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USAF Airmen Casually Hang On the Tail of MC-130J Commando II, They Call It Scenic Flyover

Have you ever slightly bent over your 1st-floor balcony rail and got dizzy? Then you’re not Air Force material, that’s for sure, because these guys are used to hanging out on the open back ends of transport aircraft, and seem to have a blast doing so.
USAF airmen flying on MC-130J Commando II 20 photos
Photo: USAF/Tech. Sgt. Westin Warburton
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Over the past few months, on account of the Air Force’s habit of releasing incredible images of its hardware and troops in action, we’ve come across some very spectacular images. Few of them can beat the one we have here though.

What you’re looking at in the background is a portion of Sweden, the place where U.S. Air Force Airmen and Swedish Air Force members flocked at the end of October for a joint exercise. Flying rather low above the place is an MC-130J Commando II, assigned to the 352nd Special Operations Wing out of RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom.

Now, the shot was taken from another plane by a tech sergeant, and the distance between the two machines is large enough to require increased eye vision quality to see what’s going on at the back of the Commando.

If we zoom in close enough though (click main photo to enlarge), we can see four seated airmen, with their feet dangling over the still massive drop below, apparently having the time of their lives in the company of three other soldiers further back.

It would seem the Commando is one of the perfect planes for such stunts. Not long ago, we got to see pretty much the same image, only shot from inside the plane where the dangling action was taking place, as another such aircraft was flying over New South Wales, Australia.

The MC-130J is a relatively new version of the C-130 that came about in 2011, and was developed for combat, transport, special operations, or tanker duties. It is also, it seems, the perfect platform to be used for troops who like to enjoy what the USAF calls a scenic flyover.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows variants of the C-130.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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