Exercise Skytrain is an exercise based at RNZAF Base Ohakea using the C-130 Hercules and a training activity for No 40 Squadron. Skytrain gives 40 Squadron the opportunity to do a range of flying training, including flying over unfamiliar and challenging terrain and coordinating pallet drops into drop zones. Video / Bevan Conley
The Ōhakea military airbase outside of Bulls is currently hosting the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No 40 Squadron.
Usually based in Auckland, the squadron is undertaking a series of procedures called Exercise Skytrain, which involves flight training and co-ordinating pallet drops into drop zones using a C-130 Hercules.
Twoof the planes are at Ōhakea for the next fortnight.
Also involved is 5 Movements Company from Linton Military Camp, which assists with rigging and preparing the pallets.
Corporal Taanawai Te Uamairangi said platform loads could be anywhere from 5000 pounds to 30-40,000 pounds.
The company usually connected with the squadron a couple of times a year to run exercises, but the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic meant they had been "bumped down", Te Uamairangi said.
"As we are starting to come out of that phase, things are ramping up a bit.
"This is the first time in a while we've been able to come out. It's good learning for all of us."
A crew was in the air first thing on Wednesday morning for a 40-minute flight above Whanganui and Rangitīkei.
An air force loadmaster in action during Wednesday's flight from Ohakea. Photo / Bevan Conley
On board were Flight Lieutenant Andrew Sledger (co-pilot) and Flying Officer Carter Bland (navigator).
Sledger said the squadron had been everywhere from the equator to close to the South Pole in the two years he had been involved.
"For us, this [Exercise Skytrain] is a chance to qualify our crew, as well as a bit of consolidation of the skills.
"We're planning on taking those skills overseas to work with partner nations such as America and Canada.
"There are exercises coming up this year which will be an exciting time to do a similar role but see where we fit into a larger picture of an operation with all sorts of fighters and overhead control aircraft."
Exercise Skytrain took in tactical procedures such as takeoffs and landings, low level flying and air drops, Sledger said.
Wednesday morning's drop was within 100 metres of its target, with the Hercules 1000 feet above the ground at the time.
"That's pretty good. We are normally flying around at about 200km/h, so for every half a second that's another 50 metres from the target."
The C-130 was delivered to the New Zealand Air Force in 1965 and has been in continuous service ever since.
They were due to be replaced by a new model in 2025, Sledger said.
Flight Lieutenant Andrew Sledger. Photo / Bevan Conley
As navigator, Bland said he was in charge of fuel management, the flight route and making sure the crew hit the target on time.
He is currently in training and took part in his first drop this week.
"It's really fast paced and things pop up really quickly.
"Trying to comprehend everything that is happening in the air is always a challenge, especially when threats come up and we have to replan how we are going to meet our target on time."
The initial officer training took about a year and a half, Bland said.
"From there I went onto my specific trade training which was down here at Ōhakea on the King Airs.
"Again, that took around a year and a half. Then I came over to 40 Squadron. Conversion was about six months, and now I'm slowly adding in all the extras essentially, like tactical flying and Antarctica operations."
Both Bland's parents were in the air force, and he said he signed up as soon as he could.
Operating as a loadmaster at the back of a C-130 took a bit of getting used to, detachment commander Matt Rieper said.
The exercises allowed for a mixture of training and testing.
"They are sitting sideways, working backwards, walking and they've got helmets on.
"I think the key to it is to start off well. The idea is not to go up and freak them out and make them ill.
"We want them to have a good experience and keep building on that."
A normal crew on a C-130 assignment consists of two pilots, a flight engineer and at least two loadmasters.
The C-130 Hercules has been with the air force since 1965. Photo /Bevan Conley
Sledger said it was good to be back at Ōhakea.
Like Bland, he had completed initial training there and spent three years learning to fly smaller aircraft like the T-6C Texan II.
He said the C-130 had been used all around the world in a variety of roles, as well as at home in New Zealand.
A medical emergency in Antarctica in the middle of winter last year was one flight that had put the crew's skills to the test.
"After the Kaikōura earthquake, where Kaikōura was closed off by road, these skills were used to drop in food, water and other supplies to help out the people there," Sledger said.
"We've also gone up to Raoul Island, which is a few hundred miles off the coast.
"Part of the year there are DoC [Department of Conservation] workers there. We've flown up to drop off some Christmas presents."
