This plant, which is as big as 4 Super WalMarts and has 800 workers, has been a fixture in the city of Marietta since World War 2. The C-141 Starlifter, C-5 Galaxy, and the F-22 were built here but probably the most well known and longest running product of this factory is the C-130 Hercules, which has been in production since the late 1950s and currently has over 200 units on order. With a production rate of 36 per year, there will be new aircraft rolling out of this line for years to come. Part of this is, of course, testament to the versatility of the C-130 and the many different roles its variants can be adapted to.

U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion # 162314

Lockheed-Martin P-3 Wing Assembly
Photo: ©Lockheed-Martin

There are 3 main areas of the production floor. The first is devoted to L-M’s Mid-Life Upgrade Program for the P-3 Orion. This 4-engine turboprop plane (shown above, left) was introduced in 1962 and is used by the Navy for anti-submarine and maritime surveillance. With 50 years of use in corrosive environments, the plane’s structure will need to be upgraded or else they’ll eventually have to be scrapped. This program will add about 20 years to the service life of the aircraft and is accomplished by replacing the wings and horizontal stabilizer with new parts. The wings and related parts are built here at Marietta and delivered to the contractor who will install it on the aircraft. Our tour showed us the process involved in building a pair of wings and the internal structure (shown above, right).

Lockheed-Martin C-130J Hercules

The largest area of the plant is for production of the C-130J and variants used by the U.S. Marines for aerial refueling and Special Ops. The entire aircraft is built here in sections – nose, forward fuselage, tail section, wing box – and then the pieces are mated on an assembly line. The vertical & horizontal stabilizers on the tail are added, followed by the wings. The engine cores come in metal crates labeled “Rolls-Royce” and are brought into the Engine Shop where workers build them up by hand. They’re then rolled over to the line and hoisted into place. The Engine Shop is a special fenced-off area because it is a FOD Critical Zone. What this means is workers who enter must take special precautions to eliminate foreign object debris (FOD) which can cause damage or be deadly if it gets into an engine. There are posters up all over the factory reminding workers of the dangers of FOD. Quality control is everywhere here; the goal is 100% first-time quality, which means every single aircraft must be 100% perfect the first time it is operated. Once on the main assembly line, the parts and sections begin to come together to resemble an airplane. The plane moves forward to the next station on the line about every week. Once the structure is complete, there are interior and avionics installation stations. The final stations perform tests of the hydraulic systems and inspections. After construction, the brown colored aircraft is taken to a special paint hangar in another part of this facility to receive its traditional military-grey paint – except the ones purchased by the arab state of Oman which get a desert camo tan color scheme. We were given a tour of the flight line where the finished planes await their new owners – there were C-130s for Canada, Oman, and a few for the U.S. including an MC-130 for the Marines.

Discussing the C-130 production process with Operations Director Mike Fox
Photo: ©Lockheed-Martin

The third product built at this plant is the center wing box for Lockheed’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This part is one of the most critical parts of the structure. The wing box supports the wings and the center of the fuselage. The plane itself is assembled at L-M’s factory in Fort Worth, Texas.

On Wednesday, we were witness to the ceremony that officially transferred the last production F-22 to the U.S. Air Force. It is to be part of the 525th Fighter Squadron and based at Joint Base Elmendorf in Anchorage, Alaska.

The F-22 Raptor program began in 1991 and the first aircraft was completed in 1997. The first production unit was completed in 2003, and the Raptor became operational in the U.S. Air Force in 2005. A total of 187 units were built ending with serial number 4195 in December 2011 (plus 8 test planes) at a total cost of $412 million each with upgrades, research, and development factored in. This plane is the world’s only 5th generation fighter jet capable of air dominance with stealth, ground attack, and electronic warfare capabilities. There has been some recent concern over problems with the pilot’s oxygen supply system but Lockheed-Martin plans continuous upgrades and refinement to the fleet.

An F-22 Raptor performing a high speed pass at an air show.

The F-22's bombs and missiles are carried internally to increase its stealth capability.

Several Lockheed-Martin officials as well as Georgia’s Sen. Isackson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz gave remarks in a 45 minute ceremony. L-M’s VP in charge of the F-22 program Jeff Babione then presented the ceremonial key to Gen. Schwartz, who then handed it over to 525 FS commander Lt. Col. Paul “Max” Moga and his crew chief, Staff Sgt. Damon Crawford. Afterward, it was time to open the doors and reveal the new jet parked outside, and of course a photo opportunity!

Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor 4195 Delivery Ceremony
Photo: ©Lockheed-Martin

Presentation of the key to Gen. Schwartz

Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor # 10-4195

Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor # 10-4195

The Blue Angels flight demonstration at Tuscaloosa.

