Hangar Digest THE MUSEUM Page 1 Hangar digest VOLUME 17, NO. 4 OCT— DEC 2017

THE AMCM HANGAR DIGEST IS A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE AMC MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC. Page 2 Volume 17, Issue 4 Air Mobility Command Museum Mission Statement The mission of the Air Mobility Command Museum is twofold: ● To present the history and development of military and tanker operations. ● In a goal closely aligned with the first, to portray the rich history of and its predecessor, Dover Army Airfield.

The AMC Museum Hangar AMC Museum Staff AMC Museum Foundation Digest is published quar- Director Board of Directors terly and is dedicated to John Taylor President the preservation of our Deputy Director Col. Don Sloan, USAFR (Ret.) airlift and tanker herit- Kristopher Hickok Vice President age. All articles, unless Senior Archivist Lt. Col. Paul Gillis, USAFR (Ret.) otherwise noted, are writ- Lt. Col. Harry E. Heist, USAF (Ret.) Secretary ten by the editor. Photo Archivist Lt. Col. Phil White, USAF (Ret.) Viewpoints in this publica- SMSgt. Larry Koewing, USAF (Ret.) Treasurer tion are those of the contrib- Collections Manager Mrs. Chris Godek uting authors and do not nec- Deborah Sellars Members essarily reflect the opinions of Educator Mr. Robert Berglund Tricia Upchurch The AMC Museum Founda- Mr. David J. Bever, Esq. Museum Store Manager Mr. Carleton E. Carey Sr. tion or of the Museum’s staff. Kelly Hurlburt Subscriptions are free and Mr. Robert Czeizinger Volunteer Coordinator/Scheduler Lt. Gen. Bob Dierker, USAF (Ret.) are mailed via nonprofit Paul George CW4 Jim Fazekas, USA (Ret.) standard mail to paid-up Librarian Mr. Jeff Kirwan members of The AMC Muse- MSgt. Bob Wikso, USAF (Ret.) SMSgt. Mike Leister, USAFR (Ret.) um Foundation Inc. Membership Manager Mr. Bob Mench Contributions. Reader com- Deborah Sellars CMSgt. Rodney Moore, USAFR (Ret.) ments, articles and ideas are Website (www.amcmuseum.org) CMSgt. Paul Roy, USAF (Ret.) solicited for future issues. Hal Sellars Mail to The Hangar Digest, Social Media Manager Chaplain 1301 Heritage Road, Dover Guy Gola Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John Groth, USAFR (Ret.) AFB DE 19902-5301; fax 302- 677-5940; or email piff- brown1898@ gmail.com. Contact Editor Master Sgt. Jeff Brown, USAF (Ret.) via email at What is the Air Mobility Command Museum? [email protected]. Located in Hangar 1301 on Dover Air Force Base, Kent County, Delaware, the AMC Museum is Photos are by Jeff Brown, part of the National Museum of the Air Force’s field museum system. unless otherwise noted. One of the reasons your AMC Museum continues to provide a great educational experience is that we stick very closely to our reason for being. So exactly what is our “mission”? Broken down by numbers our mission is 70 percent airlift and air-refueling, 20 percent Dover AFB history and 10 percent Air Force general history. Our aircraft The Air Mobility Command hosted and artifact collection sticks very closely to that breakdown. But we work hard to be much more airplane and history enthusiasts alike than numbers. We tell the stories of the people who have served in our nation’s Air Force, and we during the 2017 Thunder Over Dover offer the only opportunity for many visitors to see the actual aircraft and meet the people who have Open House, held the weekend of served our country. Aug. 26/27. Hangar 1301 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. A great view of the aircraft taking Although located on Dover AFB proper, entrance to the Museum may be made from Delaware Route 9, south of the base. Admission to and parking at the Museum is free and military identifica- part could be had from the air traffic tion is not required. The Air Mobility Command Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday control tower at the AMCM, where through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. For more brothers Ethan and Austin Tuel information, call 302-677-5938 or 302-677-5991. watched the dramatic takeoff of a We like to say we are a window to your Air Force. Let us know how we can continue to improve our Dover C-5M SuperGalaxy. outreach and family friendly experience. Photo courtesy Rhonda Tuel.

