Texomaspotter

Sabre 01 beating up the radar pattern after flying the ILS down six times. We were treated with its gentle banking off the departure end. Have a good week!

Good afternoon Italians!

As I was sitting at my desk today working on a large project for my normal life I noticed an Italian KC-767 making its way south across the US. Not thinking much of it I checked to see where it was going outta curiosity and low and behold it was the TIK. I made an audiable "Oh crap" and realized I had exactly an hour to get it. I gave Aviation and Photography a very breif and quick phone call as I was briskly getting my truck started to get down there. I made it with 10 minutes to spare.

Here is the Aeronautica Militare's KC-767A arriving at Tinker AFB on a beautiful Oklahoma afternoon. Not really sure what the reason for being here is but we're not complaining!

Notice it has both MPRS and a boom system. Similar to what the US KC-46's can be equiped with.

Aeronautica Militare

A great thanksgiving morning to wake up to over 1,000 followers. I know it’s not much for my humble little stories but it means a ton! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

AMC Grey Strikes again!

According to Gen. Minihan, all active duty Air Mobility Command aircraft will be painted into a standard, non-descriptive, paint with no unit markings and no aircraft identification numbers. This is to reduce the enemy’s ability to track how much support aircraft are bringing supplies to the battlefield.

As of now, Tinker has been painting some 130’s for AMC into the new scheme. Some KC-135’s are getting it post-depot as well. I have yet to see a C-17 or C-5 in the paint job but I’m sure it will happen soon.

Here is AEGIS 71 headed VFR back to Dyess.
Do you like the new paint?

Matt got a page! Go follow it! He’s our newest friend to Oklahoma and has some awesome work to share.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552910148000&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Bumgardner Photography A place to showcase various aviation, nature, and landscape photographs I've taken.

"SABRE 45 maintain at or above 1800ft for runway sweep in progress" Oh giddy, a B-1 is lurking around somewhere, better get ready.
2 mins later: "Tinker Tower, SABRE 01, 9 miles out ILS 36 option." Shot, I was not ready for it yet. As the landing lights appeared in the distance I was running in the bitter cold that had just hit Oklahoma the night before racing to get in position. I arrived just in time for B-1B 86-0138 "Seek and Destroy," to beat up the pattern upon arrival on Friday afternoon.

138 belongs to the 28th Bomb Wing of Ellsworth AFB. Its nose art features a Tigers face seeking out some sweet B-1 destruction. Sweet art!

Ellsworth Air Force Base

Hey look an EC-135!

“LARGO 16,” SOAR KC-135R with AAR 58-0011, beats around the Tinker pattern taking advantage of the strong and cold crosswinds.

So what’s the story.
0011 was delivered to the USAF as a KC-135A on Feb. 27, 1959 and was given to the 34th AREFS at Offutt AFB. It was one of the first jets modified into an airborne command post. On June 24, 1960 it was number four of the original -135A’s to get modded into a Looking Glass command post. It was upgraded in 1963 and redesigned as a EC-135A in 1965.

After becoming an EC-135A it stayed at Offutt for a few years before heading to the 6486th ACCS at Hickam AFB and became a Blue Eagle airborne command post. It got upgraded again and became an EC-135P in 1967. It performed its mission as a P model in Hawaii being able to communicate with submarines to relay important communications to them while underway.

It sadly became demodified in July of 1976 and just became a KC-135A with Aerial Refueling capabilities. It got its R upgrade in April of 1990 and has been living its recent life assigned to the 22nd ARW at McConnell AFB fulfilling the Special Operations Aerial Refueling Mission, a mission only the 22nd holds.

McConnell Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base

Naked Herky!

“Moab 1,” a KC-130T departing Tinker for Hill AFB lacking a bit of paint.

Tinker AFB is home to part of the Harvest Hawk modification to KC-130 aircraft. The rest, including the paint, is completed at Hill AFB by OO-ALC. This aircraft was not participating in the modification.

These movements are quite rare and it’s a treat to see them especially unpainted.

Tinker Air Force Base Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Sustainment Center

A few days late, but here it is, all 12 jets. These are not all their offical retirement flights due to not being at some of them. As of Sept. 30, 71-1407 has offically been retired and can be moved to its final resting place at Tinker.

Each of these jets has several stories behind them. Some flew for almost 40 years seeing multiple wars, disputes, spying eyes, and even a dead whale or two. There are people who poured their whole career into working on these to keep them flying when the world demanded it. Pilots, Navigators, ABM's, Radar Techs, Crew Chiefs, Avionics Techs, even Engine specialist who keep the TF33's running after 65 years of service. Everyone played a part in the life of the jets. We have personally heard a few stories about some of them specifically but if you have your own or know of any, drop a comment or send a message. We love hearing anything these jets have done.

