Where did all the Hercs go? 

How come I have learned more with a Mikey YT video than a entire Discovery series starring the man himself? Boy they missed the mark, but I'm super happy to see you all doing well and the warbirds still working. Super grateful to learn more about our country and our aerospace history at the same time!

My father flew Hercs in both the military and commercially. His last duty station was in Angola, where the airline had a contract to service the mines. My parents lived in Utah and once a month Dad would make the commute to Angola. Just before he was to retire, the Angolan government threatened to nationalize the airline. So, Dad's last mission for the airline was to organize the rest of the pilots and mechanics to load up as many spare parts as the planes could carry and fly out all the planes under the radar in the dead of night. You can nationalize a steel mill or an oil field. It's harder to do with an airline.

Rest in peace Captain Ian H. McBeth, 44, from Montana, Officer Paul Hudson, 42 from Arizona, and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr.,43, from Florida. Crew of Coulson tanker 134. Lost them this year fighting the Australian wild fires.

Yet again an amazing video!!! Well done Mikey!

That seems completely ridiculous, in an age where we’re trying to conserve our natural resources - not making full use of perfectly serviceable aircraft.

Ah, so corruption and bribery. Cool, cool.

Whenever Joe speaks, I feel like like a kid listening to a wise elder, I'd love to hear more of his stories and anecdotes.

Came across this by accident and loved it. As an old (69 yrs) USAF Vet, sure brought back memories. The Herc was and is one hell of an aircraft.

I really enjoy listening to your father's stories. If he hasn't written a book, maybe he should. 👍

Bottom line: Change the laws. The C-130 would be very well suited for such a role flying freight (again) in Canada. Can land a C-130 on an aircraft carrier or Antarctica. The C-130 can also do heavy lifting that other platforms simply can't do. Manufactures want you to buy their latest product (see the LM-100J). Was a reason they chopped up all the C-141's up after retirement :-P.

Brings back memories, the "Old Fella's' comments about mining and the NEP/National Energy Program are bang on. I was in Resolute Bay when PWA was flying Hercs, shuttling stuff hither and tither 24/7. Helped load a D7 onto a Herc and that's when I realized what a huge magnificent craft it was. Also ran the loader installing an engine on a DC3. Later I was in Tuktoyaktuk at both Dome Petroleum and Esso bases. I was in the Dome shop listening to CBC North [that's all the communication we had] when the NEP was announced by the government of the day, Justin's dad. I knew as I listened to that broadcast the energy boom was over. Threw north eastern BC, Alberta and other places into a depression for 1 to 2 decades. I really learned to dislike Liberal, Central Canada Politicians. An almost forgotten piece of Canadian history.

New Zealand is just about to get rid of a few Hercs next year. The ones we've got flying around here were the same actual aircraft that brought our troops to Vietnam in 1969! They are legendary aircraft and we're finally replacing them with new Hercs, being built right now.

We love Hercs! They are a workhorse!!! But there isn’t a replacement for the sound of a huge radial engine!

Great background and explanations! (BTW You don't want them old A models...)

As a C-130 and L-382 pilot, I can tell you there are differences in the two aircraft. They both went down the same assembly line, and as they were built, the L-382 had additional things added to make it compliant with FAA Part 25, Certification of Transport Category Aircraft. A military C-130 does not meet Part 25 standards. It could be converted, but to my knowledge no one has done the work to get a STC to convert C-130s to L-382s. That would require a lot of man hours just to be certified to do that. As an example, some of the Saudi Hercules are not C-130s, but L-382s. Some commercially operated L-382s currently flying started as state owned aircraft around the world, and are eventually sold on the market to commercial operators of transport category aircraft.

it's nice to see two ex-Atlantic Airways Electras still flying

Each, and every time I cast eyes upon those Commandos, I just can't get over what fine looking aircraft they are; their designers had to have been avid Buck Rogers fans.

Love that Joe is more involved with the channel now a days. Great work Mikey.

No need to compete in the free market when you can just pay to get laws passed to give you an unfair advantage.

When in the Military I flew in the Hercs quite a few times .. Never got tired of doing that

It was a C-130 A model, that lost both wings while fighting fires in Northern California, and it is my understanding the A model has more than it's share of woes. Best wishes, Mikey. I'm happy to see you again.

I was a Marine Corps KC-130 mechanic from 94-2014...There will always be a place in my heart for the legacy birds.

That C46 is seriously beautiful looking.

