2019 Lockheed Martin HC-130J Combat King II | 16-5873 | MSN 382-5873 | 102nd Rescue Squadron, Francis Gabreski AP, NY | United States Air Force | KING73 | Leap Frogs Jump Ship | KPHL (PHiladelphia International Airport, PA) | April 6, 2023
KING73 Post Caption
Anytime a military aircraft lands in Philadelphia, my curiosity is piqued as to what the purpose of its visit is. There really never is much military activity around my home city, aside from the couple times a week a Blackhawk or Coast Guard Dauphin flies over the city's rivers. When I got a message that an HC-130J Combat King II was on approach to International, I had no expectation of what it could be. The HC-130J Combat King II is most often seen on the front lines, finding the fallen soldier on the battlefield, paradropping first responders, and providing positions to HH-60 Jolly Green helicopters to evacuate the response to a safe location.
This Combat King II is essentially a C-130J Hercules airframe that is designed for a worst case scenario. With extended range systems, air-to-air mothership capablity, and other beefy modifications to enable it to land on unimproved airstrips, it is truly the Super Hercules. This specific frame flew the long 8 hour crawl from San Diego nonstop. It is a direct replacement to the aging HC-130P/N, with this specific airframe activated in 2019 to replace the 106th Rescue Wing's previously equipped HC-130P/N airframes.
The 106th Rescue Wing - using the callsign "KING" is located on Long Island's Francis C. Gabreski Airport, where it's one of five assigned to the squadron, with multiple HH-60s also located on the strip. The 106th is a New York Air National Guard unit which comprises of multiple squadrons including the 102nd Rescue Squadron, which is what the five HC-130Js comprise.
King 73 was in town with the United States Navy's parachute team - the Leap Frogs. With a majority of the HC-130J's mission including parachutists, it makes sense that this plane was assigned a parachute drop mission. These pilots are jump pilots by mission, and it would be good training. The Leap Frogs had the duty of displaying for the Phillies home opener, as they have had for numerous openers beforehand. With that mission comes a few demo practices, so I was NOTAM hunting a practice demo to shoot, as I would not be in the city to photograph the actual demo.
I was lucky to catch a practice demonstration from 4,500 feet, which is what a parachute demo needs, as freefall is not well showcased to the unknowing crowd. An interesting aspect of the Leap Frogs show is canopy relative work, CRW as referred to in the world of skydiving. Four of the seven jumpers showcased a downplane, as well as a biplane stack. The others were an American flag, a Phillies 2022 NL champions flag, and then lastly a videographer.
2019 Lockheed HC-130J Combat King II
16-5873 (sn 382-5873)
102nd Rescue Squadron, Francis C. Gabreski Airport, NY Air National Guard
United States Air Force
KPHL | Philadelphia International Airport, PA
April 6, 2023
2019 Lockheed Martin HC-130J Combat King II | 16-5873 | MSN 382-5873 | 102nd Rescue Squadron, Francis Gabreski AP, NY | United States Air Force | KING73 | Leap Frogs Jump Ship | KPHL (PHiladelphia International Airport, PA) | April 6, 2023
KING73 Post Caption
Anytime a military aircraft lands in Philadelphia, my curiosity is piqued as to what the purpose of its visit is. There really never is much military activity around my home city, aside from the couple times a week a Blackhawk or Coast Guard Dauphin flies over the city's rivers. When I got a message that an HC-130J Combat King II was on approach to International, I had no expectation of what it could be. The HC-130J Combat King II is most often seen on the front lines, finding the fallen soldier on the battlefield, paradropping first responders, and providing positions to HH-60 Jolly Green helicopters to evacuate the response to a safe location.
This Combat King II is essentially a C-130J Hercules airframe that is designed for a worst case scenario. With extended range systems, air-to-air mothership capablity, and other beefy modifications to enable it to land on unimproved airstrips, it is truly the Super Hercules. This specific frame flew the long 8 hour crawl from San Diego nonstop. It is a direct replacement to the aging HC-130P/N, with this specific airframe activated in 2019 to replace the 106th Rescue Wing's previously equipped HC-130P/N airframes.
The 106th Rescue Wing - using the callsign "KING" is located on Long Island's Francis C. Gabreski Airport, where it's one of five assigned to the squadron, with multiple HH-60s also located on the strip. The 106th is a New York Air National Guard unit which comprises of multiple squadrons including the 102nd Rescue Squadron, which is what the five HC-130Js comprise.
King 73 was in town with the United States Navy's parachute team - the Leap Frogs. With a majority of the HC-130J's mission including parachutists, it makes sense that this plane was assigned a parachute drop mission. These pilots are jump pilots by mission, and it would be good training. The Leap Frogs had the duty of displaying for the Phillies home opener, as they have had for numerous openers beforehand. With that mission comes a few demo practices, so I was NOTAM hunting a practice demo to shoot, as I would not be in the city to photograph the actual demo.
I was lucky to catch a practice demonstration from 4,500 feet, which is what a parachute demo needs, as freefall is not well showcased to the unknowing crowd. An interesting aspect of the Leap Frogs show is canopy relative work, CRW as referred to in the world of skydiving. Four of the seven jumpers showcased a downplane, as well as a biplane stack. The others were an American flag, a Phillies 2022 NL champions flag, and then lastly a videographer.
2019 Lockheed HC-130J Combat King II
16-5873 (sn 382-5873)
102nd Rescue Squadron, Francis C. Gabreski Airport, NY Air National Guard
United States Air Force
KPHL | Philadelphia International Airport, PA
April 6, 2023