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C-130 to Replace E-6B?

taxi1 said:
if your mission is to fly in a slow, tight circle carrying some heavy electronics gear,
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I forgot one!

EMZ-3

Hmm, according to wiki it's only got about a 2,500lb payload. We're gonna need a bigger boat...

This begs the question: Would the NFOs also get a half wing?
 
taxi1 said:
Interesting. While the E6 obviously has dash speed and payload, if your mission is to fly in a slow, tight circle carrying some heavy electronics gear, hard to beat the C-130.
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If you can base closer to where the big circles need to be then you don't need dash speed and the costs that come with it.
 
Pags said:
From what little I've seen on this it sounds like the requirement to operate from other than big airports is a driver moreso than the current airframe.
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That's why I said EC-17, not EC-5. :)
 
Jealous of the guys who will get to fly the mission in the Herc again.

As a former TACAMO Wing readiness guy, this news makes me happy.
 
RedFive said:
How is it that the AF can keep 400 KC-135s working just fine but the Navy has trouble with 16 E-6Bs, so much so that they're looking to go back to a Herc? The 707 is a pretty robust platform. @nittany03 brings up a good point about an EC-17...seems like a much better choice.
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I thought the Navy got the E-6B second hand from the airlines. Maybe that is why they are not aging like the KC-135.
 
jollygreen07 said:
Correct, although when originally delivered the cockpit was all steam gauges. Glass was installed in a later mod. The avionics now roughly resemble the 737NG.
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Where did they move the Fire T-Handles and Extinguisher Switches?
 
Still always strikes me as weird that big jets have a nosewheel steering wheel in addition to the rudder pedals . . .
 
RedFive said:
How is it that the AF can keep 400 KC-135s working just fine but the Navy has trouble with 16 E-6Bs, so much so that they're looking to go back to a Herc? The 707 is a pretty robust platform. @nittany03 brings up a good point about an EC-17...seems like a much better choice.
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This I do not know. However, there is a common problem across the entire (?) E6B fleet that is apparently in need of replacement or failing. I don't know how expensive or difficult it is to fix.
 
Treetop Flyer said:
Would be bad to have full authority with the rudder pedals
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That's the most important thing. I think it's easier for taxi qualified non-pilots to learn the tiller, easier to feel what you're doing and easier to learn than steering with your feet. It's also a bit like the second driver on the tail end of a ladder truck in that it's very different than driving a car, but at the same time it's not difficult if you take it slow.

I don't think the invented the modern airliner tiller with that in mind but it certainly doesn't hurt and it makes doing business easier.

DanMa1156 said:
This I do not know. However, there is a common problem across the entire (?) E6B fleet that is apparently in need of replacement or failing. I don't know how expensive or difficult it is to fix.
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It's a bit of a frankenplane and they only bought a handful of them. It's probably got more in common with the old AWACS and JSTARS airplanes than the KC-135, which is more like a weird cousin of the 707 family. All of them are derived from the prototype that Tex Johnson rolled... twice and gone through various modifications and derivations.

The P-8 is a frankenplane 737 but at least its production run should give the parts supply some safety in numbers.
 
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