EXERCISE TACEX
- Tactical training for mission
Ready for take-off
By Blair Ensor, Marlborough Express
Top Gun fanatic Blair Ensor recently headed into the ‘danger zone’ with the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s No 40 Squadron as they pushed the C-130 Hercules to its limits during Exercise TACEX. The purpose of the exercise was to train aircrew in C-130 Hercules tactical operations and included formation flying, live air-drop operations involving heavy equipment and container delivery systems, and combat off-load procedures. He describes his experience.
About 120 people, including three different crews from the No 40 Squadron, and army personnel, were all part of the low-flying combat qualification, Exercise TACEX.
On board our flight was an 800 kg load, which had been prepared at Base Woodbourne by 23 army personnel from Linton’s Five Movement Company. A Hercules can drop loads of equipment weighing up to an impressive 16,300 kg. Plywood was fixed to the bottom of each load to help it roll out of the aircraft, and honeycomb-like energy dissipating material was used to lessen the damage to the load on impact. A low-velocity chute, designed to open when the load leaves the plane, was then secured to the top.
In control
“When it comes to dropping stuff out of planes, not much has changed since World War II,” said Squadron Leader Andy Scott.
Normally there are eight crew members on-board, but two crew in-training also accompanied the flight. Inside the aircraft there were few comforts. The walls had been stripped of panels to reveal the inner workings of the aircraft and make repair work easier if anything went wrong mid-flight. Netted seating fitted with seat belts kept us strapped in for takeoff and landing, while black skater-like helmets were handed to us to prevent head injuries during the flight.
In the cockpit, and in charge of the Exercise, was Flight Lieutenant Richard Beetham. “Energy management is the most difficult part of flying the planes because a Hercules is big and fast, and takes a long time to slow down,” FLTLT Beetham explained. “Flying can be easy on a great day, but it gets a whole lot more challenging if it’s rough. A bad-weather day is where you earn your money.” FLTLT Beetham said.
Away from the maps and flying instruments of the cockpit, we were looked after by Sergeant Nathan Hodges. As a loadmaster, his primary role is to attend to people and freight in the back of the aircraft. He loves working with the Hercules because they are diverse and a huge part of any military or aid operation. “Noone goes anywhere without us, because we carry all their freight,” SGT Hodges said.
Truck convoy
The flight path of the Exercise took in the Wairau Valley, Lake Rotoiti, Hanmer, Kaikoura, and a drop zone at Lake Grassmere. Take-off to the northeast was tame to begin with, before the aircraft was unexpectedly thrown into a rapid 30-degree ascent. Stomachs hit the floor for a few seconds before we levelled out for the first leg of the flight up the Wairau Valley.
Sheep and cattle scattered as the Hercules ploughed along as low as 76.2 m above the ground, reaching speeds over 444 kmh (240 knots). While the action was muted in the rear of the aircraft, up front in the cockpit it was entirely different. It was a hive of activity as maps were checked and chatter was exchanged through helmet communications.
The Hercules may look cumbersome on the ground, but it swooped gracefully in and out of valleys near the Nelson Lakes and through the Molesworth Station. Banked turns of up to 60 degrees had us hanging on like our lives depended on it.
Attention to detail
In Hanmer, the plane made two separate, low approaches to farmland. Later FLTLT Beetham explained that it was a simulated landing that did not go to plan.
FLTLT Beetham went on to say that, “A ‘fast and sneaky’ approach is key to operations in combat zones where the planes may be unloading under fire but, on this occasion, the aircraft had been unable to slow down quickly enough and had been forced to switch to plan B—landing from a different direction.”
From Hanmer the plane travelled to the Kaikoura Coast before making its way to Lake Grasmere. The rear doors opened and the plane lifted its nose to help the cargo roll out. In the blink of an eye, 800 kg of supplies tumbled out the door before they appeared again beneath a chute. Army units on the ground swarmed to greet them. The Hercules then returned to Base Woodbourne like a true work horse of the RNZAF.