Delaware Air Guard aircrew expected to fly unit C-130 aircraft mission June 5, 2008 breaking 10,000 hour individual aircraft flying milestone

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Delaware Air National Guard
Headquarters, 166th Airlift Wing
2600 Spruance Drive
New Castle, DE 19720-1615 

Contact: Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Matwey
Public Affairs Specialist, 166th Airlift Wing, Delaware Air National Guard
Office 302-323-3369, or cell 302-593-2126
E-mail: Benjamin.Matwey@denewc.ang.af.mil
Release No. 2008-6-001, June 4, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW CASTLE - At 11:00 a.m. Thursday morning, June 5, 2008, a C-130 transport aircraft of the 166th Airlift Wing, Delaware Air National Guard has a scheduled flight that should result in the aircraft reaching 10,000 flying hours, a new milestone for unit aircraft.

Aircraft # 213 now has 9,998.8 hours of flying time, and is 1.2 hours short of the 10,000 flying hour mark.

The Thursday morning flight is a proficiency flight lasting from two hours to about two-and-a-half hours.

According to Col. Daniel Van Wyk, commander, 166th Maintenance Group, aircraft # 213 has seen duty in all theaters of combat (including the Pacific Ocean, Africa, Central and South America), and was shot up with ground fire in Afghanistan and repaired in Portugal over a period of several months. The aircraft has seen combat duty in 1991 in Operation Desert Storm, and from 2003 until now in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. These operations are in addition to normal training and operational missions of flying all over the world.

The C-130 aircraft crew chief for this flight is Master Sgt. Scott Nybakken.

The pilot for this flight is Col. Jonathan Groff, commander, 166th Airlift Wing

"This anticipated milestone highlights the excellent maintenance work performed on these aircraft, and the proficiency and professionalism of the aircrew that have flown them for over two decades," said Col. Groff.

Fleet flying hours for the unit's eight C-130 aircraft

The Delaware Air Guard has seven aircraft built in 1984 and delivered fresh from the factory to the New Castle unit. Those seven aircraft built in 1984 are numbers 207 through 213.

Aircraft # -- current hours (for all eight unit C-130 aircraft)
207 -- 9,640.4
208 -- 8,815.5
209 -- 9,803.4
210 -- 9,939.8
212 -- 9,976.2
213 -- 9,998.8
1057 -- 6,419.3 (1990 MODEL)

News media are invited to cover this flight as early as 9:00 a.m. if they wish to film aircrew prior to flight. Takeoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Landing should occur around 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aircrew, crew chief and maintenance personnel interviews also available around 2:00 p.m. Call ahead of time to Public Affairs at 302-593-2126 if interested.

Base address: 2600 Spruance Drive, New Castle, DE, 19720.

This release is in the public domain, and any part may be used as written.

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