For now, 18 remain for the forseable future. With the E-7 program not even in testing yet, they are here to stay. We will return back to the irregular Tinker content as well as a few other side stories that are in the works right now. Life has been busy but I promise big things are on the horizon.

552d Air Control Wing

The final one to go.

"SCOUT 01," E-3 83-0009, Scarlet, departed Tinker for her final resting place at AMARG.

0009 was is the last of the divestment birds to fly out to Arizona. She bears the AK tail from the 962nd AACS of Elmendorf AFB where she was last based before retirement. She is pictured here on return from Alaska in mid-August just one month before her date. This was the last time she flew before the retirement flight.

However, this is not the end of the story. I will be writing the final chapter soon featuring all 12 of the jets in a nice organized frame as well as some unique info on each jet. Stay tuned for the final chapter.

552d Air Control Wing

Number eleven to go.

"NORSE 75," E-3 73-1675 "The Cadillac" departed Tinker AFB bound for its retirement. Her sister ship 1674 served as the AFMC testbed for the E-3 programs and upgrades back in the 2000's and early 2010's before being retired by being chopped into small pieces and placed in a wodden crate.

1675 is seen here from earlier this summer beating around the pattern. Work has kept me busy lately and we were not able to see her lift away. So long 1675!

552d Air Control Wing Tinker Air Force Base

Testing, testing.

"SABRE 52" B-52H 60-0044, Magnum Force, completes its final test flight before getting returned back to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB.

The 10th FLTS will performs flaps up touch and go occasionally upon the completion of a test flight. The B-52 has single slotted fowler flaps with two positions, full up or full down. The full down position creates a very large amount of drag for the jet creating a slight nose down attitude for a normal landing. The full up position keeps the wing clean and thus leading to a noticle nose up attitude for a flaps up touch and go. The airspeed is also increased for flaps up touch and go.

5th Bomb Wing Command Team Minot Air Force Base

Number what to go?

A little different from the E-3 retirement series. Today NC-135W 61-2666 retired to AMARG. It was retired stripped of its antennas and sensors to be attached to the new NC-135 testbed which is currently in conversion at GVT.

So long Triple 6!

A little throwback for your Thursday evening.

As I go back and sort out all of the E-3’s over the years, I stumbled upon a memory from June 2020. Due to strong storms in Nebraska, the 55th Wing evacuated the entire fleet out to other bases. At the time the wing only had a handful of jets around, Tinker got Cobra Ball 4128 pictured here, Rivet Joint 14843, and now former Cobra Ball Trainer 4133.

Sadly, the Cobra Ball hasn’t visited since this day. But visits from the 55th Wing are always appreciated.

Number ten to go.

SENTRY 39, E-3 80-0139 departed Tinker AFB this morning bound for AMARG. She is the tenth aircraft to be retired this year with two more remaining. 13 in total are being divested however only 12 will take retirement flights to Arizona. 139 was nicknamed "Warbird."

552d Air Control Wing

DECEE 51 and 52 arrives at Tinker AFB for maintance of 57-1479 Friday Aug 18.

DECEE 52 (1479) departed from Indianapolis bound for Tinker, however cruised over at 10,000ft instead of the typical 24,000ft or higher. This is likely due to pressurization problems with the jet. Notice 1479 also has tape over the crew entry door and missing an entire boom.

Cruising at lower altitudes is very fuel inefficient for a jet engine. The air is more dense towards the surface, meaning the engine has to work harder to produce the thrust. The higher you go the better your performance gets until the air is too thin for it to produce any thrust.

459th Air Refueling Wing

SABRE 01, B-1B 85-0084 “Hard Rain,” returns from a successful functional check flight with the 10th FLTS.

084 belongs to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, SD. Anyone know how she got the nickname “Hard Rain”?

Ellsworth Air Force Base

Number nine to go.

SENTRY 55, E-3C 77-0355 "Lumpo," departs Tinker AFB for AMARG early in the morning.

Bright and early on a Friday morning, 355 departed off with a bit of style. The winds were slightly favoring 36 giving us a fantastic view on the north side. The amazing crew requested two tower patterns before departing off to Arizona, which is strongly appreciated. Shortly after taking off tower asked if they could make a teardrop for 18 as the wind had shifted. 355 came around gear down nice and slow in beautiful early morning light. Very happy we arrived just in time to get setup in position unlike Redhome Aviation who learned the true speed of his vehicle that morning after my taxi text.

So long Lumpo! Enjoy your retirement and keep the rest of the fleet going. Three remain, the grand total of these old girls is getting slimmer by the month.

