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Giving Them Wings: The Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, GA

The C-130 is the chariot of choice for modern Airborne students.

The C-130 is the chariot of choice for modern Airborne students.

This article originally appeared on NYCAviation.com.

Dropping something out of an airplane is generally frowned upon for most people because you never know where that thing you dropped is going to land or whom it might hurt. However, in the C-130, dropping things out of our airplane is what makes us different from UPS or FedEX; that, and landing on dirt strips that are only 3000 feet long.

In the history of the US military, a number of significant drops really changed the face of the wars where they took place. As a member of the 50th Airlift Squadron, I am proud of the heritage that has been left to me by those who participated in those airdrops, including D-Day — probably the most famous airdrop of all.

The HBO series Band of Brothers (which if you haven’t seen, I highly recommend) made that airdrop known to my generation and really reinforced the dangerous nature of those types of missions. Another fascinating part of that series was the training and transforming of those men into paratroopers to prepare them to make that fateful jump.

In the decades since that jump, not a ton has changed in the training. Sure, the equipment has improved; though not exactly the same, it still follows the same basic pattern. That includes using three of the four 250-foot jump towers at Ft. Benning where the training continues to take place.

To read the full article and see more videos and images please visit NYCAviation.com.

April 6, 2015 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

High Level Weather Pictures

So I’ve never posted from my phone before but I have a bit of time while I sit at the doctor’s office waiting so I thought I would try it.

One of my favorite parts of flying, as it is for many people, is the amazing views you get to experience high above or in between the clouds.  No picture will ever truly do these views justice but here are some of my favorites.

If you look closely you can see our leader on the clouds in front of us.

If you look closely you can see our leader on the clouds in front of us.

There were some pretty serious storms over Tennessee last week.

There were some pretty serious storms over Tennessee last week.

Sometimes being in between the clouds is the most beautiful place to be.

Sometimes being in between the clouds is the most beautiful place to be.

You can't even imagine some of these colors.

You can’t even imagine some of these colors.

I would love to see some of your favorite pictures.

My apologies if you tried to look at these previously as my phone didn’t shrink them down at all.

I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.