Just visiting some old friends: Retired chief revisits his aircraft

  • Published
  • By Capt. John Ross
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Chief Master Sgt. John Wright was an aircraft maintainer in the Air Force for 30 years before retiring in 1991. In his time he worked on a wide variety of air frames, but he was always partial to the C-130. On Oct. 27, he visited Ramstein for the first time since Operation Desert Storm. 

"For my money, the 130 is the finest four-engine fighter ever built," Chief Wright said. "It's done everything. It's a gunship, it's a medevac, it's a trash hauler, it's a better refueler. Whatever you want the 130 to be, that's what it's going to be." 

Through the 1970's and 80's, he spent 16 years working on the C-130 fleet at Rhein Main Air Base, Germany - never imagining he would see his aircraft again, still operational with the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein in 2008. 

"We'd have maintenance problems on a couple of airplanes," said Col. William Rupp, 86th Maintanance Group commander, and Chief Wright's son-in-law. "The guys would always talk about them - 'we think this one is out of alignment, or torqued,' whatever it might be. When you mention it to the chief who was here back then, he's got the actual story of what happened. We've got somebody who knows exactly what caused it." 

In 1980, then-Tech. Sgt. Wright and his crew nursed a C-130, tail number 64-0527, back to health after the aircraft landed poorly and couldn't stay on the runway. The mishap did millions of dollars in damage, and left it's maintainers with their work literally cut out for them. 

"That spin off the runway was so violent that it snapped the [landing] gear right off the side of the aircraft," Chief Wright said. "It was like somebody cut it with a saw. It was perfect." 

The plane returned to the flight line after nearly nine months of work, and is still operational today, 28 years later. Despite Tech Sgt. Wright's best efforts, the plane never quite flew the same way again. 

"I heard somebody talking the other day that it [still] flies four degrees off," chuckled the chief. 

Chief Wright watched as the design of the 130 improved from model to model, from A to H. Though he hasn't had the chance to see a new J-model 130 in person, he knows plenty of people who have. 

"From what I hear, it's a great airplane," he said. "It's another great improvement to the 130. It flies farther, quieter." 

Now living the retired life in upstate New York, Chief Wright looks back on his days in blue with nostalgia. 

"I had a great career. I loved it," said the chief. "The best thing in the world is being a chief master sergeant. I don't care what anybody says. You can be a colonel, or you can be a general, but we can't all be the chief."