Piloting an AC-130 Spectre

The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm if you
don't know what one looks like) got me wondering how, exactly, one
would pilot such a craft during an attack.

Think about it. You've got a 155,000 pound, 4-engine transport
aircraft, making a continual left turn in order to keep your weapons on
the mark. It's pitch dark (darkness is your only defense, other than
ECM), and you've got 105 mm cannons firing right behind your ear.

I've watched C-130s turn, and they need a LOT of territory to turn
around. In order to keep their weapons on the target, I would think
the AC-130 would need to bank a lot more steeply than I've seen them do
in cargo-plane training. And, don't forget, you've got 14 guys and
gals seated behind you, working radar and weapons systems, most with no
view outside, so you can't yank and crank TOO hard or you'll have
barf-covered equipment from stem to stern.

In order to keep the weapons on target, I would think that you'd have
to hold altitude accurately, too, and your "track" would need to be
smooth enough so that the computers could figure deflection accurately.


In short, the pilot must have his hand's full during an attack run!
Even though you don't think of the C-130 as being a high-performance
aircraft, it's got to be a real trick keeping that pig over a
(relatively) small target.

Any former AC-130 pilots here? How'd you do it? Is there an autopilot
that holds you in a constant turn during an attack run, or is it all
hand-flown?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 11 Jan 2007 07:59:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in .com:

The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm

Sadly, your assertion about obliteration is not true. From what I've
heard so far, only _ONE_ confirmed Al Queda member has been killed
despite over 100 deaths there at the hands of the US military
presumably under orders of their commander, the eriadite Mr. Bush. :-(

Welcome to World War III.

Larry Dighera wrote:
On 11 Jan 2007 07:59:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in .com:

The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm

Sadly, your assertion about obliteration is not true. From what I've
heard so far, only _ONE_ confirmed Al Queda member has been killed
despite over 100 deaths there at the hands of the US military
presumably under orders of their commander, the eriadite Mr. Bush. :-(

Welcome to World War III.



Not even 1. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa....ap/index.html

we've been in WW III since the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. You could
even argue the Iranian revolution back in '79.

As for piloting the AC-130, basic turn around a point that we all
learned early on. :^) Except in executing that ground reference maneuver
you are a cloudburst of lead.

KC

On 2007-01-11 07:59:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" said:



Any former AC-130 pilots here? How'd you do it? Is there an autopilot
that holds you in a constant turn during an attack run, or is it all
hand-flown?

I don't know about now, but in my day it was hand-flown even in a
regular C-130. It was just a turn around a point. The AC-130 guys used
the wingtip as a gunsight. You just held it on the target and turned
around it.



--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

On 2007-01-11 08:20:20 -0800, Larry Dighera said:

On 11 Jan 2007 07:59:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in .com:

The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm

Sadly, your assertion about obliteration is not true. From what I've
heard so far, only _ONE_ confirmed Al Queda member has been killed
despite over 100 deaths there at the hands of the US military
presumably under orders of their commander, the eriadite Mr. Bush. :-(

Welcome to World War III.

Quit spouting the terrorist line, Larry, or tell us how to fight a war
without killing civilians.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Christopher Campbell christophercampbell wrote:
On 2007-01-11 08:20:20 -0800, Larry Dighera said:

On 11 Jan 2007 07:59:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in .com:

The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm

Sadly, your assertion about obliteration is not true. From what I've
heard so far, only _ONE_ confirmed Al Queda member has been killed
despite over 100 deaths there at the hands of the US military
presumably under orders of their commander, the eriadite Mr. Bush. :-(

Welcome to World War III.

Quit spouting the terrorist line, Larry, or tell us how to fight a war
without killing civilians.



