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The RNZAF's Transport Fleet Comprises Five Early Build C-130H Hercules And Nine Andovers. New Zealand Has Placed An Option On Eight New Generation C-130J Hercules/Is To Replace Both Types. (RNZAF)
Skytrain Tests Kiwi and RSAF Transports
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Skytrain Tests RNZAF and RSAF Transport Skills
Exercises in New Zealand recently highlighted the close defence ties New Zealand pursues with its allies and neighbours in South East Asia. C-130H Hercules of the Republic of Singapore Air Force recently spent nearly two weeks in Napier on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, joining two Hercules of the RNZAF’s No 40 Squadron and two Andovers of No 42 Squadron for Exercise Skytrain. Australian Aviation’s Matthew Wright was there to check on the exercise and the state of the RNZAF’s transport fleet.
New Zealand – like Australia – identifies security interests in South East Asia.
Both nations regularly hold exercises with their northern allies under the auspices of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Starfish and Vanguard, typically held in the final quarter of the year, bring together Australian, New Zealand, British, Singaporean and Malaysian forces in a wide-ranging series of anti-submarine and general air combat activities. Skytrain operations are the flip side of these ‘sharp end’ activities, and are designed to rehearse cargo dropping skills. Arguably this ‘truck driving’ is as equally important as the more glamorous dissimilar air combat training and anti-submarine sorties of other FPDA work. An army without supplies would quickly grind to a halt. Skytrain sorties involve low level navigation to a specific drop zone. Cargo is dropped on time within a 30m radius during a pop-up manoeuvre, and the aircraft then makes a low level egress. Territory in northern Hawke’s Bay where the drop zone was located is particularly rugged, stretching the skill of pilots, navigators and loadmasters alike. Traditionally these exercises are held away from 40 Squadron’s home at RNZAF Base Auckland. Detachment commander Squadron Leader John Cummings said that setting up a camp then operating from it is part of the whole exercise experience. Indeed, the RNZAF has considerable proficiency when it comes to getting operational from a new area. During deployment to Somalia in 1994, RNZAF forces were ready within 48 hours of arrival. Other UN forces took up to 10 days to achieve the same status. Cummings welcomed the opportunity to work with Singaporean forces. He said that there are advantages for both sides with this kind of cooperative work. The RNZAF is more experienced in the art of precision cargo dropping. The Singaporeans work with other forces, including the Americans, and can bring skills and techniques of their own which they teach to the RNZAF. No Singaporean personnel were available for interview at the exercise. However, an official communique stated that the RSAF was appreciative of the RNZAF’s invitation to regularly participate in the Skytrain series since 1985. This year’s Skytrain was also unique because two Hawker Siddeley Andovers of 42 Squadron worked with the Hercules. The Andovers can fly into shorter airstrips than Hercules and are better suited for smaller loads which would waste the Hercules’ 20,430kg (45,000lb) capacity. The Andovers are – to put it mildly – somewhat long in the tooth. I had the opportunity to fly on board one of the two Andovers to the exercise venue, and noticed superficial signs of wear and tear, though maintenance was clearly very thorough. Internal equipment – for instance, the analogue instrumentation and electronics – is obsolete. Queried about the effects of age, Andover detachment commander John Benson-Cooper said that the airframes are very strong and they have a further 20 years fatigue life. The real problem is spare parts, which have to be imported from Britain and are very expensive. Commonality with the HS.748, (until recently operated in New Zealand by Mount Cook Airline) on which the Andover is based, is less than 20%.
Flying a Low Level Sortie
I joined a sortie by C-130H, serial number 7005, on a day marked by high cloud and gusty winds – not the best weather for a low level sortie. Flying is not a matter of kicking the tyres and taking off. Aircrews typically do about three hours intensive planning beforehand, plotting every detail to avoid known hazards and built-up areas. Weather reports are vital – for this purpose the Air Force had its own meteorological officer in the camp. At the last minute the practice load of water barrels is pulled off; there will be no drop today as the winds are too high at the drop zone. Ground winds over 17kt (32km/h) are likely to result in the load being dragged, risking the handlers at the drop site. We are warned about turbulence – a Toyota Hilux utility is driven into the Hercules to provide us with ballast and to steady the aircraft. Takeoff is noisy but uneventful, a relatively short roll followed by only a slight climb to cruising altitude. I climb to the flight deck a few minutes into the mission to get a better view. The ride is hard, the view spectacular. I can see every sheep, fence, house and tree as we hurtle around the hills at 210kt (390km/h). The flight deck is frantically busy as the pilot, copilot, observer and navigator watch for hazards such as birds, trees and the occasional power line. Our pilot, Flight Lieutenant Ian Davie-Martin, tells me that in an emergency he can go to full throttle and a 30 degree climb angle. We would gain 4000 feet before he runs out of flying speed. Wind and turbulence make this an exceptionally rough ride even by ground-hugging standards. We’re shaken, jolted and rattled with merciless abandon, taking a real hammering. Over the ridges we sink with gut wrenching speed. Fourteen minutes out of Napier we head for our ‘drop zone’ – the point where, if the winds had been cooperative, we would have let a 2300kg parachute load out the back. We make a simulated release run; the navigator lies down on his belly to get a better view through the chin windows as we ‘drop’. Calculating the release point is known as ‘carping’ – a reference to the acronym ‘Calculated Air Release Point’. It is a high precision task that involves a good deal of calculation and even more raw skill. Every variable has to be calculated. Crews given the task are always experienced – pilots and navigators have 500 hours or more under their belts, loadmasters 1000 hours or more. Calculations are done manually with a circular slide-rule known as a ‘prayer wheel’. The C-130 Hercules is capable of dropping up to 19,070kg (42,000lb) in a single load, or 16,800kg (37,000lb) in separate one tonne containers. Heavy loads – up to 2270kg (5000lb) – are fitted with 30m diameter G-11A or B parachutes; heavier pallets can be fitted with two or more of the big canopies. The biggest single load to date was a D5 bulldozer dropped on Pitcairn Island in 1984. It went down in two batches – the chassis, then the dozer blade. Most loads have to be dropped from height – one tonne loads on an A-22 container can be deployed at 400ft, larger loads from higher altitudes, typically 700ft. However, ingress to and egress from the drop zone is typically much lower, no more than 250ft, the legal minimum for safe flying. Deployed to a combat zone like Bosnia, vulnerable transports have to fly low and fast to foil hostile ground fire. An upgrade program, Project Delphi, is currently under way to fit the RNZAF’s five C-130H Hercules with armour and flares to make these missions slightly safer. The Hercules deployed to Rwanda in 1994 was temporarily fitted with armour in Australia.
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