The Hangar Digest is printed and mailed by Associates International, Wilmington, Del. Hangar Digest Page 3 On the Shelf Here’s what’s available at the AMCM Gift Shop

“Flying Over Delmarva” is the first hardbound illustrated history of military and agricultural aviation on Delmarva and it’s a must-read for anyone interested in real seat-of-your-pants flying. For those who aren’t aware, Delmarva is a portmanteau of the states Delaware, Maryland and (or at least a tiny part of Old Dominion), all or parts of which occupy a large peninsula south of Pennsylvania. It barely rises above sea level which makes it perfect for flying biplanes for recreation, banner planes for advertising over the peninsula’s many beaches, and spray planes to cover the region’s agricultural fields. Author Dr. Joanne K. Guilfoil only took up a major interest in these types of planes in her later years. She met and interviewed pilots and numerous other aviation experts, who told her their stories and supplied photos. An entire chap- ter of the book is filled with these unedited stories, right from the pilots them- selves. Guilfoil said, “This great story was written first and foremost to honor local aviators and as a thank-you to them for sharing their time, expertise, precious documents, and family heirlooms.” She began work on the book in December 2014, producing the finished product after about 18 months. Released on Memorial Day 2017, it includes maps, diagrams, a glossary, and paintings. Guilfoil also plans two follow-up books, an activity book for young readers about Delmarva aviation and an ABC book for pre-readers about Delmarva’s pilots and planes. “The ultimate purpose of this book is to celebrate and preserve a part of Delmarva’s historical and cultural heritage, with a focus on the aviation community,” Guilfoil said. The book includes a foreward by Larry D. Kelley, executive director of the Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation. Published in 2017; 250 pages; $45

As the nation’s second-smallest state, Delaware is one of those places where “everybody knows everybody.” This sense of community led to the creation of Nancy Lynch’s “ Mailbag: Voices from the War, 1968-1972.” In 1968, Nancy Lynch was a recent graduate of the University of Delaware and a newly-hired reporter for the former Wilmington (Del.) Morning News. When her editors decided they wanted a personal connection with Delaware’s roughly 800 troops then in Vietnam, she wrote them, asking for letters about their lives. The responses poured in. Published in the Morning News from May 1968 until the end of 1972, the let- ters helped those soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines keep in touch with their home state. Lynch saved almost 900 of those letters, preserving them in the barn of her home. It took two years to assemble the letters into this book. Editor Harry Themal said, “The letters are filled with humor and sadness, reali- ty and imagination, hardship and complaints.” They reflected not only life in , but worries about what was happening back home, particularly in the turbulent year of 1968, which saw the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the occupation of the state’s largest city, Wilmington, by the Delaware National Guard. Andrew Carroll, founder of the Legacy Project to preserve servicemen’s letters, calls “Vietnam Mailbag” a “timeless, breathtaking tribute and a gift to us all.” “Vietnam Mailbag” is the recipient of the first prize gold award for best region- al non-fiction in the Mid-Atlantic states in the 2009 Independent Publisher Book Awards competition. Published in 2008; 456 pages; $54 Page 4 Volume 17, Issue 4 AMCM Collections Donation recalls DAFB’s first Mackay Trophy Back in 1977, US Air Force security In July 2017, Thomp- policeman Airman 1st Class John M. son donated his plaque “Mike” Thompson was walking down the and other memorabilia hall at work when his boss offered him a to the Air Mobility unique assignment. Command Museum. “He told me a mission was coming up “I was immediately where we’d be going to Russia,” Thomp- interested in Mr. son recalled. “He told me, ‘We’d like you Thompson’s story to go.’” about his Mackay In the midst of the Cold War, this Trophy mission be- would be a mission of peace, and one cause he was stationed Thompson’s sense of adventure couldn’t at Dover AFB and let him turn down. was part of the Dover And there was an extra twist: “For crew that took part in some reason, they wanted someone from the mission,” Collec- Delaware,” Thompson said, “I never tions Manager Debbie found out why.” Sellars said. Today, 40 years later, the Newark, Del- “His story about his aware, native is glad he took up his flight personal experience chief’s offer. The mission, taking an elec- in Russia was fasci- tromagnet and flying it deep into the heart nating and even a AMCM Photo of the world’s largest Communist nation, little funny.” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lew Allen Jr. presents the certificate was unparalleled, and Thompson consid- for the Mackay Trophy to Airman 1st Class John M. Thompson ers it a highlight of his military career. A bit apprehensive during ceremonies held in July 1978 at the Pentagon. The mission, flawlessly carried out Thompson, now 60, between June 17 and June 22, 1977, be- still lives in Newark, a small city of 34,000 Thompson was delighted with his assign- came a testimonial to the both the aircraft in northern Delaware. ment as a security policeman, and after and its crew, resulting in award of the Except for his father, who served as a training found himself stationed at Dover, Clarence H. Mackay Trophy for 1977. Marine during the 1950s, Thompson be- only 48 miles from home. As a junior That year marked one of the occasions a lieves he is one of the few members of his airman, he spent a lot of time walking a Mackay recipient has not been an aircrew family to sign up for the military. perimeter on the flight line or guarding member. He joined the active duty Air Force in airplanes. Thompson was on hand a year later as February 1976, following a short stint as a “Working out on the flight line was the Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lew Allen roofer. first time I learned to love coffee,” he Jr. presided over a Pentagon ceremony “It was out of the blue,” Thompson said. recalled, taking a sip. “I still love it.” where he received a plaque designating “I just went out and joined. I never really the award. thought about it.” (Continued on page 5)

