RAFB Welcomes Final Flight for C-130E Aircraft

On Tuesday, Robins Air Force Base welcomed a 47-year-old C-130E aircraft as it made it’s final touch down.

Navigating the plane, was Major John Fay a C-130 instructor at Little Rock Air Force Base and a Houston County High School graduate.

“It’s a pretty big honor I think to get the E model, C-130 here. We’re retiring almost all of them here pretty soon,” says Fay.

Fay graduated from Houston County High School and says he’s happy to be in middle Georgia.

“I went to high school here…so it’s pretty neat to fly the airplane back here and have it be on display for the future.”

Fay’s parents, Cathy and John Sr. anxiously waited for the aircraft to land, overwhelmed with joy, and excited to see their son after more than a year.

“Butterflies right now a lot, quite a sense of pride and this is a very special occasion for us, especially him bringing it back in,” says Fay, Sr.

Coming from a military family, Fay says he has always wanted to be in the air force.

“As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be in the air force and fly.”

His mother Cathy says, “Now when we bring visitors over here to see the museum, we can take them to that airplane and show them, know a lot about it’s history and know that our son brought it back.”

Fay says what a 1962 model can do versus a 2011 model is still pretty incredible.

The aircraft will be retired and displayed at the Museum of Aviation.