AirSkyBuster : Aircraft and Airplane

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Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 4)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 4.
Lockheed also planned a civilian version of the C-5 Galaxy, the L-500, the company designation also used for the C-5 itself. Both passenger and cargo versions of the L-500 were designed. The all-passenger version would have been able to carry up to 1,000 travelers, while the all-cargo version was predicted to be able to carry typical C-5 volume for as little as 2 cents per ton-mile (in 1967 dollars). Although some interest was expressed by carriers, no orders were placed for either L-500 version, due to operational costs caused by low fuel efficiency, a significant concern for a profit-making carrier, even before the oil crises of the 1970s, keen competition from Boeing's 747, and high costs incurred by Lockheed in developing the C-5 and later, the L-1011 which led to the governmental rescue of the company. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 4). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 4. There have been five C-5 Galaxy aircraft lost in crashes along with two class-A losses resulting from ground fire and one loss resulting from damage sustained on the ground. There have been at least two other C-5 crashes that resulted in major airframe damage, but the aircraft were repaired and returned to service. In response to Air Force motions towards the retirement of the C-5 Galaxy, Congress implemented legislation that placed set limits upon retirement plans for C-5A models in 2003. By 2005, 14 C-5As were retired. One was sent to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) for tear down and inspection to evaluate structural integrity and estimate the remaining life for the fleet. Thirteen C-5As were sent to the Air Force's Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) for inspection of levels of corrosion and fatigue. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 4). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 4.

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Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 3)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 3.
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It was designed to provide strategic heavy airlift over intercontinental distances and to carry outsize and oversize cargo. The C-5 Galaxy has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1969 and is one of the largest military aircraft in the world. The first C-5A Galaxy (number 66-8303) was rolled out of the manufacturing plant in Marietta, Georgia on 2 March 1968. On 20 June 1968, Lockheed-Georgia Co. began flight testing its new Galaxy C-5A heavy transport with the aircraft's first flight taking to the air under the call-sign "eight-three-oh-three heavy" (8303H). Cost overruns and technical problems of the C-5A were the subject of a congressional investigation in 1968 and 1969. The Lockheed C-5 program holds the dubious distinction of being the first program to produce a one billion dollar overrun. The C-5 is a large high-wing cargo aircraft. It has a distinctive high T-tail, 25 degree wing sweep, and four TF39 turbofan engines mounted on pylons beneath the wings. The C-5 is similar in layout to its smaller predecessor, the C-141 Starlifter. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 3). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 3. The C-5 has 12 internal wing tanks and is equipped for aerial refueling. It has both nose and aft doors for "drive-through" loading and unloading of cargo. The C-5 features a cargo compartment 121 ft (37 m) long, 13.5 ft (4.1 m) high, and 19 ft (5.8 m) wide, or just over 31,000 cu ft (880 m3). The compartment can accommodate up to 36 463L master pallets or a mix of palletized cargo and vehicles. The cargo hold of the C-5 is actually a foot longer than the length of the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers' Flyer at Kitty Hawk. The nose and aft doors open the full width and height of the cargo compartment to permit faster and easier loading. Ramps are full width at each end for loading double rows of vehicles. The first C-5A was delivered to the USAF on 17 December 1969. Wings were built up in the early 1970s at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, Charleston AFB, Dover AFB, Delaware, and Travis AFB, California. 9 July 1970 marked the C-5's first mission in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Through the rest of the war, C-5s were used to transport equipment and troops, including Army tanks and various smaller aircraft. C-5s have also been used to deliver support and reinforce various U.S. allies over the years, critically delivered weapons and supplies to Israel as part of Operation Nickel Grass in 1973, in which the aircraft performed to such a high degree that the Pentagon considered further purchases. The C-5 was also made available to support British-led peacekeeping efforts in Zimbabwe in 1979. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 3). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 3.