The Mackay Trophy was The first Mackay Trophy ing free world forces first presented by million- recipient was 2nd Lt. Henry fighting rebels in Zaire; aire Clarence H. Mackay in H. “Hap” Arnold, who re- and the third for carrying 1912 and later was deeded ceived the honor following nuclear test monitoring to the National Aeronautic an Oct. 9, 1912 reconnais- equipment to . Association. sance competition flown The trophy, originally The trophy is awarded over Virginia. known as the Mackay Ar- for the “most meritorious Arnold again won the my Aviation Cup, was cre- flight of the year” by an Air award in 1934 as a lieuten- ated by Tiffany and Com- Force person, persons, or ant colonel. pany and features four de- organization. Personnel from Dover pictions of the Greek god- The Air Force determines Air Force Base have been dess Nike holding the the winner and the Nation- awarded the trophy three Wright Flyer. al Aeronautic Association times, 1977, 1978 and The cup is mounted on a now presents the trophy at 1988, all for missions large wooden base with its annual Fall Awards flown using the C-5. each years’ winners names Dinner. The first was for delivery engraved on small plaques It is kept on permanent of a magneto hydrodynamic attached to the mahogany display in the National Air generator to the Soviet Un- base. and Space Museum. ion; the second for support- AMCM Photo Hangar Digest Page 5

(Continued from page 4) In addition to guarding the plane while in Moscow, Thompson was not to let the Sovi- Thompson was elated -- and just a little ets see any of the newly installed cockpit apprehensive -- when learning about his navigational equipment nor could they in- proposed trip to Moscow. He was just 20 spect the C-5’s complicated landing gear years old at the time and felt ready to take system. on the world. That latter requirement proved a problem later on. No weapons, no uniforms During briefings on the trip he learned ‘No problem at all’ just how special the mission would be. Once the C-5 left Chicago, there was Although the United States and Soviet little for Thompson to do during the 16-hour Union had been at political odds for years, flight. The aircraft underwent two en-route there still was cooperation along scientific refuelings, one over Nova Scotia and the lines. One of these was a project to generate second over Scotland. Thompson napped electricity using the superconducting mag- and occasionally went down to the cargo neto hydrodynamic, or MHD generator. deck, where the 14-by-6.5-foot generator The cargo was so heavy it only could be was secured to the deck. airlifted by the workhorse of the American Once the Galaxy entered Soviet airspace, air cargo fleet, the C-5A Galaxy. it was joined by a MiG fighter escort, which A Dover C-5, manned by crews from the accompanied the aircraft to Moscow. 436th Military Airlift Wing and personnel Aircraft commander Capt. David M. from the Reserve’s 512th MAW, would fly Sprinkel admitted to a little apprehension to Chicago, pick up the device and associat- when crossing the border, but said flying

