Herk: Hero of the Skies is the story of the C-130 Hercules aircraft and its involvement in military, scientific, and humanitarian missions around the world. Dabney takes the reader through the turboprop’s development by Lockheed Martin and the United States Air Force and recounts many of its heroic deeds, tracking its history from the initial A-model through the current C-130J.
Starting out primarily as a tactical military airlifter delivering troops and supplies into and out of short strips of sand, grass, and snow, the C-130 quickly became one of the most effective ambassadors of good will. First-hand accounts chronicle the C-130’s historic role as a hefty "flying pickup," hauling relief goods to disaster areas around the world, hunting hurricanes, fighting forest fires, and refueling airborne helicopters. The aircraft also revolutionized the scientific exploration of Antarctica (on one-ton skis), and helped develop oil fields in Alaska, Peru, and Mexico.
Mr. Dabney’s revised edition of Herk: Hero of the Skies is a reflection of his continuing love affair with the Hercules transport. As part of his Hercules experience, he accompanied C-130 and L-100 crews on numerous missions to sites in the United States and across South America, Canada, Greenland, Alaska, Great Britain, India, and the Middle East.
Mr. Dabney’s versatility as a writer is apparent from the success of each of his books. Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking, a 500-page ode to Southern mountain foodways, won the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook of the Year Award in 1999. Mountains Spirits and More Mountain Spirits, also published by Bright Mountain Books, chronicle corn whiskey from King James’ Plantation to America’s Appalachians.
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