lenochs%drcoa1.decnet@drcvax.af.mil (DRCOA1::LENOCHS) (02/27/91)
From: "DRCOA1::LENOCHS" <lenochs%drcoa1.decnet@drcvax.af.mil> donald_newcomb sez: >technique for extracting someone (e.g. downed pilot) behind enemy lines >using a fixed-wing aircraft. ................. >a plane like a C130 lets a _long_ cable out the back. The plane then makes >a tight circle over the person to be extracted. >....He is reeled into the plane when convenient. There is a model of the C-130 called the MC-130 (possibly with varients) which is used by the AF special operations folks (and, of course, other services SpecOp troops) and has two booms on the nose in a flat, V-shape. The person on the ground inflates a balloon with a rope attached and lets the balloon go up in the air. The rope is attached to a harness which the person on the ground wears. When the flight crew sees the balloon, they fly the jaw of the boom under the balloon, capturing the rope. The boom then pulls the rope to a winch and the person on the ground is reeled up to the aircraft. I saw this aircraft on the ramp at Rhein-Mein AB, Frankfurt, Germany. The security police were not pleased that I stood there and gawked (they told me to gawk elsewhere). Loyd M. Enochs - Dynamics Research Corporation - Andover, MA (ex-USAF Munitions Maintenance Specialist, 1974-1980)