C-5 Galaxy gallery

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a military transport aircraft designed to provide strategic heavy airlift over intercontinental distances. It is the largest American military transport and one of the largest military aircraft in the world, designed to carry outsize and oversize cargo. The C-5 was developed and produced by Lockheed and is operated by the United States Air Force.

Mission

The C-5, with its tremendous payload capability, provides the Air Mobility Command (AMC) inter theater airlift in support of United States national defense. The C-5 and the C-17 Globemaster III are partners in AMC's strategic airlift concept. The aircraft can carry fully equipped combat-ready military units (including main battle tanks) to any point in the world on short notice, then provide the field support required to help sustain the fighting force.

Features

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 appearance to its smaller sister transport, the C-141 Starlifter. The C-5 has 12 internal wing tanks and is equipped for aerial refueling. With aerial refueling, the Galaxy's range is limited only by crew endurance. It has both nose and aft doors for "drive-though" loading and unloading of cargo.
Features of the C-5 include

A cargo hold 121 ft long, 13.5 ft high, and 19 ft wide (37 m by 4.1 m by 5.8 m), or just over 31,000 ft3 (880 m³).
An upper deck seating area for 73 passengers beyond the crew.
Able to take off fully loaded within 8,300 ft (2,530 m) and land within 4,900 ft (1,490 m).
Stall speed at maximum landing weight zero bank full flaps is approximately 114 knots (211 km/h).
High flotation landing gear with 28 wheels sharing the weight.
The nose and aft doors open the full width and height of the cargo compartment to permit faster and easier loading.
A "kneeling" landing gear system that permits lowering of the parked aircraft so the cargo floor is at truck-bed height to facilitate vehicle loading and unloading.
Full width drive-on ramps at each end for loading double rows of vehicles.
MADAR, a system that records and analyzes information and detects malfunctions in more than 800 test points.

The Galaxy is capable of carrying nearly all of the Army's combat equipment, including bulky items such as the 74 ton armored vehicle launched bridge (AVLB), from the United States to any location on the globe.

Variants

C-5A : is the original version of the C-5. From 1969 to 1973, 81 C-5As were delivered to US Air Forces bases. Due to cracks found in the wings in the mid-1970s, the cargo weight was restricted. To restore the plane's full capability, the wing structure was redesigned. A program to install new strengtened wings on 77 C-5As was conducted from 1981 to 1987. The redesigned wing made use of a new aluminum alloy that didn't exist during the original production.
C-5B : is an improved version of the C-5A. It incorporated all modifications and improvements made to the C-5A with improved wings, upgraded TF-39-GE-1C turbofan engines and updated avionics. From 1986 to 1989, 50 of the new variant were delivered to the US Air Force.
C-5C : is a specially modified variant for transporting large cargo. Two C-5s (68-0213 and 68-0216) were modified to have a larger internal cargo capacity, such as the removal of the troop compartment, to accommodate large payloads, such as satellites for use by NASA. A number of other modifications were made, including adding a second inlet for ground power which can then be used to feed any power-dependent equipment which may form part of the cargo. The two C-5Cs are operated by US Air Force crews on the behalf of NASA, and are stationed at Travis AFB, CA. 68-0216 completed the Avionics Modernization Program in January 2007.
C-5M : Based on a recent study showing 80% of the C-5 airframe service life remaining, AMC began an aggressive program to modernize all remaining C-5Bs and C-5Cs and many of the C-5As. The C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) began in 1998 and includes upgrading avionics to Global Air Traffic Management compliance, improving communications, new flat panel displays, improving navigation and safety equipment, and installing a new autopilot system. Another part of the plan is a comprehensive Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP), which includes new General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, pylons and auxiliary power units, with upgrades to aircraft skin and frame, landing gear, cockpit and the pressurization system. The CF6 engine produces 22% more thrust (for a total of 54,000 lb from each engine) than existing C-5 engines which will result in a 30% shorter take-off roll, a 38% higher climb rate to initial altitude, a significantly increased cargo load, and a longer range between refueling. The C-5s that complete these upgrades are designated C-5M Super Galaxy.The C-5 modernization AMP and RERP programs plans to raise mission-capable rate to a minimum goal of 75%. Over the next 40 years, the U.S. Air Force estimates the C-5M will save over US$20 billion. The first of 111 planned C-5M conversions was completed on May 16, 2006, and performed its first flight on June 19.

General characteristics ( C-5B )

Crew: 8 typical (Pilot, first pilot, copilot, two flight engineers, three loadmasters), 4 minimum (Pilot, copilot, two flight engineers)
Payload: 270,000 lb (120,000 kg)
Length: 247 ft 1 in (75.3 m)
Wingspan: 222 ft 9 in (67.89 m)
Height: 65 ft 1 in (19.84 m)
Wing area: 6,200 ft² (580 m²)
Empty weight: 380,000 lb (170,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 769,000 lb (349,000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 840,000 lb (381,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4 x General Electric TF39 high-bypass turbofans, 43,000 lbf (190 kN) each

Performance ( C-5B )

Maximum speed: 500 knots (570 mph, 920 km/h)
Range: 3,257 nm (3,749 mi, 6,033 km)
Service ceiling: 34,000 ft (10.4 km)
Rate of climb: 1,800 ft/min (9.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 120 lb/ft² (610 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.22
Takeoff roll: 8,400 ft (2,600 m)
Landing roll: 3,600 ft (1,100 m)
Fuel capacity: 51,150 US gal (193,620 L)