Cropper Aviation with C-130J Aircraft

Cropper Aviation assists with existing and expanding mobility capabilities with C-130J aircraft. In our experience, the C-130J is the most versatile and capable aircraft available.

We assist C-130J aircrew development, maintenance capabilities, and appropriate regulatory products. Cropper Aviation's people have decades of experience building military units and growing the culture conducive to a successful military capability. We support critical partners to the United States and all allies.

We at Cropper Aviation know that acquiring hardware is only part of the equation to develop and maintain a military capability. The other, and most important component is the people. The people operating that equipment must be properly trained and of the right mindset to use it safely to its fullest capacity. Our people know these simple truths and are passionate about passing on their knowledge partners who will use it wisely.

Therefore, we offer our services to help your organization develop a sustainable C-130 program capable of performing all of the missions possible based on your particular C-130 configuration.

The first question we ask in any situation is “What is the desired end state, what is the ultimate goal?” We believe that goal is for our customers to have a self-sustaining C-130J capability that allows autonomous development and execution of C-130 capabilities and missions. We understand that the United States’ C-130s are designed for peacetime and combat mobility but that each customer has unique requirements.

In our effort to provide a valuable service to our customers, we can provide a multi-stage or simultaneous efforts.  If we were to stage the efforts for you, this is an example:

  • By general flight, we mean taking off from a large, hard-surfaced runway, flying mid-level (20,000’ and higher), then landing on another large, hard-surfaced runway. The maintenance plan would consist of training daily and basic preventative maintenance techniques as well as building a thorough maintenance documenting and reporting program.

  • This stage would introduce the aircrew to tactical operations and planning considerations. It would involve Military Free-Fall operations, the simplest of airdrops. During this state, Cropper Aviation would begin consulting on the development of aerial delivery units. These are the units that build airdrop loads, and maintain the parachutes and specialized equipment necessary for cargo airdrops. We would also begin the training on what is required to design and survey your own drop zone, geared toward personnel static-line and cargo airdrops as these drop zones have different considerations than drop zones designed for military free-fall. For the maintenance program, we would begin training on phase inspections and maintenance personnel performed engine runs.

  • In this stage the aircrew would be introduced to low-level flight and would begin conducting cargo and static-line personnel airdrop training. Along with that training we would begin dirt runway operations after developing the aircrew’s Take-Off and Landing Data (TOLD) performance knowledge. Maintenance would also be taught how to prepare the aircraft for such tactical operations. An upgrade evaluation program would be developed to ensure maintenance personnel are progressing and are performing at the utmost performance expectations.

  • This phase begins the most important stage in autonomous operations, the upgrade of the aircrew personnel. Once the skills of C-130 flight and core mission sets are mastered, it is crucial that additional responsibilities are awarded to those ready. The customer must have an internal instructor core and experienced evaluators in every crew position in order to grow, train, and develop the next generations of aircrew.

  • Throughout all the proposed stages of development, Cropper Aviation personnel will help to develop your culture and community of the C-130 squadron. You will have your own, unique, C-130 identity and it will stand out among all regional peers and allied nations. Professionalism, attention to detail, the pursuit of perfection, and exceptionally proper presentation are at the heart of Cropper Aviation's values and if desired, we will show you our methods of attaining such success.