ed equipment, and fly it all more than 5,190 over Russian territory was, “No problem at AMCM Photo nautical miles to Moscow’s Sheremtyevo all … just like flying over any other country Airport. in , giving position reports and fol- Mike Thompson visited the actual Mackay There were some other, unusual require- lowing airways.” Trophy in DC shortly after his ments. Although armed, Thompson’s weap- Having the two-man Soviet crew along discharge. He brought along the plaque, certificate and photograph he received dur- on and that of his fellow security policeman was more of a comfort than necessity, ing the presentation ceremony with Chief of were kept in a secured locker aboard the Sprikel added. Staff Gen. Lew Allen Jr. Those documents aircraft. The men were required to wear The landing was uneventful, but what now are part of the AMCM’s permanent business suits, meaning uniforms were left happened afterward shook up the young collection. at home. airman. “I didn’t own a suit, so my mother had to “Once we were on the ground, we were Frustrated, he had to let the photogra- take me to JC Penney’s to buy one,” supposed to cordon off the aircraft and not phers snap away. Thompson recalled. “Someone else had to let anyone near,” Thompson said. “But as “To me, it was a mess,” he said. show me how to tie a tie.” soon as we got off, about 30 to 50 people The plane was met by a phalanx of VIPs, The American flag and Air Force letter- ran up and started taking pictures in the including American Ambassador Malcolm ing were supposed to be removed from the wheel wells. Toon who were given a tour of the aircraft C-5 as well, but Thompson doesn’t recall “I was starting to panic, wondering what by Sprikel and his crew. that being done. to do.” In the meantime, workers unloaded the When Mission AAM 1962-01 lifted off Looking for direction from Sprinkel, MHD generator using a huge, red-white-and from Dover, it carried 13 airmen as well as Thompson was told he shouldn’t interfere. blue painted tractor trailer, taking just nine members of the media. The first stop was Years later, he speculated the Soviets want- minutes to pull it out of the C-5s belly. Chicago, where the magnet, built by Ar- ed to copy the Galaxy’s complicated land- gonne Laboratories, was carefully loaded ing gear design since they couldn’t do it on (See Thompson on page 7) aboard. their own. In an article published in the base news- paper, The Airlifter, loadmaster, Chief Mas- ter Sgt. Ronald Euscher said it took a lot of What was that 40-ton magnet used for? ingenuity to load the magnet and its 26- wheel tractor trailer aboard. During the The electromagnet cargo guarded by The largest and most powerful magnet of work, they realized the trailer sat too low to Mike Thompson was designed and built by any type ever built, it could produce a field the ground and would not clear the C-5’s the Energy Research and Development more than 250,000 times that of the Earth. loading ramp by three inches. The loadmas- Administration’s Argonne National Labor- Hot gases, often exceeding 4,500 degrees, ters shored up the ramp and finished their atory near Chicago. would be forced through a duct in the mag- work in about four hours. The ERDA now a part of the US Depart- net, accelerating close to the speed of light. Although the magnet itself weighed about ment of Energy. Moving through the magnet, which was 80,000 pounds, all of the extra equipment The magnet was part of a test of an ex- cooled to a temperature of 453 degrees meant the C-5 would be flying with a load perimental magnetohydrodynamic process below zero, the hot gases generated elec- that tipped the scales at 125,000 pounds. for generating electricity, according to in- tricity that was transmitted outside by elec- The flight also was joined by a Soviet formation provided in a 1977 Argonne trodes in the duct’s walls. navigator and radio operator as well as 24 press release. While conventional fossil fuel plants at scientific and support personnel from Ar- The magnet was installed at the Soviet the time were considered to be 35 to 40 gonne and other agencies. Union’s U-25 MHD facility which was the percent efficient, it was thought MHD gen- world’s largest NHD facility at the time. erators would be up to 60 percent efficient. Page 6 Volume 17, Issue 4 The C-123 Provider: a rugged, reliable aircraft It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done. wait for an electri- The Fairchild C-123 Provider was one of cian, even if you the hardest working aircraft of the Vietnam knew how to do it War. A significant element of American yourself.” tactical airlift, it’s capabilities were called He enjoyed his on extensively as the aircraft that could get time working on the in and out of small clearings and trouble Museum’s C-123. spots few others could manage. “It was simple to Initially developed in the late 1949s as a work on, and you glider, they served with the Air Force and did a lot of work, but Air Force Reserves from 1955 until the mid it wasn’t hard or -1980s, continuing on in the air forces of 11 complicated,” John- other nations. son said. The plane The mainstay of the fleet was the C-123B, never aborted a AMCM Photo powered by two Pratt and Whitney R- flight while he was 2800 radial engines. More than 300 -B crew chief and was Still sporting the overall gray