Thunderpig | Air Heritage Museum's Fairchild C-123 Provider 

I made three jumps from the C-123 at Airborne School. June 1979.

My first jump when I went through airborne training before a stint in the 82d, was out of a C-123. I was a very junior Lt right out of basic and I was the stick leader. My father had been in the 82d and told me no worries, it's great equipment and great training. After an uneventful first week, tower week was cancelled (the jump part) because of high winds, so the first time under a chute for my entire class would be when we jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. However...at this point (1983) all the C-123's were in rough shape. Before takeoff they told us they couldn't put the doors on because it didn't have "jump doors" (that could be opened in flight) so I sat there in the heat looking out the missing "not a jump door" door directly at the starboard engine and the jet further out on the wing. I think they didn't use the jet because "it wasn't safe" and as the pilot ran up the engine the amount of oil coming off the engine was a delight. It was a filthy dirty airplane and as we took off the smell, the wind, the noise, all was a bit overwhelming but I remembered my dad's advice to go with it because training/equipment was solid (sure Dad...you're not looking at an oversized lawnmower engine spewing oil out the side). The guy sitting next to me, I think a SSG said: "You know...this is my first flight in an airplane...ever". With all this confidence in the airplane and my experienced stick mates I was ready. I got up, followed the commands and at "Stand in the Door!", I did my duty. The green light came on, the jumpmaster yelled GO! and as I jumped out I remembered all my training...and shut my eyes, yelled the "S" word as loud and as long as I ever did and remembered getting jerked up, seeing the C-123 flying away and taking all the noise and confusion away I remembered to start counting to four. About this time I started chuckling at how bad I was at that jump and how excited I was slowly falling to earth under a beautiful chute. That calm was shattered when I heard some dude in a black hat screaming at me through a megaphone to put my feet together and prepare to land. Of course I landed in the creek that bisects the drop zone there like a sack of potatoes (as the black hat reminded me as I rolled up my chute). As I walked back to the assembly area I noticed a oily smell and texture on my uniform and gear...I must have picked up a pint of oil off that C-123 in the slipstream. Later that day we jumped again from the same C-123 and I had a chance to talk to the pilot before he started it up and he told me they used a lot of oil on that plane but he enjoyed flying it even though it was a bit "squirrely" on landing. I never forgot that flight and those smells and sounds and despite my ancient, oil leaking, noisy, wind blown filthy C-123, it gave me confidence that even old almost dead equipment was still solid and useable. That meant something to me. Thank you for putting one of these old birds back up.

Thanks to all that keep this bird in the air.

My dad flew multiple aircraft during an award winning career in the Air Force, but his favorite stories were all of the C-123.

The CFI that was with me for my SEL training flew these in 'Nam. Big wrestling match.

Used to hitch rides on the 123Js that flew out of Hurlburt Field in Florida, back in the early 1970s.

Do the J85 turbo jets still work on this critter ? 😁