Castle Air Museum brings Hercules to Atwater

The Castle Air Museum this week added a new aircraft, a Lockheed C-130 that flew as part of the “Four Horsemen” in the 1960s.

The newest addition to the collection was also flown during the Vietnam War and later used to fight forest fires, according to museum CEO Joe Pruzzo.

“This aircraft has a very, very special history,” he said.

The plane with a 133-foot wingspan was built in 1957 and featured as part of “Hercules and the Four Horsemen,” an aerial show formation that featured the huge aircraft. “With an aircraft this large, flying that close is pretty amazing,” Pruzzo said.

The aerial show was disbanded in 1964, so the museum’s C-130 went on to see service during the Vietnam War. Pruzzo said the cargo plane flew over contested regions and likely took fire.

After the war, the plane, which can carry about 42,000 pounds, was used to fight forest fires.

C-130s were later nicknamed “Hercules.” They can be lifted into the air after a ground roll of 855 feet, a short distance considering most aircraft of that size require 5,000 feet, according to Lockheed Martin’s website.

The museum’s Hercules was flown in from Visalia by TBM Inc., a small business that upgrades C-130s. The company plans to remove the salvageable parts and hand the plane over to the museum.

The museum enlists volunteers to restore the aircraft to its original look, including painting it silver and adding three-bladed propellers.

TBM President Norman Stubbs said he was happy to donate to a “worthwhile organization” like the museum. “I’m an aviation enthusiast and a World War II enthusiast and nut,” he said as he pointed to the museum. “You got a lot of damn good history sitting over there.”

The museum has a few paid employees but receives no government funding. It operates through monetary and other donations, as well as volunteer work.

The C-130 cargo plane has the longest continuous military aircraft production run in history and one of the top three longest continuous aircraft production lines of any type, according to Lockheed.

Using its rear loading ramp and door, the C-130 could accommodate a wide variety of oversize cargo, including everything from utility helicopters and six-wheeled armored vehicles to standard cargo on pallets and military personnel, according to the U.S. Air Force’s website.

It can use its high-flotation landing gear to land and deliver cargo on rough, dirt strips, according to the Air Force. The cargo door also allows for low-altitude drops where the plane would never touch the ground.

The Castle Air Museum’s collection is made up of more than 60 aircraft, including other recent additions like a former Air Force One used by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and an electronic warfare jet called the Northrop-Grumman EA-6B Prowler.

The museum, 5050 Santa Fe Drive, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s closed on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For more information, call the museum office at 209-723-2178 or go to www.castleairmuseum.org.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Castle Air Museum brings Hercules to Atwater."