paint scheme used while in Peru, 54- 658 arrives at Dover Air Force Base on Oct. 14, 1990. models were built and 183 of those even- considered one of tually were converted to the -K model the most dependable in the unit. death. I think it was their first jump after train- with the addition of two J-85 turbojet Flying sometimes was a challenge, John- ing. Those poor young kids. They almost had engines, which boosted its speed and abil- son recalled. to throw some of them out.” ity to work out of confined airfields. “We were tactical airlift, so we’d go make The Museum’s C-123K, tail number 54- assault landing where you had to stop as Landing on the beach 658, was manufactured in 1956 in Hager- soon as you can,” he said. Pilots would The noise generated by the Provider’s four stown, Maryland and in April of that year slam the airplane onto the ground, and since engines are some of retired Master Sgt. was assigned to the 513th Troop Carrier the flight mechanics didn’t have a seat, Marty Martell’s most vivid memories of the Squadron at Sewart AFB, Tennessee. they’d have to stand at the cockpit entrance, time spent flying around Alaska and north- Seven years afterward saw the beginning Johnson said. ern Canada. of its service in South Vietnam, where it “We had a lot of teeth-jarring landings,” During the height of the Cold War, the served until 1970 and its transfer to How- he said. “It was all you could do to keep United States maintained a number of dis- ard AFB, Panama. from falling into the cockpit.” tant early warning radar posts -- the DEW From 1971 until 1987 it was stationed at Although he never made it to Vietnam, Line -- to warn against a possible over-the- Lockbourne (later Rickenbacker) AFB, Johnson’s Provider often was used as a Arctic Soviet attack. Ohio. jump platform for paratrooper training. That “The aircraft wasn’t insulated,” Martell As the Air Force was phasing out the C- included some Vietnamese soldiers who recalls. “It was built for cargo. If you sat 123 airframe, 54-658 was sent to the Mil- were brought over to the United States, he next to someone you had to holler at them itary Aircraft Storage and Disposition said. right in their ear for them to hear you.” Center, aka The Boneyard, in 1987 but The plane was manually piloted, with no Most of his missions were routine, but one remained there only a short time until it autopilot, he said. day they made an emergency flight to Little was returned to service with the US De- “It was loud, real loud, and you couldn’t talk Diomede Island, a tiny chunk of land less partment of State. Registered with the unless you were on the intercom. It didn’t fly than three miles from Soviet Russia. Peruvian National Police, for three years very fast to get to where it was going so when “A woman was having trouble giving it flew in support of that nation’s drug you went somewhere, it took forever.” birth,” Martell recalled. “There wasn’t any interdiction efforts. The Museum’s Pro- runway, so we landed on the beach. But vider was known as “El Burro” because it Those poor young kids most of the time we were just hauling car- was both tough and reliable. Retired Chief Master Sgt. Paul Roy consid- go.” Although it never was assigned to Dover ers the Provider, “A pretty good airplane.” It was one of those examples of where the AFB during its operational lifetime, 54- “I thought it was easy to work on except military would help with civilians, and vice 658 was brought to the AMC Museum when I had to work on the engines. You had versa, he said. Oct. 14, 1990, because of the C-123’s to have stands to get to those engines up high, “Everyone was very cordial to each other. important role in military airlift history. and when I first got [to Tan Son Nhut Air It was nice.” Base] we didn’t have a whole lot of equip- Jarring landings ment. We always had to look for stands. A kick to fly Retired US Air Force Reserve TSgt. “I tinkered a lot on my when I was a crew Retired Lt. Col. William Schillig piloted Robert “Bob” Johnson Jr. is intimately chief. Those engines used to throw a lot of oil Providers out of Rickenbacker after having familiar with the Museum’s Provider: he and I decided I would change as much as I flown other aircraft, including the EC-47, in worked as its crew chief for eight years could to stop some of that leakage. Vietnam. while at Rickenbacker AFB. “I flew with my aircraft a lot and got to see a He currently pilots the only flying C-123 Early in his career, he was tasked with lot of small fields in Vietnam at that time,” he left, nicknamed Thunderpig. The plane is fixing just about any system on the air- said. “The C-123 was a pretty unique aircraft. owned by the Air Heritage Museum in Beaver craft that broke. Later, things got more It did well for paratroop drops and when we Falls, Pennsylvania, and visited Dover during specialized, much to his frustration. weren’t carrying cargo, that’s what we did. its 2017 Open House. “You got to do everything,” he said. “If “We also dropped South Vietnamese para- The aircraft may be old -- it’s in its sixth you could fix it, you’d fix it. But later, if troops. It was interesting to see those young decade -- but it’s rugged, Schillig said. In its you had an electrical problem you had to South Vietnamese, they looked scared to (Continued on page 7) Hangar Digest Page 7

