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Old 07-11-2005, 03:08 PM
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Default Dual row Air Drops

AETCNS 071105128
Altus makes AETC airdrop history

By Airman 1st Class Aldric Borders
97th Air Mobility Wing
Public Affairs

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AETCNS) --
"The first-ever dual row airdrop from an C-17 Globemaster III made Air Education and Training Command history here July 5.

"Dual row airdrops allow for twice as much cargo and heavy equipment to be delivered into a combat environment as compared to the conventional single row drop," said Lt. Col. Tal Metzgar, 58th Airlift Squadron commander.

Using dual row airdrops whenever practical will save time and fuel dollars.

"The importance behind having dual row airdrop capabilities is it will help support the Army's need to perform strategic brigade airdrops, where an entire brigade is dropped onto a drop zone in a certain amount of time," said Maj. John Tringali, an instructor pilot with the 58th AS and the mission commander for the historic airdrop.

Making the new training possible was the expansion of the base's training area, known as the Sooner Drop Zone.

Congress appropriated $600,000 in 2004 so the SDZ could be extended from 1,748 yards to 2,640 yards in length. While the base civil engineer and contracting squadrons negotiated the sales and development of the property, the 58th AS prepared for this transition in training.

"Until this mission, there were only three instructor pilots and loadmasters in the wing who were current and qualified to carry out dual row airdrops," Major Tringali said.

"We're currently in the process of getting all the instructors trained.
"Student training is scheduled to start here later this month as well, which means we'll have our instructors and students getting trained on the same sorties,"

Major Tringali said. "They'll be running parallel with each other until September when all of the instructors will be trained."

The difference between a dual row and a conventional airdrop is more than just how much is being dropped; it requires the aircrew to use very different procedures when performing the drop.

"Conventional airdrops are designed to send cargo down the center of the aircraft on airdrop rails, while dual row airdrops send cargo down the left and right side of the air craft on logistics rails," said Major Tringali.

Logistics rails were not designed for airdrops, but for loading and unloading the plane while it is parked. Because these rails are not designed for airdrops, the plane's computer does not have the right software to do calculations for a dual row airdrop.

This means pilots now have to manually type in how the ballistics work so the computer can figure out the information needed for the airdrop.

"In addition to this, loadmasters have to manually release the cargo from its locked position when they're ready to drop it, as opposed to the plane doing it automatically during a conventional airdrop," Major Tringali said. "Also, since the left-side cargo can be hidden from view of the loadmaster control panel, two loadmasters need to work together on dual row as opposed to normal airdrops using a single loadmaster."

Teamwork and clear communications are critical for these drops. The loadmasters have to time the drop by eye so there is no pause between the end of the first row dropping and the start of the second row dropping. If the second row is released too soon, it could possibly collide with cargo being dropped from the first row causing their chutes to fail. If the second row is released too late, it might take too long to fall out of the aircraft causing the cargo to land past the end of the drop zone.

"Meanwhile, as the loadmasters are doing their job, the pilots have to keep the plane angled accurately down to the degree," Major Tringali said. "Pilots must have the nose pitched up at a 4-degree angle, plus or minus a half-degree."

If the angle of the plane is too steep it will cause the locks which release the cargo to jam due to the weight of the cargo leaning against them, and if the angle is too shallow - or the plane is too level - the cargo will not roll out of the plane when it is released.

"It's exciting to see all this teamwork come together to make it all happen," Colonel Metzgar said. "There are so many agencies that were, and still are involved, in making dual row airdrops a reality at Altus."

The addition of dual row airdrops to the training schedule is just one of many changes in training the base has undergone to provide a better product for world-wide bases.

"There's been a change of philosophy lately," Major Tringali said. "Altus is no longer a place where Airmen come to just learn how to land the plane and are sent to their unit to learn everything else about employing the aircraft. Within the last year we've started teaching students not only how to fly and load planes but how to tactically employ the aircraft in a war time scenario."

TSgt John Asselin
Air Education and Training Command
Public Affairs
(210) 652-4400 DSN 487-4400
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