[Jim Brierley]

I admitted earlier that I know very little about aircraft, but I do have a story about them. While in the Army, I was sent TDY (temporary duty) to Benbecula, a small island off the West coast of Scotland. Every 10 days a new Missile unit was flown in, to fire a missile as a training exercise. three C-124's and three C-i30's were the transporters. The 124's carried a bigger load than the 130's, and used piston engines for power, 27 cylinders I think? The airfield wasn't very long, so when the 130's flew out, they would taxi to the end of the strip and hang their tail wheel out into the sand, hold the brakes, give it full throttle, let go of the brakes, and I think said a little prayer. As they left the strip they would lose altitude as they flew out over the ocean! Exciting to watch but I bet a bit scary for the pilot. The 130's, with their turbo-prop engines and lighter load, would taxi almost to the end of the strip, ease into the throttle, and at about 3/4 of the way down the strip, would become airborne! A bunch of show-offs, and not as exciting to watch!