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Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 2)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 2.
Two C-5s were fitted with a countermeasures suite much like that fitted to the SOLL II Starlifters, under a program designated PACER SNOW. Although some sources claim there were considerations for fitting the entire C-5 fleet with PACER SNOW gear, it didn't happen. Two C-5As were modified for NASA to carry space shuttle payload bay cargoes, and were given the new designation of "C-5C". They are also known as the "Space Container Transport System (SCTS)", "Space Container Modifications (SCM)", "SCM Birds", or "Scum Birds". They are flown by Air Force crews but under NASA's operational control, and the USAF has to ask NASA for permission to use them for non-NASA-related missions. They are also rumored to be used for ferrying top-secret cargoes to isolated bases for testing, but of course the government has no comment on such matters. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 2). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 2. The Galaxy, or "FRED (Fantastic Ridiculous Economic Disaster)" as it is known to its crews, has been a valuable asset for US military overseas deployments for three decades, and served with particular distinction in the Gulf War, lifting in a little more than two weeks more than the entire Berlin Airlift in 1949. One was lost in a crash at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany on 29 August 1990. The accident was a misfortune, but at least it was the only loss of a transport during the Gulf War airlift, and only the fifth Galaxy lost during its entire operational history. The C-5 has also served in later campaigns, up to and including the US occupation of Iraq. One was hit by what appears to have been a shoulder-fired SAM while leaving Baghdad International Airport on 8 January 2004. The transport's number four engine exploded, but the crew managed to get the machine turned back around and down onto the runway with no casualties. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 2). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 2.

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Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 1)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 1.
The C-5A had the same overall configuration as the C-141, with high wing with a sweep of 25 degrees, four jet engines in pods on underwing pylons, a rear loading ramp, a high tee tail, and main landing gear retracting into fairings. However, it was massively scaled up, with the capability of lifting two main battle tanks or transporting 345 fully-equipped troops. The Galaxy was the largest operational aircraft in the world for 15 years, until it was surpassed by the Soviet Antonov An-124 Condor. The upraised nose cleared the cockpit, permitting the aircraft to be taxied with its nose open. The cockpit was placed at the front of an upper flight deck on top of the huge cargo hold, and accommodated a typical flight crew of six. The upper deck also included a 15-person crew-relief compartment with bunks in front of the wing, and a passenger compartment behind the wing with 73 rearward-facing seats. The C-5A was powered by four General Electric TF39-GE-1 turbofans with 191.3 kN (19,500 kgp / 43,000 lbf) thrust each. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 1). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 1. All four engines had thrust reversers, and it seems the thrust reversers on the inboard engines could actually be activated while in flight. The aircraft had a four sets of main gear, each with two-axle bogies with two wheels in front and four in the rear, and a four-wheel nose gear. The landing gear could "kneel" to assist in loading cargoes, and featured a system to help land in crosswinds. The C-5A had a boom refueling capability from the start, as well as a computerised "Malfunction Detection, Analysis and Recording (MADAR)" diagnostic system that monitored 800 test points in flight or for ground servicing. The C-5A proved its worth in the fall of 1973, in Operation NICKEL GRASS, the huge airlift to support Israel during the Yom Kippur war, with the big cargolifter carrying massive quantities of ammunition and weapons to assist Israeli forces. The Galaxy also performed reliable service in the last years of the Vietnam War, though one was lost on 4 April 1975 while trying to evacuate orphans from Saigon. 206 of the 382 people aboard were killed, many of them infants. The C-5A's design specifications had been very aggressive and hard to meet. The program did not go smoothly, and in fact the program is said to have coined the term "cost overrun". One of the long-term problems that resulted was that the aircraft did not live up to its fatigue-life specifications, with the wings having barely a quarter of the 30,000-hour lifetime specified. In 1975, Lockheed was awarded a contract to provide new wings to all surviving aircraft to increase the wing service life to the specified 30,000 hours. The first re-winged aircraft was delivered to the USAF in 1983, with the re-winging program complete by July 1987. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (wallpaper 1). Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy airplane pictures collection 1.