Yep I work for Lynden and we now have 14 Hercules, I'm a truck driver for Lynden but the reason I came to work here was that my father was a C130 squadron commander (of the A model) in Vietnam and Okinawa ,1964-68 Turkey 1968 as well as Vandenberg AFB CA 69-70 and Scott AFB Illinois 1970-71

Lynden was mainly a trucking company in Alaska, they got the hercs during the 90's, getting into the air cargo business

One of Mikey's videos was suggested by RU-vid and....I was hooked and subscribed. When I was stationed at Takhli and Ubon Thailand during the war I spent many hours flying all over the country in C-130s making the daily shuttle run from base to base, carrying troops and supplies. For this lifelong airplane nut it was like heaven. Thanks for the excellent presentations Mikey. Wright Flyer, USAF (1968-1972).

Thank you for answering these type of questions. It's so neat to get the insiders view of the industry. Keep involving your dad, he really adds great content to your episodes. Again, my favorite RU-vid channel!

It’s funny, I liked ice pilots and they introduced the public to Buffalo air, but I really like Mikey’s channel a lot more than the reality tv format. Consistently great stuff.

My family owned Zantop International Airlines and we had 22 Lockheed L-188 Electra’s.

Loving the videos Mikey. Really enjoy how you just walk around the place and film as you go. Have a great weekend.

My grand-uncle who passed away a month ago flew C130s to Antarctica and did crazy cold war paratrooper drops

Electras spent decades shutling between Rio and São Paulo. No probems and pleasant for passengers. Loved it.

This video definitely made me smile! I live close to the Ravenna arsenal in Ohio and every monday night, there'll be at least one C-130 in the area doing VOR approaches AT TREETOP LEVEL! It's definitely a sight to behold (especially when it makes my house shake)! Thanks for the informative video mikey! I definitely enjoyed it!

Just found this video today 28/9/21 so happy to see the cargo electras still being loved by buffalo. I live in coventry in the uk and loved to see them on cargo flights. I miss these a lot. Id love to come to canada one day and show my sons these aircraft flying, i wax lyrical about them all the time to my boys. I think i bore them! One day guys, just keep them flying eh

Wow the Herc at 1:01 64-0498 is a bird I flew on while stationed at Poep AFB. back in the mid. 80's.. At 1:04 the first bird on the right is 62-1810 that we received from a fire fighting unit back around 1986 and the inside was covered in red fire fight agent. I was assigned to it as the DCC (Dedicated Crew Chief) when our squadron acquired it. Put in many hours/days/months getting her up to our standards and many more going TDY with her...... Crazy seeing her again... Thank you and love your show..

Worked for Bradley Air years ago and shared that hanger. Was always spotless in there.

i love this channel, and I am so glad you use a lot of the old warbirds! It is a bucket list of mine to come up there and fly with you guys! I would love to do some restoration work with you guys too, I have a sincere passion for that and have no problem doing it for free!

WOW!...lots of hoops to jump through!...thanks for video!...be kind!

The C-47 was a DC-3 first built in the 30's and converted to military use for WWII.

Great info, thanks for sharing. Good to see Joe & Chuck still around & looking healthy.

I can’t let this go. After reading all the comments there are some hard headed people who either didn’t watch the video or didn’t pay attention. There are tons of C-130’s in the boneyards around the world. Yes obviously that is known. However as Mikey explained you can’t just register a military airplane for civilian use as revenue. (Yes there are certain exceptions, but for the general cargo operator military aircraft is NOT an option) There are wayyy too many people commenting on here about C-130’s/L100’s that obviously have no clue what they are talking about. Stop saying stuff if you really aren’t sure of what you are saying. This was a well explained video!! Good job. Too bad most people didn’t really comprehend what you were saying.

It's amazing that they're still making and using these planes after all these years...if only everything were so well designed.

I flew in USMC Hercs between Cherry Point North Carolina and Danang Vietnam and back in 1967 and again in 1968, and made a few short hops in-country between Danang, Hue and Dong airstrips. I Also flew as a passenger in a few of Piedmont Airlines' DC3s back in the day. Both were really remarkable airplanes with surprisingly powerful takeoff thrust for their era. We lost engine power in one of the 130s somewhere between Wake Island and Hawaii, fully loaded with bazillion pounds of cargo and marines, but except for a mild loss of airspeed, no sweat. The crew seemed like it was no big deal, and it wasn't . I love these two venerable old birds. Thanks for the memories!

A small fun fact about 2 of the electras you guys have: my flight instructor I started flying with used to operate them for Amerer Air in Austria and he always used to tell me stories about them and I just love that I actually get so see them thriving with you guys!!

Now .... that was very, very interesting. Thanks Mikey.

Great video; I always wondered why there weren't more military Hercules in private operation.

Great walk around and information shared.

Oldest air frame still being built, and used around the world

The RNZAF currently operates five C-130(NZ) Hercules. It took delivery of the first three Hercules (NZ7001 - NZ7003) in 1965. These were the first C-130H production models off the Lockheed production line. A further two C-130H, (NZ7004 - NZ7005) were added in 1969.

