Photo by August Kryger / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Tech Sgt. Al Quiroz paints the tail wing of C130 cargo plane at Rosecrans Memorial Airport on Tuesday. The plane arrived from Idaho with markings specific to that area. Missouri National Guard members attached stencils to the plane before repainting it as a Missouri plane.

The 139th Airlift Wing got a boost in April with two more Lockheed Hercules transport aircraft assigned at Rosecrans Memorial Airport. Now technicians are ensuring the new craft are in perfect working order.

The St. Joseph-based Wing has eight 1986 C-130H-2 models, all with between 10,000 and 11,000 flying hours, said Senior Master Sgt. John Bigham.

The used planes are a newer model C-130H-2.5 Hercules aircraft with fewer flying hours, said Chief Master Sgt. Steve Hampton.

Getting those planes is a bit like bringing home a used car, said Col. Andy Halter, commander of the 139th Maintenance Group. The group provides a total maintenance program for the Airlift Wing’s planes, including the two new arrivals.

Right now they’re nicknamed Tatter One and Tatter Two, said Capt. Tom Orth, a maintenance officer.

Starting in October, the Airlift Wing will begin trading its eight older model airplanes.

Each month, one plane will be transferred to another Guard unit and a C-130H-2.5 will come to Rosecrans, said Maj. Barb Denny, a spokeswoman for the Airlift Wing.

In 2005, as part of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission and Department of Defense cost-saving requirements, some Air Guard units were shut down and the 139th Airlift Wing is benefiting.

The Idaho Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Squadron was ordered to disperse its planes. The 139th sent personnel to do an acceptance inspection at the Idaho unit.

That’s a complete inventory to see that everything assigned to that particular aircraft is there, Mr. Orth said.

Since then the planes have received specialized checks to ensure everything works.

The two new planes have some different equipment and other differences, Mr. Orth said.

During the inspections, maintenance personnel are looking for the small ways things can be standardized, Mr. Bigham said.

It could be something as simple as the location of a cup holder, said Chief Master Sgt. Dan Dillon.

Mr. Hampton, Mr. Bigham and Mr. Dillon keep a weathered eye on the 139th airplanes. Mr. Hampton has been working on aircraft since 1977, Mr. Dillon started in 1978 and Mr. Bigham has worked with the C-130s since their arrival from the factory in 1986.

“On our watch we’re not going to let something happen,” Mr. Dillon said.

These three sergeants know the personality quirks of the aircraft, Mr. Orth said.

It would be unusual for the Air Force to have people assigned for extended periods to the same planes, but it’s a normal situation in the Air Guard and that shows in the maintenance reports for the 10 planes, Mrs. Denny said.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com.