C-133 Project Links

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Links

These links will take you to a variety of sites with C-133 information and associations. Some also reflect my own Air Force experiences. All of them should lead you to other interesting information.

Museums

The National Museum of the United States Air Force has C-133A 56-2008. This airplane set a weight--to-altitude record on 16 December 1958, lifting 117,900 pounds to 10,000'. The date was chosen to mark the 55th anniversary of powered flight.

The last C-133 built, 59-0536, is now at the Air Mobility Command Museum . It was moved there in Summer 2000 from the Strategic Air Museum. Since arriving at Dover, 90536 has been reassembled and looks just as it did on the Travis ramp.

Minuteman ICBMs were shipped from Hill AFB by the 84th MAS, flying the C-133B. Check out the collection at the Hill Aerospace Museum.

The Jimmie Doolittle Air & Space Museum is located at Travis AFB, CA, the home of the C-133Bs. It is now the home of C-133A 61999, which operated in Alaska for over 30 years. The airplane flew south in August 2008, arriving during the annual Travis Air Show. Though it will never fly again, one could say that this is the only air worthy C-133. From the Travis AFB home page, click on Museums.

In Arizona, the Pima Aerospace Museum has C-133B 590527. The airplane is complete and one of the highlights of an excellent collection.

At the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum , C-133A 562009 is displayed. The airplane was used for firefighter training, and is now being restored.

The Aeroweb Museum Locator will link you to dozens of aviation museums in the United States and Canada.

The New England Air Museum was home to 90529 from 1971 until a tornado turned it upside down and ripped the nose and tail off.

Check out the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. Col Jim Haun, a C-133 pilot and vice-commander of the 1501st ATW at Travis in 1959, was from Tennessee and settled there after his AF days.

Several C-133s are located outside of museums. Oldprops has pictures of C-133A 540137 at Davis-Monthan AFB and C-133B 590531/N2276V at Tucson International Airport. At Mojave Airport, C-133A 540136/N136AR and 562110/N201AR have been stored for years by Cargomaster Corporation, of Anchorage, AK.

One of the C-133s at Anchorage International Airport, 590533/N133B , is shown here. It was scrapped in Spring 2000. Only 561999/N199AB remains operational at PANC. It flew as late as August 2005 and may have flown other missions since then. Another site is Goodweather Flyers .

The Goleta Air and Space Museum is a virtual museum, with many C-133 photos. One is unique, an orange paint job on 40136 , at Edwards AFB, on Armed Forces Day, 1959.

The NAS Ft Lauderdale Museum memorializes flight activity in Broward County and on Navval and Marine Corps topics. The NASFL Blog shows the latest topics.

A new museum, The Vietnam War National Museum, is now open in Nelson, Nebraska. It is still growing but already has a sizeable collection. Check it out.

Air Force Bases

Dover AFB , DE, was home to two C-133A squadrons, the 39th MAS and the 1st MAS.

C-133Bs were all based at Travis AFB , CA.

All those who worked with the C-133 at Travis, contact John Burnett for reunion information. That includes everyone, not just aircrews.

Other Links

For those who served in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos Cambodia), there is The TLC Brotherhood. Check out their site. It is open to all services, civilians, all specialties.

Mike Boyd has done a photo walk-around of C-133B 90536, at the AMC Museum, Dover AFB, DE.

The AMARC Experience is an excellent site detailing aircraft in the "Boneyard." Check the scrap yard pages for info on the remaining bits of C-133s in Tucson.

The AF Navigator Observer Association has several former C-133 navs listed.

Former Aviation Cadets should check out the Aviation Cadet Museum .

Cargo was the C-133's reason for existence, and loadmasters made it work. Check out the Professional Loadmaster Association page.

Flight engineers saved the day on many occasions. The Flight Engineer Links include a huge list.

Joe Baugher is the definitive source for answers about aircraft serial numbers.

As a former AC-130 nav, I have to list the Spectre Association . I was also in the 345th TAS, so the C-130 Hercules Headquarters is included.

On the C-7 Caribou Association page, there are some C-133 pictures, plus a haunting C-7 photo that I remember from the Tan Son Nhut Airlift Command Post.

For just about anything on aviation, including C-133s, go to the Aviation Zone .