Double emergencies!

RUFF 07 and SENTRY 60 both declaring emergencies upon return to Tinker. RUFF 07 suffered an engine failure in the number 3 engine after going up for a partial training sorite. SENTRY 60 had a precautionary shutdown of the number 2 engine due to low oil pressure indications.

Emergencies are not uncommon at Tinker. With it hosting the 10th Flight Test Squadron and several old airframes in the later years of life, things just break or fail. In the industry, emergencies are handled with the highest level of priority and professionalism as to aid the aircraft as much as required. Some emergencies, like the two today, just result a return to the airfield and inspection by the maintainers after they shutdown. Others that have something more serious occur may result in stopping on the runway and being towed off, or having to evacuate out of the aircraft. These are very rare and isolated occurances but all industry professionals will tell you to always hope for the best but train for the worst. Never panic and follow the checklists.

Lets talk props.

SCORE 10, an E-2D from VX-20; RANGER 50, a KC-130J from VMGR-234; and VADER 22 a C-130H from the 757th Airlift Squadron all arrive to Tinker AFB before the strong afternoon heat hit. These three aircraft demonstate the three different type of propeller systems featured on DoD propeller driven aircraft.

So, which is which?
First, and the oldest design, is the four bladed C-130H. It features four Allison T56-A-15 turboprops producing 4,591 horsepower each featuring the Hamilton four-blade 54H60 propellers. The H's have been in service since June of 1974 serving many different missions over the years. They are slowly being replaced by the newer J models and their respective mission sets.

Second, is the current J model. C-130J's feature four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 Turboprop engines producing 4,7000 horsepower each. The J model is the newest varient of the C130 being introduced in 1999. Six variants currently exist of the C130J; AC, EC, HC, KC, MC, and WC. Although the EC is being phased out and replaced with MC's. The J model makes the C130 the longest production military aircraft ever made with more to be produced in the next coming years.

Finally the last prop system, the NP2000. The E-2D uses two Rolls-Royce T56-A-427A turboprop engines with 5100 horsepower each. However, it features a piece of new technology for the blades. Made by Collins Aerospace, the NP2000 is a modification made to older DoD turboprop aircraft to extent their service life. It features eight blades and the Electronic Propeller Control System. It is currently availble for C-130H and T models, KC-130T and R models, CP-140, E-2D, and C-A aircraft. This modification reduces noise and comes with a noticable boost in performance.

A small break from the afterburners and jet engines to learn some information on prop power.

Number eight to go.

SENTRY 03, E-3B 79-0003 "Tres Huevos," departs Tinker AFB for AMARG bound to retire.

0003 makes eight jets this year to retire leaving four jets left. 0003 has not been the most frequent flyer over the last few years. Pictured is her at the 2023 Tinker Airshow as a static display, the retirement lift off, and way back in the early summer of 2021 making it back just in time before a nasty summer storm hit.

Enjoy retirement 0003!

Night Airshow for the win.

When your airplane is so shiny you can see the reflection of itself.

Starting off the 2023 Dayton Airshow with the arrival of the West Coast Rhino Demo Team from VFA-122. Looking forward to an awesome weekend and getting to see some awesome performances and static displays.

Hot off the press!

This month’s edition of the 513th Air Control Group magazine, Rabbit Tales, features the story of the recent retirements from Tinker. Some of our images are featured in this month’s edition for the jets. Be sure to check it out! Thank you so much to the 513th PA for the feature! You guys have have some amazing work.

https://www.507arw.afrc.af.mil/Portals/143/Documents/RT/2023/July%202023%20Rabbit%20Tales%20.pdf?ver=TB144aTLBfbGgCzAxMlVFQ%3d%3d

Number seven to go.

E-3B 78-0576 left Tinker today bound for her retirement at AMARG. 576 was nicknamed "Fat Boy." 576 was flown by the 970th AACS, reservist under the 513th Air Control Group.
Sadly, flying kept me away from seeing her depart today but I was able to connect with her this past winter as the sun was setting in its last light, fitting for her retirement today. So long 576!

Number six to go.

SENTRY 59, E-3B 75-0559, departed Tinker AFB today for retirement to AMARG. 559 was nicknamed "Rainmaker." Halfway through the 2023 retirement set. Six more to go!

DEATH 11, B-2A 89-0128, departs Tinker after the conclusion of the 2023 Airshow. Storms building up in the area made for some interesting light.

Boom out on the Team Tinker fly by for the 2023 Airshow.

