06.03.2005, 13:54
Zitat:IRAQ BEGINS C-130 AIRCRAFT TRAININGQuelle: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2005/march/03_06_3.html">http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2005/ ... _06_3.html</a><!-- m -->
BAGHDAD [MENL] -- The Iraq Air Force has begun training on its new fleet of U.S.-origin C-130 air transports.
So far, a five-man crew from Squadron 23 of the Iraqi Air Force has been trained to fly and operate the C-130 cargo plane. For the first time, the Iraqi crew flew the C-130 outside of Iraqi air space.
The United States has helped form and train Iraq's new air force, which contains aircraft from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The Iraqi air force has been hampered by a 12-year lapse in air operations amid the no-fly zones established by Britain and the United States during the Saddam Hussein regime.
U.S. officials said the first Iraqi flight of the C-130 was from Talil to Amman, a five-hour journey. A crew of U.S. Air Force pilots trained the Iraqi pilots and crew members in operating the aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin.