In the late-1980s, NASA had two C-5As (#68-0213 & #68-0216) modified to accommodate complete satellite and space station components. All C-5Bs are scheduled to remain in the active duty force, shared by comparably sized Air Force Reserve associate units. Delivery of the 50 new aircraft commenced in January 1986 and ended in April 1989. The first flight of the C-5B (#83-1285) took place on 10 September 1985. The C-5B dispensed with the C-5A’s complex crosswind landing gear system. In 1982, a new production version, the C-5B, was authorized in which all modifications and improvements evolved in the C-5A program were to be incorporated, including upgraded TF-39-GE-1C turbofan engines, extended-life wings, Bendix color weather radar, triple Delco inertial navigation systems (INS), an improved automated flight control system (AFCS) and a new, more advanced Malfunction Detection Analysis and Recording System (MADAR II). (In the redesigned wing, a new aluminum alloy was used that didn’t exist ten years prior.) The final re-winged C-5A was delivered in July 1986. To increase their lifting capability and service life, 77 C-5As underwent a re-winging program from 1981 to 1987. Consequently, all C-5A aircraft were restricted to a maximum of 50,000 pounds (22,680kg) of cargo each. In the mid-1970s, wing cracks were found throughout the fleet.
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The first operational aircraft were delivered to the 437th Military Airlift Wing (MAW), