European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Its photo by Gus Schoettlin Hie Tiant is Galaxy it Tine Lor hauling cargo. Comfort i tacking however. In the Pawn Ger  with Mac tips on playing hop Roulette Here Are two lasting images i have of my family s first military Airhill come hop. By Tony Nau Roth staff writer the first is of a hulking at Force Load master made even More hulking in his Bulky flight suit bending Over my 7-year-old son and tenderly tucking a Blanket around his chilled shoulders. The other image is of great Clouds of something oozing into the c 5a Galaxy s passenger Cabin. I did nol know that this was the Normal response Whan the air conditioner was turned on. It was frightening these two images could serve As a capsule of All the Good and bad of gambling with Mac. My wife and i and our two children Lew to Pennsylvania this summer on a commercial flight. We dropped about s1 ,000 on the spot planning to return on a Mac hop for $40. And even though we scattered hundreds of More dollars along our vacation route we made sure we had $1 ,000 left just in Case our leave would run Oul before we Gol Lucky playing Mac hop Rouvelle the Security of knowing you have an alternate Means of getting Back to your duty station is important in this iffy business. I can Only address what we did but the Odds we laced May fit other families when we were ready to leave the Stales we called the Mac passenger terminals at Philadelphia International Airport Mcguire fab in new Jersey and Dover fab Del. Philadelphia did not sound promising. The person answering the phone obviously did l have the tone Day to answer ques Nons. His answers were cryptic and not helpful. New Jersey was very helpful but the flights outdid not look promising. The woman answering the phone said we d have better Luck in Delaware. Interestingly each terminal quoted a different Price for there gals varying from $8.50 per person at phiade1pnialo$l2.10atdelaware. Four Days before our leave was to expire a rented a Hertz car for the four hour drive to Dover. It Cost $80 for the Day but we figured we were still Way ahead. The reason i say a Hertz car is because there is a drop on Point right across the Street from the main Gate of Dover fab. Plus they la drive you and your baggage to the terminal. We went to the Check in counter and signed up. At that Point we were on the list. We could Nave come in 15 Days earlier to sign up but that would have mean an additional trip. You can t Call in. We were Given a form with the Julian Date on it and the time of Day. Our Julian Date was 230. Our time was 1647 hours. We were also told there were 1.300 names above ours on the Lisl. But the Luck of playing this game was with us. Earlier in the Day waiting passengers were told no flights would be going out because Hurricane Charlie which roared up the East coast the third week of August was expected to hit Dover that Allimoon. Most folks went Home or to hotels. Just before we arrived they put two flights up after Charlie took an unexpected turn out to sea. The passenger assistance Crew started calling out Julian Dale numbers followed by names. Everyone scurried to the bathrooms to change into their uniforms you must be in uniform when your name is called i realized i forgo a to shirt. A Captain also scurrying said Don t worry i won t Tell  he forgot his Loo. It s a Good idea to double Check your whole uniform before scurrying time.  my number came blaring Over the loudspeakers. Then i waited Lor my name. It did t come. I waited at the Backol the room watching the assistants tally up names it looked like they were moving on to a Tower priority of passengers retirees i pushed my Way to the front and asked if they were finished with my category. I showed them my form and the no behind the desk asked testily where were you thai s when i found Oul that when they Call lha number you immediately take your lorm to the counter. They arrange All the forms bearing that Date according to time checked in then they Call the names from the form. Remember that Lellow hoppers. Friday november 1986 Magazine i lucked out there were Only four seats left on the night. And when the assistant called out the night is closed the Retiree behind me cursed me for my stupidity and i slipped away breathing a deep sigh of Relief. I paid $47.85, $10 per person plus $1 85 for each meal. It was 7 . A 9 . We were loaded in an air Force bus that look us out to the night line. We wailed a half hour before the Driver announced he was taking us Back to the terminal because of a maintenance  when we got Back we were told the delay was the result of a Toad imbalance. A question popped up in my mind. Should i take my family on a flight that s delayed because of either a Toad imbalance or a maintenance problem i quickly calculated the difference Between $48.40 and to ,000 and decided logo Lull bore into the jaws of death. The bus returned. This Lime the Steps were rolled up. We got out of the bus and climbed and climbed and climbed. The passenger Section of a c-5a Galaxy is in the very lop with barely enough headroom. A Metal Grill door allows you to see Down Inlo the cargo Bay when you go to the rear Lor co fee. The seals face the rear and Are downright uncomfortable. The Crew distributes plenty of blankets and pillows though. Because we were the last four passengers we had to Lake the last four seats which separated my son from the rest of the family he Sal next to a Marine Lisl sergeant who look Good care of him along with the pillows and blankets. The Crew distributed earplugs. Throughout the entire b a hour trip commercial flights Are closer to seven hours 1 a con Slang scream of engines filled the passenger compartment. It Wos hoi in Dover when we left above 90 degrees. When the plane started great vision obscuring Clouds came rolling Oul of the ceiling. It was an upsetting moment As i looked frantically at the instructions on the emergency door next to me. But Only a few others looked upset and the Crew was Calm. This is Normal i asked Mysell. Yes it was the air conditioning. Later it would get so cold that ii was actually painful to rest my feet on the floor. That s when the Load master came and tucked the blankets around my son. A Metal Box with life rail 1 a stencilled on it sat in front of my feel. Ii also had capacity 20  stamped on in. I counted the people on Board and breathed another sigh of Relief when i discovered there was More life ran than passengers. Food there were two choices Box lunches or Swanson Frozen dinners. Take the Box lunch. The trays on the Galaxy Don t fold Down. They detach completely and if you re not careful your entire dinner might slide on the floor while you re pulling away the foil. The Box lunches did t table any Beller. But were much easier to handle. Remember to specify which you prefer when you pay Lor them at the terminal. On the bad Side the trip was a tiresome exhausting cold anxiety producing experience no movies and not even windows. On the Good tide the Crew although no professional Inghil attendants did their Best to make everyone As comfortable As possible. Even when the Load master dropped the buns on the deck he threw them away rather than put them Back on the tray then asked someone else to share with the unfortunate unless victim. Also on the Good Side. The passenger assistants in the terminal were heroically patient and helpful even though i just knew they had answered my questions thousands of limes before. Finally there was the big payoff the difference Between $48.40 and $1.000 put Money in our savings account and will put Christmas under our tree this year. I found that in order to keep sane remain flexible and patient we were Lucky. We wailed five hours Between sign up and take on. Some had been camping out Dill s a real Gamble and gambling Counselor will advise. 1 Don l play unless you can afford to  ditto when you re playing Mac hop Roulette. The stars and stripes a Flat 13