When we arrived at Mildenhall the weather was just at minimums: 200’ ceiling and a half mile visibility. Most of today’s airliners are computer controlled and flown mostly on autopilot. The normal takeoff and landing are done manually but when the weather is bad, the autopilot can take the aircraft right down to touchdown. After touchdown and rollout, the pilot disconnects the autopilot and taxis clear of the runway. Using the autopilot enables today’s crews to land in much worse weather than the C-130 in 1972 ever could.
The C-130 instrument approaches and landings were hand-flown by either the Aircraft Commander or the co-pilot. Both were fully qualified to take the aircraft down to minimums.
Floating through this solid weather at night was an eerie sensation. Managing the exterior lighting was critical in accomplishing a successful bad weather approach and landing. Turning the lights on prior to that was blinding in the dense fog. We decided to keep the landing lights off until the runway came into view. There are also rotating beacons that increase the visibility of the plane in flight and warn ground personnel when engines are operating. Sometimes the red beacon lights bounce off the clouds and can cause vertigo. We hadn’t felt any effects from the rotating beacon yet so we left it on.
Mike began the first approach. We stayed on course and glide path. We were in the weather at 1000 feet, at 500 feet and finally at 200 feet, still in the weather, no runway in view. We executed a missed approach.
Mike set up for the next approach and it was now my turn to fly. While turning for the next approach, Mike started complaining of vertigo. I continued to fly as he sat back and closed his eyes. I started feeling a bit wobbly myself so I opted to turn off the beacon. My approach looked like an instant replay of his. It was on course and glide path all the way down but the weather never broke. We did another missed approach.
There was enough fuel to do three or four approaches and still make it to Ramstein. As we climbed out and set up for the next one my vertigo increased. Mike now felt better and I transferred control back to him.
Mike started in on the approach. The air traffic controller reported the visibility had increased slightly so our hopes were high for this one. All remained the same right down to minimums but just as we started going around again, a portion of the runway became visible. We were in no position to land so we continued with the missed approach.
Vertigo is insidious and after flying approaches in the weather it can come on quickly. The climbs, descents, turns, accelerations and decelerations, can significantly affect the inner ear. Mike’s vertigo came back quickly. Vertigo affects the inner ear, which affects balance. Mike had the false sensation that the aircraft was turning left but we were actually flying straight and level. Many inexperienced pilots try to correct the false sensation of turning by rolling in the opposite direction. The pilot has to disregard his perception and believe the instruments. Many a pilot has spiraled himself into a smoking hole following this false perception and not following his instruments.
Since my vertigo had stopped Mike turned the controls back to me. We decided to try one more approach before diverting to Ramstein. Just as we reached minimums, the lead-in lights and the first few runway lights came into view. I followed the glideslope down and landed about 1500 feet down the runway.
The fog at the end of the runway was much worse than at the approach end. When we cleared the runway, the tower called and asked our position. We gave him the taxiway identifier and requested a follow-me truck to lead us to our ramp. The soup was so thick we couldn’t see the edges of the taxiway, which was 150 feet wide. The follow-me truck found us in the fog and led us back to our ramp. The General was very glad to be back on the ground. He thanked us profusely for delivering him safely, walked off the airplane to his waiting staff car, and we never saw him again.
We met up at the O club later that night and discussed the flight over a few cold ones. We learned that our airplane was the only one to make it into Mildenhall that night. With the way the fog was moving, if we had arrived just five minutes later we wouldn’t have seen anything on that fourth approach.
We had the next few days off and Mike and I decided to take the train to London for some sightseeing. Mike had been there several times but this visit would be my first. We managed to see most of the popular sights including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, the crown jewels, Big Ben and Parliament. My personal favorite was 221B Baker Street, the residence of Sherlock Holmes. As a boy I had read everything by Holmes’ creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There is no real 221B Baker Street but it’s marked nonetheless, as Sherlock Holmes address. Just standing in front his fictional address was thrilling to me and I could imagine his adventures. It made the whole trip worthwhile.
We wanted to wrap up our day by visiting a traditional English pub. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street looked perfect. It enticed us by its claim to be the oldest pub in London. The pub may have been old but the beer was certainly fresh and it was a pleasant way to finish off a day of strenuous sightseeing.
There were too many things we hadn’t done in London but our flight schedule demanded our return to base. London wasn’t going anywhere, but we were. We put more sightseeing there on our “to do” list.
Chapter 10
Next up for us was a joint training exercise at the naval air station in Naples, Italy. These joint training exercises are regularly scheduled events. They focus on integrating the actions of different branches of the military. US Air Force units, for example, work well together but coordination with the Navy or the Army was required because each service had its own particular way of doing things. The joint exercises stressed communication and cooperation.
Two aircraft and crews would participate in a two-day exercise. We would be carrying a load of simulated aircraft missiles to be used by Navy fighter jets. These were reusable, dummy missiles that would be loaded on the participating fighters. When the exercise was over, they would be loaded back on the C-130s for the return to Mildenhall. Our job was simply to deliver the missiles, head for the layover, and return to the UK when the exercise finished.
This sounds fairly simple until you add in “The terror cab ride from hell.”
Naples is known as the city of crazy drivers, trash, and Camorra (the local Mafia). The city has beautiful views of Mount Vesuvius and a gorgeous bay but it also has an ongoing trash problem, which is linked to the Mafia. Waste companies are Mafia owned. They use trash collection to extort money from the government. The regions’ dumps fill to capacity and with nowhere to put it, the trash piles up and a state of emergency is declared. City government officials use the state of emergency to quickly award contracts that otherwise would have to be checked by anti-racketeering legislation.
The Mafia-owned waste management companies dispose of the trash anywhere they can — out in the open air or at already full dumps. There were attempts to build new incinerators and open new landfills but companies building them either couldn’t finish the job or magistrates stopped the work pending ongoing criminal investigations.