# The Coolest Picture You Will See Today



## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

Mrs. Reverie has been an Engineer for Lockheed Martin Aeronautical for almost 25 years. The factory that has produced every one of the more than 2000 C-130s every built. Long before I was admiring her form I admired the form of the C-130. I was stationed with the USAF's 1st Special Operations Wing (First SOW) back in the '80's. They fielded two different variants of the base C-130, the MC-130 Combat Talon and the ever popular (unless you are the pond sucking enemy) AC-130 Spectre Gunship.

This picture (I think) is of the Marine C-130 used to support the Navy's Blue Angels.

Reverie


----------



## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

WOW.......very cool









Tami


----------



## wingnut (Mar 21, 2005)

Yes sir it sure is. The name of the plane is FAT ALBERT and it flies support for the Blue Angels. It 's tech name is a JATO plane. Saw this plane in action at Oceana naval base last year at an air show. We have it on video. It is very impressive. Scooter still talkes about FAT ALBERT and says he wants to fly it.


----------



## akdream (Mar 21, 2006)

It is most definitely Fat Albert. We saw it at the air show today in Anchorage at Elmendorf AFB. It was an awesome show. The Blue Angels were incredible.


----------



## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Now, THAT, is way-too-cool, Nick!! Great picture!! Thanks for sharing!








Darlene


----------



## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

Great picture and a great piece of Hardware


----------



## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

That is cool looking 
I bet that was really awesome seeing it live

Don


----------



## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Now that is a nice picture. Thanks Nick. While I was staying in Montgomery the past month at Maxwell Air Force Base, the RV park was within 200 yards of the air strip where they had six C130's. I would sit outside every evening and watch then take off and land. Those are some amazing planes. After they take off it looks as if they are just floating in the air.

Leon


----------



## Stan (Aug 9, 2006)

Great picture...for those in the area, the Chicago Air Show is next weekend

Bought a 29bhs yesterday...can't wait to get it home!


----------



## Doxie-Doglover (Apr 19, 2006)




----------



## happycamper (Jul 26, 2005)

Cool! Nuff said


----------



## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

I'm in the flight path of NAS Atlanta. It is amazing how the pilots put the plane on the wing tip to do a short approach.

In the picture you see the booster rockets that allow the plane to take off on a very short runway.


----------



## NobleEagle (Jul 8, 2006)

I thank you for posting this picture. I have many myself due to seeing the Blue Angels every other year at Mac Dill AFB here in Florida. Better known as SOCOM (Special Operations Command Mission). It is VERY impressive and would like to suggest to everyone to try to catch a show if at all possible. If you have never seen one, you would never believe what you see at a show. And keep in mind they are NOT showing the really cool stuff....and it's still incredible. That is definately an awesome picture of one of our military's finest. HOO-RAH!!! Semper Fi! And thanks to our military both past and present for thier services, providing us the freedom to do what we love to do every day. Thanks!


----------



## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

I've seen video of the C-130 Gunship in action. That is one bad boy!


----------



## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Rev,

Nice picture.

.Mark


----------



## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Cool pic Reverie.


----------



## nonny (Aug 14, 2005)

Wow! Great pic! I have a dear friend who works at Lockhead and lives in Douglas. Wonder if your wife knows him! He is a retired Marine Sgt Major.


----------



## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Very cool pic









Thor


----------



## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

That is indeed "Fat Albert" performing a Jet Assited Take Off (JATO) - probably closing out a Blue Angels performance.


----------



## Not Yet (Dec 13, 2004)

7heaven said:


> I've seen video of the C-130 Gunship in action. That is one bad boy!


Even more cool in real life








Great friend to have overhead when bad guys are close


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Beautiful Reverie, Thanks for sharing that








Dawn


----------



## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I've seen JATO's a few times...as I am within 150 yards of a US AIR FORCE runway for 72 hours per week.

It is really cool. Those gunships are incredible in every way.


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Been gone camping over the weekend, so I'm catching up on posts, but you're right, that is a GREAT picture.


----------



## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

Way back in the old days, and I'm talking old days. In my very first job, I worked for Bendix Corp. (which no longer exists)
We were the sub-contractor that manufactured the fuel control amplifier for C-130's. (They were called ETB-4's) It was an analog engineering marvel of it's day, controlling the fuel to the engine, based on several inputs. No micro's, no digital of any kind, 100% discrete analog circuitry. There were 4 per aircraft, 1 for each engine. I was the guy that did the testing and repair on those units before they went out the door.
But that was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.









Bob


----------



## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

nonny said:


> Wow! Great pic! I have a dear friend who works at Lockhead and lives in Douglas. Wonder if your wife knows him! He is a retired Marine Sgt Major.


There is a chance she would known him. That plant used to employ, get this, 35,000 people. Now it employs about 6,000.

Reverie


----------

