European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 08, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday september 8,1995 . The stars and stripes Page 7 once troubled c-17 Jet. ".-,.hby the los Angeles times Washington in a dramatic re covery Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Has solved the major problems on its Bing troubled c-17 military transport pro Gram and it s almost certain to win a significant increase in orders for the Jet this year the air Force s top acquisition offi cer said wednesday. It   said the c-17 s performance has been really in a  / v the Pentagon based on the most re cent performance data will increase its order for 40 aircraft to As Many As 120 aircraft Mullner said although the exact number depends on the outcome of two Pentagon studies. If Mcdonnell does land a major new order from the Pentagon it would rep resent one of the few times that a major military program has been Able to recover from severe problems. Only two years ago the c-17 program was so riddled with technical troubles and Cost overruns that the Pentagon put the program on probation and threatened to kill the plane built in Long Beach Calif. A new order would help stabilize Southern California s battered aerospace Industry and preserve Mcdonnell As a viable aircraft maker in the state. The c-17 program supports 8,700 direct jobs in Long Beach at Mcdonnell As Well As hundreds of aircraft component manufacturers across California. The final decision will be made by the Pentagon s defense acquisition Board in late october. At stake is which plane the c-17, Boeing s 747 or some other transport will replace the air Force s aging Fleet of c-141s. Mcdonnell Douglas has clearly done a Good Job of correcting a lot of Quality problems Musil nor told reporters. Clearly the c-17 performance and Mcdonnell Douglas performance says that orders beyond 40 aircraft Are very very   j. The comments Are the strongest Indi cation yet from a senior Pentagon official on the potential for More c-17 orders Al though other top air Force and army officials have been privately lobbying for maj. Joe Arthur left and it. Col. Jerry Porter pause recently in front of the first lady c-130 at Eglin fab Fla. The first lady of c-130 aviation to slip service Eglin fab Fla a four dec Ades of aviation history will end sunday when the first c-130 Hercules production Model scarred by fire and Battle retires to Anair Force museum. The first lady was followed off the Lockheed Martin aeronautical systems production line in Marietta ga., by 2,108 More of the four engine Turboprop transports and an addition Al 40 Are on order. The plane and four other c-13qs, All converted to a Iso spectre gunships will be withdrawn from duty during a ceremony at Duke Field an auxiliary facility on the sprawling Eglin fab. It s a very very sad Day said maj. Joe Arthur among scores of pilots who have flown the first lady since its first flight on april 7,1955. It. Col. Jerry Porter a navigator flew on the historic plane in the Viet Nam War and then As an instructor a Hurlburt Field next to Eglin. For the past 20 years he has flown As a reservist on the plane. It s like having to give up your Clas sic car after owning it for 30 years Porter said. It s going to be a  unlike the other a Model gunships which will go to the Bone Yard at Davis Monthan fab ariz., the first lady will remain in the air Force armament museum at Eglin. It will be a glorious end to a career that had an inauspicious Start when its third test flight nearly ended in disaster. -.". As the plane landed the left Wing slap burned off just melted Arthur said. They pulled it off the runway and put another Wing on and kept i there at Lockheed for  the tests were successful and the Hercules went on to become the work horse of the air Force c-130s also Are flown by the Navy marines coast guard and 63 other countries. More than 70 c-130 variants have been turned out. They Range from the trash Hauler cargo version to highly modified aircraft for weather recon Naissance Rescue drone launching and spying. In the Early 1960s, the first lady joined the space program tracking rockets and snatching satellites As they parachuted Back to Earth.  after the installation of guns and cannons the first lady logged More than 4,500 combat hours in Southeast Asia from a base in Thailand. Its Pri Mary targets were trucks on the to Chi Minn Trail a vital Supply line. It had taken some Battle damage a couple times Porter said of the Plant. The most serious was when a Shell hit just below the flight deck in March 1971. Nobody was Hurt Porter said just Tore up some equipment in Theair plane a Little bit. It was repaired and soon was Back in  the retirements of the five gunships now a Dusky Gray also will end an Era for the 919th special operations Wing at Duke. The Wing is switching to other Hercules variants. The regular air Force will continue flying newer ac-130h and ac-130u gun slips. At sunday s ceremony the first lady and the four other c-l3qs will make a flyover land and shut Down All 20 engines in unison. Morcc-17s. A a we re always enthused who Nosir Cus Tomer praises our air plane and talks about buying More of them said George Field Mcdonnell s no. 2 executive on the c-17 program. And if you look at our Progress in the last year it s definite in warranted. We know we re going to sell a lot of these c-17sand this is just the begin  a a but Mcdonnell still faces obstacles. Company officials have said privately that Mcdonnell is still $.1 billion in the red on the c-17 and that it must build at least 100 aircraft to make Money on the pro Gram. Overall the program has already Cost . Taxpayers and Mcdonnell about $21 billion. Party Label prompts school to ban Beer South Kingstown . A they can party until they drop at the University of Rhode Island As Long Asit s without brew sky. A week after it was named the nation s top party school by an annual guide the University on wednesday banned alcohol at student events on Campus. More and More of our students Are demanding that they not be imposed upon by others whose judgment and be Havior is impaired by substance abuse. It _ is time to take a stand at Uri president Robert Carothers said during an Assem Bly in outlining the ban. Students who Are 21 or older can have alcohol in their rooms but there will be none allowed at fraternity parties Home coming events and All other student activities he said. The policy comes a week after Uri which has about 12,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs was named the top party school in the Princeton review student Access guide to the Best 309 colleges. The paperback which is put out by a new York publishing company and not affiliated with Princeton University sends representatives to colleges to sur vey students and  on their responses. " .-.-. Probation revoked far Buttafvoco  by news ii Mineola . Joey Buttafuoco. A courtroom. And a possible jail sen tence for what a judge termed his continuation of a sexual  it was like a made for to movie Seuel wednesday As Nassau county court Edge Jack Mackston revoked Buttafuoco s probation and moved him one step closer to jail. Buttafuoco who Lom his probation after pleading no. Contest to soliciting a los Angeles undercover cop for sex was free to go Home but could be Back in jail As Early As next week. Buttafuoco 39, did not comment but 7 the grim faced defendant Shook his head slightly when Mackston announced probation is now revoked.". On july 7, Buttafuoco pleaded no con test to the California solicitation charge a Misdemeanour a move that his attorney conceded wednesday was equivalent to a guilty plea. He was sentenced to two years probation and fined $1,745. After his october 1993 conviction for the statutory rape of Long Island teen Ager Amy Fisher Buttafuoco served four months in jail and is in his second year of five years probation