Thompson, was quizzed Thompson about the trip. He duti- (Continued from page 5) fully reported the pho- tography incident, but Cheeseburger and fries never heard what might Sprinkel and the rest of the crew had a have happened as a chance to play tourist once the plane was result. secure. While Thompson was left behind to keep an eye on the C-5, everyone else ‘A lot of brass’ got a tour of Moscow, including Red Life went back to nor- Square. They also were taken through the mal until about a year NHD generator’s new home at the Institute later. of High Temperatures laboratory where, “One day, out of the amazingly, they found the generator already blue, I was told we had had been installed, less than three hours to go to the Pentagon for after being offloaded. the award of the trophy,” In the meantime, Thompson was guard- Thompson said. ing the C-5 from the cab of a pickup truck. Many of the mission’s Except for a single Soviet guard -- at least crew had been trans- Now retired following a 31-year career with the US Postal Ser- that was the only one he saw -- he was ferred to other bases, so vice, Thompson keeps a few mementoes of his Air Force ca- alone. they and their spouses reer and his history-making trip to the in a cor- He tried a little informal international were flown to Washing- ner of his Newark, Delaware, home. diplomacy by offering the guard a Coke, ton DC for the ceremo- ny; Thompson just drove across the Chesa- decorated with the emblem of the Soviet but soon afterward another truck pulled up airline Aeroflot. and took the man away. Thompson figured peake Bay Bridge. Although Thompson had heard Presi- A blank spot on the wall once was occu- the man’s superior must have seen the pied by the Mackay Trophy plaque, now in friendly gesture and quickly had him re- dent Jimmy Carter was supposed to be the AMCM’s collection. placed. there, he instead received the plaque and “We’d visited the Museum in 2016 and I Thompson was relieved by 512th MAW certificate directly from Allen and later was given a photograph of himself and thought they might want my stuff from the Staff Sgt. Robert A. Mooney. Moscow trip,” Thompson said. “I talked to “When that happened, I got my own spe- the chief of staff. As an airman first class, being honored [Collections Manager Debbie Sellars] and cial tour,” he recalled. An English-speaking she said she’d love to have it.” Russian from the American embassy picked by so many senior officials left him a bit “I hope to add Mr. Thompson’s story and him up in a battered station wagon, but all starstruck, Thompson admitted. the plaque and certificate he received to the Thompson wanted was a hot meal. After a “There was a lot of brass in that room,” museum’s website in the future so more quick trip to the embassy for a cheeseburg- he said. Thompson left the Air Force Dec. 31, people can learn about Dover’s role in this er and fries, the Russian took him sightsee- unique American-Soviet endeavor,” Sellars ing around the Soviet capital. 1979, having spent his entire career as- signed to Dover. Shortly afterward he was said. “To me, it all looked so glum,” he said. Thinking back, Thompson realizes he was “The place just looked sad. No one had a hired at the US Postal Service and now is in the right place at the right time to have smile on their faces. That really stuck out.” retired after 31 years on the job. taken part in a history-making event. The trip back home was anti-climatic. A small corner of his home contains memorabilia of his Air Force career includ- “It’s one of the things I’m really proud Instead of the aircrew being debriefed back of,” he said. at Dover, the C-5 diverted to Ramstein Air ing a security police badge, the brown suit Base, , where everyone, including tie he wore to Moscow and a small pendant