U.S. Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team

Getting into this air show was very easy. Most of the parking was along the streets surrounding the airport and shuttle buses picked people up almost right at their car and dropped off at the field. As far as static displays, the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation was on hand selling short rides on one of two of their Vietnam-era Huey helicopters.

Bell UH-1H Huey N426HF

One interesting display was a Canadian Forces McDonnell-Douglas CF-18A Hornet from the Canadian Forces’ 425 Squadron based in Quebec. This allowed people to get an upclose look at what is nearly identical to the plane flown by the Blue Angels. The pods under the wings are called drop tanks; they’re extra fuel tanks that can be installed for longer flights.

Canadian Forces McDonnell-Douglas CF-188A Hornet

There were at least five of these planes, used as training jets by the U.S. Marines and part of unit VT-9 at the naval air station in nearby Meridian, Mississippi.

Boeing T-45C Goshawk # 165478

Normally at a Blue Angels air show you would see a Lockheed C-130 nicknamed “Fat Albert” doing a short demonstration before the Blues. This plane is flown by a U.S. Marines crew and is also used to provide transportation for personnel and equipment for the team. This time, however, the familiar blue yellow and white plane was replaced by another Marines C-130 in standard grey paint and it didn’t fly. I came to find out later that the usual plane, which had been part of the Blue Angels air shows for the last ten years, was being overhauled and wouldn’t return to the air show circuit for another month or two.

U.S. Marines Lockheed KC-130 #162310

The Blue Angels pilots for the 2012 season are: Capt. Greg McWherter (#1), Lt. John Hiltz (#2), Capt. Brandon Cordill (#3), Maj. Brent Stevens (#4), Lt. C.J. Simonsen (#5), and Lt. David Tickle (#6). They’re all in this shot, flying in formation with #6 overtaking and passing through the middle at a higher speed.

U.S. Navy Blue Angels F/A-18C Hornet

U.S. Navy Blue Angels F/A-18C Hornet

The one thing I didn’t like at this air show was the fact that the viewing area along the fence that had been free in previous Tuscaloosa Air Shows was now reserved for purchase in blocks of 6. This offered basically no view of the runway for those who didn’t pay and a partially obstructed view of the planes in the air depending on where on the airport you were watching from. As for photography, this location is decent for late afternoon because you’re facing southeast when watching the planes fly but because its still early spring its not the best. Photos of planes flying earlier between 11am and 3pm will likely have harsh shadows. This air show will return again in the spring of 2014.

An aircraft from the F-15 Demonstration Team performs at an air show in Panama City.

The Air Force had two fighter jet teams each in two units, one for the east and one for the western half of the country, along with one F-15 unit that provided aircraft and demonstrations for many air shows each season. Air Combat Command cited a reallocation of these planes and personnel to the front lines to offset other reductions in flying hours as the reason for the cutbacks.
 

A USAF F-22 Raptor flying at EAA Airventure

The aerial demonstrations are also used at air shows for recruiting, and some of the smaller air shows rely on booking an ACC demo team to attract a larger crowd which is important for revenue to continue putting on the air shows. Some argue that this significant reduction will hurt recruiting efforts and attendance.

Boeing 787 at Airventure

This 787 was Boeing’s test aircraft until this year when a second unit was built, incorporating all the improvements added to ZA001. It will be used at the company facility in Charleston, South Carolina where a second assembly line is being built. A third test aircraft has been built and is being used on a worldwide marketing tour. After certification the first actual production model went into service in the fall of 2011 with Japan’s All Nippon Airways. Now that certification has been achieved and newer test planes are available there is little use for ZA001.
 

Boeing 787 ZA001 lifting off at Airventure

I had the opportunity to photograph and tour the plane when it visited EAA Airventure in July 2011. As a test aircraft it is not outfitted with a cabin but rather racks of computers and test equipment (the probe hanging off the top of the tail in these photos is another air sensor) to record millions of parameters of data on the aircraft’s performance. What sets this plane apart from all others is the fact that it is made of mostly carbon-fiber composite material with highly computerized controls. It is also Boeing’s most powerful and longest range (8,200 nautical miles) jetliner thanks to its new generation Rolls-Royce engines. The one thing that people will notice first about the 787 is the large sweep of the wings and the massive engines – both larger than any other aircraft flying today.
 

Boeing's 787 departs Oshkosh heading west toward Seattle

Although its mission may be over, when ZA001 first flew in December 2009 it ushered in a new era for the company and for commercial aviation. Someday it will rightfully take its place at Boeing’s Museum of Flight next to other aircraft that changed commercial aviation such as the first 747, 737, and 727.