Aircraft “51” sports the new 507th ARW heritage tail. SH was the tail code for the 507th in 1972 when they received the F-105’s. They then transitioned to the F-4 in 1980, and to the F-16 in 1988. Finally in 1994 they transitioned to the aerial refueling role and began flying the KC-135R. The SH tail was lost but still retained a strong morale piece for the squadron. Now 51 flies back with the SH tail to carry on the history.
If you know, you know, SH!

507th Air Refueling Wing 507th Maintenance Group

The 2023 Tinker Airshow had been anticipated for long four years. It featured the US Navy Blue Angels, F-35A Demo Team, Team Tinker flyby, Greg Coyler T-33, Matt Younkin Twin Beech 18, Altus Aerial Refueling demo, and Tora Tora Tora.

Very happy to get to see and meet some friends there. Looking forward to more trips coming soon this summer!

Arrival and practice day did not disappoint for the 2023 Tinker Airshow. Some highlights for the show include the USNA Blue Angels, Altus KC-135/C-17 capability demo, F-35A Demo Team, and several key statics such as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

Looking forward to the main show tomorrow!
Tinker Air Force Base

The Big Safari Program

"SAME 40," Boeing NC-135W 61-2666, nickednamed "Loose Caboose" flown by the 645 MATS Det. 2; lands at Majors Airfield in Greenville, TX after a successful test flight.

In 1952 the Air Force started a program to have management, direction, and control of the acquisition, modification, and logistics support for special purpose weapons systems derived from existing aircraft and systems. This mission began the start of the "Rivet" series of aircraft during the cold war. In more recent times this program now falls under the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group which is based at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

DoD contractor L3 Harris, is based at Majors Field and is responsible for the depot level maintance, conversion, and testing of all RC, WC, some special missions, and most of the executive transport aircraft.

Triple 6 as its called, is the last of its kind to be fitted with the loud and proud TF33 engines. With its retirement looming this was a great oppurtunity to see this old jet in the Texas summer heat.

L3Harris Technologies Air Force Materiel Command #612666

A Mountain Home F-15E Strike Eagle departs Tinker’s 18 headed east yesterday afternoon

The jet snuck up and landed straight in for 13, which is rarely used especially by fighter traffic. The clouds just started forming as he departed and made for some nice colors.

Number five to go.

NOVA 50, E-3B 71-1408 "Argentine Peso," departs Tinker AFB for Davis-Monthan AFB for retirement.

1408 was the oldest flying E-3. It, along with its sister ship 1407, was originally built as EC-137D's which was the testbed for the now E-3 standard. The testbeds included two different types of radar, one jet with Westinghouse Electric and one with Hughes Aircraft Company. The two jets also had civilain JT3D engines rather than the military standard of TF33's.

1675 now lives as the oldest flying jet, but that will not last forever.

552d Air Control Wing

SABRE 52, B-52H 60-0058 "War Hog," makes a flaps up up touch at Tinker AFB after a short but successful post depot FCF. 0058 belongs to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB.

Barksdale Air Force Base

Number four to go.

EMBER 44, E-3B 76-1606, departs Tinker off to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. 1606 bears the nickname "The Buccaneer."

The hazy skies from the Canadian fires and the early heat of the summer made for some weird conditions but she will not rest easy in the desert of Arizona.

552d Air Control Wing

VADER 05, a C-130H2 from the 910th Airlift Wing in Youngstown, OH, departs Tinker after a quick turn departing off to Bellingham, WA.

There was enough moisture in the air today for some little v***r to form on the prop blades. Very happy to see an H model still kicking around!

Youngstown Air Reserve Station

Number three to go.

SENTRY 57 departs off to retirement. E-3B 75-0557 retired to AMARG yesterday, being the third jet to retire this year. 557 was the first to arrive to Tinker AFB in 1977. 557 was also the most recent bird to have the AK flash on after its last rotation to Elmendorf. Enjoy retirement!

552d Air Control Wing

Number two to go.

E-3B 77-0353 “The People’s Jet” departed Tinker for the final time to AMARG in Tucson, AZ. She departed into the rainy skies of Oklahoma bound for desert sunlight. Pictured here from late 2022 bearing the ZZ flash as it returned from its rotation at Kadena AB in Japan.

552d Air Control Wing

"TUFF 61" B-52H 61-0029 from the 93rd BS taking some laps around the pattern with a newly minted B-52 student.

The 93rd Bomb Squadron is the Functional Training Unit or FTU for the B-52. Based at Barksdale AFB, they are with the 307th Bomb Wing under Air Force Reserve Command. All B-52 students train with the 93rd before moving on to their active duty or reserve squadron.

1029 is nicknamed "Destination Unknown" and is the boss bird for the 93rd.