(Continued from Page 6) “It’s really heavy on the controls and heyday, it was just what the of the few aircraft I’ve flown that needed when supplying those very small doesn’t have any assist with the controls. posts in Vietnam. It’s just straight cable/pulley, no hydrau- “It can take you to quite a few different lics, no electrical assist. kinds of strips and unprepared fields,” he “It requires a little more arm-power than said. most, but it’s still pretty agile.” “It was pretty amazing that way. But it And the plane definitely was built to couldn’t haul as much as some people make the assault-type drops for which it would have liked.” became famous. When the C-123 first arrived in Vi- Schillig made an assault approach when

etnam, it had trouble taking in some of they came into Dover, and “The people in Photo courtesy CMSgt. Bob Bien the shorter landing strips. Then Fairchild the tower said it was one of the best land- added the J-85 jet engines. ings they’d seen all day,” he said. Several motorcycles were among the “They really were a kick to fly,” he said, “We get that a lot when I do those kind items carried aboard the Museum’s Pro- later adding, “It gives you a pretty good of approaches at the air shows,” he vider during its career with Peruvian drug interdiction forces. This scene was jump out of the chocks.” added. recreated in the recent Tom Cruise film, “American Made.” Page 8 Volume 17, Issue 4

By FOUNDATION NOTES Don Sloan Hangar Digest Page 9

(Continued on Page 12) Page 10 Volume 17, Issue 4 Fairchild C-123 “Provider” Hangar Digest Page 11 Fairchild C-123 “Provider” Page 12 Volume 17, Issue 4

Foundation Notes (Continued from page 9)

Fly safe! Don Sloan Hangar Digest Page 13 Education at the Museum AMCM’s summer camp wraps another season Local youngsters from around Dover Air Force Base literally got a ride into the wild blue yonder during an educational camp de- voted exclusively to the study of flight. The flights were the culmination of a four- day annual Aviation Summer Camp, held at the Air Mobility Command Museum. “It was pretty cool,” said Hunter Keel, after climbing from the Cessna 172, piloted by Joe Nickle, manager of the Dover Air Force Base AeroClub. “It was the first time I’ve ever flown.” The camp is overseen by Tricia Upchurch, the AMCM’s staff educator. Certified as both an elementary and high school teacher, Up- church also is a military wife whose husband is a C-5M SuperGalaxy pilot stationed at the base. This was her second year in charge of the program, which is presented twice a day dur- ing weeks in July and August. One half-day session is geared toward younger students, while the second features advanced concepts for more senior learners. “We work to relate it to the STEM concept -- science, technology, engineering and math- Mason Moritz looks out from the co-pilot’s position of a Cessna 172 as he gets ready to ematics,” she said. “I try to change up the depart on a short flight around Kent County. The flight was on the last day of the Air Mobil- ity Command Museum’s annual Aviation Summer Camp. curriculum because we have kids who come in for the camp more than once. We had 14 tech