Former TACAMO aircraft gets new life in Netherlands Air Force Published May 14, 2010 By Amy Schiess Strategic Communications Wing ONE Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- An EC-130Q aircraft that flew TACAMO Sailors on national defense missions in the 80s is now back to work flying for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, ending an approximate 20-year retirement. The completely refurbished C-130H made a stop at Tinker Air Force Base April 30 to May 3, where members of its former squadrons got to see the plane and revisit old memories. "Just the smell brings back memories," said Scott Collins, Strategic Communications Wing ONE Operations, standing among a group of men staring up at the massive plane, smiling. Mr. Collins worked on the plane when he was stationed in Fleet Air Reconnaissance Three at Barbers Point, Hawaii. Master Chief Gary Fravert, the senior enlisted advisor with the Naval Computer & Telecommunications Strategic Communications Unit OKC, flew on this plane, tail number 162313, until VQ-4 transitioned to flying the E-6A. "If you got 313, you got the good plane. That was the Cadillac because that was the new one." The plane is now in the best shape it is ever been in because of the modern upgrades, he said. "To see this resurrected and reused ... it's pretty cool," he said. "Normally, I'd be home right now, but it was worth coming out." The aircraft is in the midst of operational testing and evaluation after spending three years in an English factory where it was refurbished and upgraded with a glass cockpit, improved cabin safety features and an improved self-protection suite, said Warrant Officer Robert Schnebeli, RNLAF flight engineer. The aircraft had previously been stored at the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Dross Metals, Inc., both in Arizona. The plane previously flew for both VQ-3 and VQ-4 so when planning for crew rest and refueling on a trip from tactical testing in Arizona, Aircraft Commander Maj. Mark Brouwer, RNLAF, thought Tinker to be the ideal place to stop. "We just thought it was a nice idea and opportunity," Major Brouwer said. "Because of general interest, historical interest, crew rest requirements, and to give former EC-130Q personnel a chance to look at a former TACAMO asset that was recovered from the desert to complete flying status." The aircraft continued on to Canada and then Europe on May 3. The aircraft is in the second of three testing phases, Major Brouwer said. Another EC-130Q/C-130H purchased from the U.S. at the same time took its first flight this week. The two new aircraft will bring the total RNLAF fleet of C-130Hs to four, doubling its current operational capabilities. The two aircraft already in RNLAF inventory will also be upgraded, hopefully within the year. The same spare parts can be used for all four planes so that is a benefit financially and logistically, Warrant Officer Schnebeli said. As testing continues, a team of eight crew members are rewriting checklists and standard operating procedures. With planes in the air five years after the initial purchase, Major Brouwer said the process takes "patience and small steps. You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run." "For the Air Force, you don't encounter this quite often," Warrant Officer Schnebeli added. "It takes a lot of time, but it's really fun."