10 Minutes to Drop

SOME OF MY airdrop experience would come in handy over Haiti if I connected to an Air Force Guard unit right now. I used to fly an aluminum overcast, the Lockheed C-141, and matched some of the high altitude contrails (at left) with low altitude shadows across deserts, forests and open plains. In the early 80s, I spent several days every month dropping pallets, people and trucks from those venerable Starlifters. Action could start with an engine-running onload at a depot where hard-working loadmasters would push and winch heavy equipment aboard. Most of the time we watched K-loaders back up to the rear of the aircraft with 20,000 pounds of pallets and our loadmasters would push the stuff aboard. Airdrops were low-altitude affairs. We often stayed at 10,000 feet en route and dropped down to 1250 feet for the actual drops. An average pass across the drop zone would parachute five tonnes at the ground. We would make two passes, one for each pilot. Sometimes we would dump 50-70 troops out of two side doors. Being able to throw parcels at the ground in Haiti gets around the issues of poor infrastructure in the country but it is much less efficient than driving heavy lorries full of food, water and clothing. That doesn't stop me from wanting to lead a four-ship airdrop across a clean dropzone. I'm available immediately, right after I give some spare change to John McWilliams' Haiti fund.

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Sent mail2blog using Nokia E90 O2-Typepad service while Foursquaring at O Tuamas of Clonmel, Ireland.

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