If only Ottawa took the restraints off the west and north, the oilfields and mines would boom again! Would be cool to see a whole fleet of new buffalo green hercs! LOL

Pop used to work at polar shelf in Tuktoyaktuk. Had Globe masters flying in and out all the time. Still have his old slides he took back then ( around 1969 )

Ther is nothing that politicians and bureaucrats can't screw up. Nothing. I flew twice from MCAS Cherry Point NC to Vietnam and back, and several hops in-country on this venerable old airplane back in 1967 and 1968. The Herc was a major supply lifeline, and still is today. I love this bird. Thanks for the explanation.

That was a nice video Mikey. The L-100 was Dad's plane and the best years of his PWA career. I sponsored the last Herc Rats reunion to help get that team together as Dad had just passed and those that hold the memories are leaving us at too fast of a rate. The stories are amazing, getting to see a small part was amazing, and the fact that the L-100 fleet did amazing things worldwide and made such a name for PWA and the Herc Rats is a story that needs to be kept alive. I'm hoping to convince Lockheed to show an L-100J at this year's Airshow...fingers crossed. I'll just be sad Dad isn't there to see it. Oh, and yes, if the far north opens up...$77M USD isn't bad for a kick ass certified big rig with wings...

Never heard of this channel before but the algorithm knows I love the Hercules so here I am.

Great history lesson! You are all a class act!

Love these Hercs, while a serving in the SADF, our Mortar Platoon was ‘given a lift’ by a Safair Hercules from the Northern Cape to Rundu on the border with Angola. As I remember it was 1980. Enjoyed the flight, and always recognize that sound. Great video!! I wonder if that was Dan Jones’s Herc!? 🛫😎

This is the most original , informative You Tube airplane program!

That was awesome....these aircraft history lessons might be my favorite episodes. I'd love to learn more about the Electras.

I arrived in Yellowknife 1979 just when Wardair pulled out. The Wardair hangar was then purchased by Echo Bay and they used a Herc to set up the operation at Lupin Mines. I worked at Ptarmigan Airways after they purchased some of Wardair's Twin Otters. Exciting times.

Big hello from Australia, I have much respect for you guys, And your dad reminds me of people i once knew hard as a rock but had time for those who bothered to listen. Your dad seems more chilled than when the cameras were rolling years ago.

Thanks Joe for the history lesson! I had no idea Canada had done gas exploration way up there...I wonder who owns those capped wells now??

Delta used to have some for cargo. I actually got material shipped on them that physically would not fit on other planes.

Awesome Mikey, great information. I recall in about 1963 or 4 when the Canadian AirForce got their Hercs. They got 4 of them which replaced the C-119--what a difference! Their idents were 101301, 10302, 10303 and 10304.

I love how you have one of our ex Air New Zealand L188s you guys have it in mint condition. Very informative video man

Thanks for answering my question Mikey! I didn't even expect you to notice it. TBH, I didn't realise the Electras you currently operate were related to the Hercules. I just thought the large back door would make loading and unloading easier than the side door you currently have to use, plus they have turboprop engines rather than pistons, which would make finding fuel easier for you. It really sucks that you can't just buy ex-military aircraft. I didn't realise Canada's government was in the pockets of big businesses the way the US government seems to be.

Good work Mikey enjoyed this immensely.

Thanks for sharing Mike…great documentary…

Many people don't realize that when the US military sends surplus aircraft to the boneyard, only the woerst, hughest maintenance examples go to Davis-Montham (the USAF boneyard). The best flying ones normally get "snapped up" by allied air forces or folks like Coulson who can use them in the Restricted category (essentially non-commercial use only). Taking an A model Herk from the boneyard to air wirthy would easuly run $20 to $30 million depending on the status of the wing box and other very high cost time change items. People also are not considering Buffalo's "bread and butter" loads. To substitue a Herk on one of the C-46's daily grocery runs would be like running a $120k custom 18-wheeler Kenworth on a trip that could be done by a Ford dually pickup. Fuel mileage is NOT the Herk's forte'. That's why it can do tricky things like land and take off from aircraft carriers, they are massively overpowered for everyday cargo use.

I've heard (through an ex-CP Air colleague) that PWA's Hercules fleet was extremely maintenance-intensive.

FWIW: While watching this vido, _something_ popped up in my memory. Back in the 1960s, *some* Lockheed officials got *caught* paying bribes to members of other world governments while trying to sell Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter aircraft. I would LIKE to think that has NOT been the case with C-130s -- or lack therof -- in Canada....

I really enjoyed this walking & talking shots. Super informative, excellent job!

