Air Force scrap heap.

Repairs on the 30- to 40-year-old airplanes, which airdrop paratroopers or can take off and land on bare runways, might not be economical, said Pehrson, a C-130 pilot.

''If they spend millions of dollars to fix these things, they are only going to fly for another five years because of other problems,'' Pehrson said. ''It's just not worth it.''

The gray, four-propeller cargo airplanes have flown in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and the

Balkans.

''The verdict is still out whether or not they are going to try and repair these or replace them,'' Pehrson said.

The operations and maintenance group commanders will meet today at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

''The feeling is that they are probably just going to send them to the boneyard, that they are unrepairable, the entire aircraft,'' Pehrson said.

The C-130 System Program Office at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia recommended the grounding after inspections of the ''center wing box structure,'' where the wings are fitted to the fuselage. Cracks have appeared in the piece of the wing that supports the weight of the plane.

The Air Force is thinking about redistributing some of the planes at other bases or with the Air National Guard, he said.

''Instead of having 33 aircraft here, we might have 24 flyable ones and spread the wealth among the other bases,'' Pehrson said.

That a sensitive issue, he said. Air National Guard aircraft are assigned to states, and redistribution would require negotiations, he said.

Pope will continue to fly the E model airplane for the foreseeable future, Pehrson said. The wing is able to meet overseas' requirements, but training at home is suffering, he said.

Airplanes that can fly but are restricted are limited in regard to how fast they can fly and how much they can carry.

''When we do our training, we can go out to the range and drop a sandbag, which is only 25 pounds, versus dropping a 10,000-pound actual load,'' Pehrson said.

Pope is sending planes to the Middle East to replace aircraft that are subject to grounding, he said.

''The priority is to make sure the desert airplanes can fly,'' he said.

C-17 and C-5 jet cargo airplanes are being used to replace the questionable aircraft.

A short-term solution may be to reduce training qualifications, which would reduce flying hours, Pehrson said.

Plans called for the E model airplanes to be replaced at Pope in coming years by the computerized J model. But the president wants to end that program, according to his 2006 budget proposal released Feb. 7. Several members of Congress from North Carolina have pledged to fight for the C-130J.

In 2004, Congress provided almost $24 million for construction at Pope to accommodate the new, longer airplane.

''There are three facilities currently under construction for the proposed C-130J beddown,'' McDew said. ''The work will be completed as contracted, and the facilities will be used for the current C-130s if the C-130J is canceled. We do not expect a final decision until Oct '05, when all three projects will be complete.''

Lockheed Martin Air Mobility Programs in Marietta, Ga., has not been notified formally of any change in the Air Force acquisition and will allow the budget process to proceed, said Peter Simmons, communications manager.

''Obviously, there is great interest at Pope in the C-130J as they, under the original Air Force plan, were to be recipients of new aircraft,'' Simmons said. ''Right now, we are executing the program as contracted.''