I suspect there was a failure of intelligence here. I know if I had a
grudge against my neighbor I'd be sure to tell the local Special OPS
guys that they were Al Qaeda. :^)

KC

On 2007-01-11 08:29:50 -0800, Kevin Clarke said:

Larry Dighera wrote:
On 11 Jan 2007 07:59:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in .com:

The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm

Sadly, your assertion about obliteration is not true. From what I've
heard so far, only _ONE_ confirmed Al Queda member has been killed
despite over 100 deaths there at the hands of the US military
presumably under orders of their commander, the eriadite Mr. Bush. :-(

Welcome to World War III.


Not even 1. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa....ap/index.html

we've been in WW III since the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. You could
even argue the Iranian revolution back in '79.

As for piloting the AC-130, basic turn around a point that we all
learned early on. :^) Except in executing that ground reference
maneuver you are a cloudburst of lead.

KC

World War III was the Cold War. This is World War IV.

Funny. Bet Mr. Bush can spell "erudite," even if Larry can't. Funny
also how heavily armed a lot of those "civilians" seem to be.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

It's going to get bloody in here.... Jay, there's a lot of descriptive
stuff written about this setup and lot's of action stories. I"m sure
people will hook you up. But I always had to turn away from those
stories - even though it's not the most effective, high tech weapon out
there, it is the epitome of high explosive terrorism from the air. Naw,
cluster bombs sound worse.

Objectively, it's not always clear who the biggest terrorists are. So
let's pick up that bloody flag and wave it some more.

Jay Honeck wrote:
The recent obliteration of the Somali chapter of Al Queda by an AC-130
gunship (See http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm if you
don't know what one looks like) got me wondering how, exactly, one
would pilot such a craft during an attack.

Think about it. You've got a 155,000 pound, 4-engine transport
aircraft, making a continual left turn in order to keep your weapons on
the mark. It's pitch dark (darkness is your only defense, other than
ECM), and you've got 105 mm cannons firing right behind your ear.

I've watched C-130s turn, and they need a LOT of territory to turn
around. In order to keep their weapons on the target, I would think
the AC-130 would need to bank a lot more steeply than I've seen them do
in cargo-plane training. And, don't forget, you've got 14 guys and
gals seated behind you, working radar and weapons systems, most with no
view outside, so you can't yank and crank TOO hard or you'll have
barf-covered equipment from stem to stern.

In order to keep the weapons on target, I would think that you'd have
to hold altitude accurately, too, and your "track" would need to be
smooth enough so that the computers could figure deflection accurately.


In short, the pilot must have his hand's full during an attack run!
Even though you don't think of the C-130 as being a high-performance
aircraft, it's got to be a real trick keeping that pig over a
(relatively) small target.

Any former AC-130 pilots here? How'd you do it? Is there an autopilot
that holds you in a constant turn during an attack run, or is it all
hand-flown?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:47:55 -0800, Christopher Campbell
wrote in
2007011108475575249-christophercampbelldeletethis@hotmailcom:

Quit spouting the terrorist line, Larry, or tell us how to fight a war
without killing civilians.

I speak for myself alone.

I notice you didn't take issue with any of my assertions.

I guess you can't face the truth.

Bill Watson wrote:
It's going to get bloody in here.... Jay, there's a lot of descriptive
stuff written about this setup and lot's of action stories. I"m sure
people will hook you up. But I always had to turn away from those
stories - even though it's not the most effective, high tech weapon
out there, it is the epitome of high explosive terrorism from the
air. Naw, cluster bombs sound worse.

Objectively, it's not always clear who the biggest terrorists are. So
let's pick up that bloody flag and wave it some more.


When the enemy surrounds itself with civilians and is made up of civilians
it is kind of hard not to kill civilians when you attack them. We killed
LOTS and LOTS of civilians in WWII and pretty much everybody at the time
called that a just war.

We are fighting an enemy who has no problem and in fact has it as their
primary tactic to kill civilians. They also have no problem sheilding
themselves with non-combatants, including children. If we don't have the
stomach to attack them whereever they may be we need to call it quits and
pull every soldier, sailor and airman we have around the world back home.
Because we can't win or for that matter defend ourselves.