Cargo capacity no longer required
A C-130 Hercules aircraft used as a static trainer for US airmen since the early 1980s finally met its end as part of a defence logistics agency disposition services scrap contract at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA.
The 30-m-long aircraft, locally known as "Hulk", had been repurposed decades ago for use by the base fire department and for cargo loading and offload training by the 57th and 85th Aerial Port Squadrons. It was left behind when the 85th APS deactivated in 2009 and had not been used since.
The dismantling of the airframe was part of the agency’s regional demilitarisation as condition of sale contract. Contracts that require demilitarisation as a condition of sale involve rendering the items sold, such as an airframe, unusable before the purchasing firm can use or sell residue as scrap. (ah)