Retirement of last C130E at LRAFB

2011-10-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

At the end of September I was honored to be asked to do a photo shoot of the last C-130E at LRAFB.
We attempted to do an aerial shoot be were never granted permission to fly, so plan B was to shoot from the observation platform on the control tower. this made the project much more difficult, because shooting medium format at moving aircraft using shutter speeds low enough to get a good propeller blur is very difficult.
When I got to the base I found out that Col. Czelusta would be flying the aircraft ( it is after all, the 314th flagship.) ,which added just a little more pressure to get it right!
we shot several passes trying to get the right angle and a sharp image and on about the 10th pass we got what I thought was a keeper. Did some work laying other images of the history of the C130E around the primary image
and printed it really large.
It was daunting to think that I was documenting the last flight of an aircraft that served the Air Force in every operation from Vietnam on spanning the bulk of my lifetime. Imagine the stories it could tell.

Went back for the change of command ship ceremony, and met several veterans who had flown the C130E in combat operations. The new J model is a magnificent aircraft in every way, except one. It lacks the colorful history of its predecessor. As far as I am concerned everyone who ever flew or maintained the aircraft are heroes and deserve our undying gratitude.

ARCO Sign & Decal

Retirement of last C130E at LRAFB