A C-40A Clipper flies by Mt. Rainier in the state of Washington. (Photo courtesy of Boeing
Airplane Company)
Boeing C-140A Clipper
Transport Aircraft to U.S. Navy
The Boei Ng Ai RPlANe CoMPANy has received a $145 million order
from the U. S. Navy for two additional C-40A Clipper transport aircraft,
increasing the service’s ability to move military personnel and cargo
around the world.
The;C-40A;is;powered;by;two;non-afterburning;24,000;pounds;of
thrust;each;CFM;International;CFM56-7B26;turbofanjet;engines;to
provide;cruise;speeds;of;0.78;to;0.82;Mach;numbers;and;a;range;of
3,000;nautical;miles.;It;is;certified;to;operate;in;three;configurations:
1);an;all-passenger;(121 passengers);configuration;;2);an;all-cargo
configuration;(eight;cargo;pallets);;and;3);a;‘combi’;or;combined
cargo/passenger;configuration;to;accommodate;70;passengers;and
three;cargo;pallets.;The;C-140A;is;110;feet;4;inches;long,;41;feet,
2;inches;high,;with;a;wingspan;(including;winglets);of;117;feet,;5
inches;;cabin;width;is;11;feet,;7;inches.
The;modified;Next-Generation;737-700C;twin-jet;aircraft;will;be
the;13th;and;14th;C-40A;Clippers;for;the;Navy’s;Unique;Fleet;Essential
Airlift;(NUFEA);Program,;which;continues;the;replacement;the;Navy
Reserve’s;aging;fleet;of;C- 9;Skytrain;airplanes.;Boeing;produces;the
Navy’s;Clippers;at;its;Plant;3;facility;in;Renton,;Washington,;where
it;also;produces;the;Navy’s;growing;fleet;of;P-8A;Poseidon;submarine
hunter/killer;aircraft.
The;737;first;flew;on;April;9,;1967;and;since;then;has;generated
more;than;10,000;orders;for;a;wide;variety;of;737;derivative;aircraft
—;commercial,;military,;and;private.;It;is;one;of;the;most;successful
aircraft;programs;in;the;history;of;aviation.;—Steve Pace
the same name as his pair of WWII P-51D Mustangs - Louisiana
Heatwave, when he was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 359th
Fighter Group, 369th Fighter Squadron at East Wretham (USAAF
Station No. 133) in England.
The lightweight Mustang used for this ongoing restoration
project began life as P-51H-5-NA (44-64245) and now flaunts
the glorious colors and markings of Captain Crenshaw’s Louisiana
Heatwave. Crenshaw, who retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1965
as a Lieutenant Colonel was born 12 December 1918 and passed 17
March 1972.
In a nutshell, North American Aviation, Inc. manufactured 555
P-51H Mustangs under its NA-126 charge number initiated on April
26, 1944 at its Inglewood, California aircraft production facility. Mustang chief engineering test pilot Robert C. “Bob” Chilton first flew
the type out of Mines Field adjacent to NAA on 3 February 1945.
The last of 555 P-51Hs rolled off the assembly line on 9 November 1945. The P-51H was built in three production blocks including
P-51H-1-NA ( 20), P-51H-5-NA (280), and P-51H-10-NA (255)
thereby totaling 555 airplanes. —Steve Pace
An F-16CM Block 40 Fighting Falcon (88-0495/hl) of the 4th expeditionary
Fighter Squadron deployed from hill Air Force Base, Utah, makes a takeoff from
Kunsan Air Base, Korea in about March 2013. The 4th eFS is acting as a Theater
Support Package ( TSP) to bolster the U.S. presence on the Korean peninsula.
(Photo courtesy of U. S. Air Force)
F- 16 “Theater Support
Package”
Bulks up U.S. Air Power in Korea
The U.S. Air Force is maintaining an increased presence at
Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, at a time of rising tensions on
the Korean peninsula.
Theater Support Package, or TSP, is the term for a bulked-up, extra fighter squadron deployed for a six-month period
to function as part of Kunsan’s 8th Fighter Wing, the “
Wolfpack.” The current TSP, equipped with F-16CM Block 40
Fighting Falcons, is the 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron,
deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Lt. Col. Jay “Fang”
Sabia, the 4th EFS commander, told Flight Journal he arrived
at Kunsan in October 2012 with 12 aircraft, 18 pilots and 230
airmen in a mixture of active-duty and reserve members.
“We fly the full spectrum of missions, including some training
missions with live ordnance,” Sabia said.
The designation F-16CM, or “Charlie Mike,” refers to
F-16C Block 40 aircraft that have been modernized in the
Common Configuration Implementation Program, or CCIP.
The update includes the HARM Targeting System, or HTS,
which enables Block 40s to use the AGM-88 High-speed
Anti-Radiation Missile against hostile radar emissions. The
“Charlie Mike” also introduces Link 16 datalink and a helmet-mounted cueing system, which permits off-boresight aiming
of air-to-air missiles.
The U.S. Air Force maintains four fighter squadrons
permanently on the Korean peninsula — one with F-16s and
one with A-10C Thunderbolt IIs at Osan and, two with F-16s
at Kunsan. All of the American F-16s on the peninsula are
F-16CM Block 40s, while the Republic of Korea Air Force,
the ROKAF, has KF-16C Block 52 models which had the
advanced capabilities when they were built.
North Korea detonated its third nuclear device February
12 and issued a statement on March 11 declaring the 1953
Korean armistice nullified. Pyongyang’s air arm is equipped
mostly with what Wolfpack commander Col. John W. “Yoda”
Pearse calls “teenaged MiGs” — MIG-15s, -17s and -19s —
with small numbers of newer MiG-29s.
The 4th EFS was scheduled to rotate home in April. Pearse
said it was unclear whether plans for a TSP replacement —a
different squadron from Hill —will survive the defense cuts
now being made under the budget process called sequestration. Sabia said that the in Korea has been “an especially
good experience for our younger pilots” but that “whether
as future squadron will fill in behind us is still to be
determined.” —Robert F. Dorr