Thank you . That was always my question.

Smart. Cap already drilled wells. The Saudis are laughing.

Hell Mikey, you sure crammed a lot of useful information into this episode of Plane Savers. It was great to see Dan Jones again too, you always know that you're gonna get great and interesting info when we see him in an episode. Likewise from Joe too, their knowledge of the industry is second to none. I find it amazing that you and everyone else is prevented from flying C-130s because of government policy. A classic case of incredulous ineptitude. Regards David Jones Coventry UK.

I love the sound of those engines over my house

In 91-92 time frame I was working in Kuwait and the Kuwaitis were using a Herc out of Yellowknife for recovery of equipment out of Iraq. Great bunch of guys who really maintained the aircraft well.

Thanks for the explanation Mikey, Very interesting...... Oh! ... Hey Chuckey!. You sneaked him in again lol :-)

You can always blame government with greased palms for high prices of new aircraft, exorbitant certification costs, and extra hurdles to jump. Makes you feel like a free man when they say you can't do something because we say so.

Great story on the Hercules. I was FE for 9 years. Great airplane.

One of the founding members of the Abbotsford Flying Club, the late John Spronk, flew PWA Hercs back in the day. He told me it was his favourite aircraft to fly which was significant given he flew Spitfires for the Dutch Air Force. He was a legend.

4:53 the flag appears to be upside down, which is the international maritime sign of distress.

Makes sense Mikey, but sucks. Smacks of government over-regulation.

What an informative and friendly video. Charisma & smarts all of you!

Great to watch this show again.

This is a great video. Plane Savers!

Did you know at one time , Delta Airlines operated a small fleet of Hercs for their cargo operations. Probably at least 50 years ago thou....

Cool picture of Hercules C-FPWK. The pic was taken at Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I worked there 1979-2003. Great times!

Wow! I’m an old C130 maintainer, had not heard this story. Tks for sharing! Good stuff!

I flew in a Herc to CFS Alert.

Great video Mikey. Very informative and enjoyable. Keep’em coming since we can’t see you guys anymore except in reruns.

I was lucky enough to attend the World Freefall Convention in Quincy Illinois in 1986 and 1987. Roger Nelson, the organizer, bet on having a large turnout, and had SafAir ferry an L-100 to the USA for the event. There were no seatbelts installed, so near the tailgate was a rigger handing out belts that we ran through our harnesses, then clipped into the floor. The bird held 150 jumpers, and within 30 seconds of takeoff, we were instructed to unclip from the floor, and pass our 'belt' to either side of the plane for stowage on a cable. It was August, unbelievably hot, and we couldn't have been more .surprised to see frosty cold air coming from ducts in the cargo area roof. Two more turns, and a look at the rear confirmed that we were nearly on jump run, as the huge tailgate began to open. There was a guy in full airline dress, standing in a small cage right on the edge of the opening...with NO RIG ON!!! I guess he was the regular loadmaster, because we soon heard him shout..."Bill's 20 way!" then a brief pause..."Steve's 16 way!"...pause..."Jay's 10 way!"...until all 150 of us were in freefall. The sky was more crowded than I had ever seen it, because in addition to the C130, Roger had booked at least 8 DC3/C47's as airlift. One of the DC3's had a starboard side rear door, which took me a second to confirm that I was gonna turn left at the door, instead of right, as I had done so many times before. I ended up with 6 jumps from the big beast, and wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Now Roger has gone to his reward, like so many more of my skydiving and BASE jumping friends. I'll always remember them for the great young men and women they were. I'm sneaking up on 70 pretty quickly now, and have decided to resume my drag bike racing, something I gave up in the mid 1970's, to pursue a career in aviation.

I watched Ice Pilots so much and never remember seeing all the cool stuff on the walls and hanging from the rafters. I wish you would do a video of just the cool stuff in the building. Great video Mikey!

Nice big door,,,heavy floor and ready for war !

1:12 The Electra truly has airbrakes like no other.

While in the USAF I flew in C-130s 14 times going on temporary duty from England to Italy, Spain and Sardinia. A fabulous aircraft !

Excellent video Mikey! Keep 'em coming.

Great episode thanks! Was that all one continuous shot?! You have become a Pro filmmaker!

Great info... The 'why' is important history to keep alive.

I flew “A’s” in Africa in the late 80’s, then TransAfrik around Africa in the late 90’s to 2001. TransAfrik had quite a few L-382’s and L-100-20’s, and bought several more when SouthernAirTransport went out of business. In the ensuing few years after 1996, several were crashed or shot down in various enterprises, so that now they appear out of the Herk business.

Great aircrafts! Great work you all are doing. Jorge (from Brazil),