Best Aviation Sites links to more than 100 very interesting sites on all aspects of aviation.

For a lot more about everything related to aviation, go to Aircraft Illustrated .

A new link a/o 15 Dec 01 is to GI Memories . This site is devoted to documenting the history of the US military, its units, its equipment, and its personnel.

For those who passed through RAF Greenham Common , there is a good site with historical info and current information.

Aviation Archeology Investigation and Research (AAI&R) focuses on the historical research side of aircraft crashes.

Lee Boel has a page about his time at Pleiku. There's a good C-133 shot there.

Old Props has shots of the C-133 in Alaska, plus lots of other things.

Big Props is focused on airliners, but there are some C-130s and other interesting stuff.

Col Jim Haun was the Travis AFB vice wing-commander in the 1959-61 period. He wrote and published 400 copies of a fascinating personal memoir entitled Who Says There are No Old Bold Pilots!? His son, Jim Haun, Jr., has reworked the entire book to include some new pictures and add some sections. The book is now available, including an audio version read by Col Haun. Go to www.spitfirewingman.net to check out portions of the book.

The 8th Aerial Port Squadron managed cargo all over the Republic of Vietnam. Check out their site to learn more about the guys who loaded and unloaded airplanes all over SVN.

Other Stuff

NEW: Many military personnel have developed mesothelioma from working in environments with asbestos present. Check out Mesothelioma Symptoms for info on symptoms, treatment and resources..

NEW: Flyaway Simulations has an immense amount of flight simulation programs and downloads for aircraft of all types and simulators. Check them out.

Lots of C-133 people remember Midway Island and the gooney birds. Things have changed out there. Fish and Wildlife Service has kicked everyone out but the Monk seals! AS of 15 June, a new national monument was created, which includes just about everything northwest of the island of Kauai.

We also remember Wake Island. Kevin McGrath was out at Wake in February 2004. he has some great shots of how things look now. The Drifter's Reef lives!

If you have Flight Sim 98, you can fly the C-133 again, with this download from Simviation . The sound is great and the airplane is very realistic.

A very impressive C-133 display model is available now by special order from Pacific Aircraft. I can no longer list Motion Models. One former 84th MAS member ordered a C-133 and has had much grief and no model in return. Scalecraft does a more elaborate C-133 display model. E-Bay also regularly has C-133 models for sale, made in the Philippines (just like we used to buy at Clark). Go on E-Bay and search on "C-133." Occasionally, EBay also has the metal models made by K&B Allyn or Douglas, itself.

Hannant's Hobbies in England has a 1:144 C-133A vacuform model. You can order online and cost is GBP 32.45 (about $65), plus shipping. I bought two kits and they are nice moldings with plenty of attractive accessories--landing gear, props, etc..

George Maiorana and friends build huge scale models. Their next project is a C-133, which has been under construction since the late summer of 2009. Take a look at their TU-4 and B-29 to get an idea of what they are doing.

Former C-133 pilot Lou Martin has written a fascinating book about his flying in Iran during the last bit of the Shah's time. Wings Over Persia gives great insight into the cultural clashes he experienced on the ground and in the cockpit. Contact Lou for more information.

C-133 Model Building: For those who wish to build a C-133 model, I have information packets with all the necessary information. They include factory C-133B drawings in 1/100 scale, a factory isometric structural view with fuselage sections at 1/30 scale, a four-page package with interior and exterior details, mostly in 1/72 scale, the official USAF paint scheme instructions for the C-133A and an aerial photo of C-133A 62014 over San Francisco Bay. That is the classic and most attractive of all C-133 paint schemes. Please contact me for information. Of course, most of this material is included in the book and also in the instruction packet for Gene hooker's vacuform model.

Commercial Links

The links below are to sites that feature commercial products. They are included without any endorsement beyond that they have agreed to link to The C-133 Project on their site. I have reviewed them and believe them to be legitimate.

MotoArt definitely has a C-133 connection. One of their first products and still have available is a cool coffee table made from a chromed T34 spinner, which they did about three years ago. There are many other gorgeous aviation-related products and they keep coming up with more.

Aviator Sunglasses HiSunglasses.com offers 100% authentic sunglasses for men & women at discount prices.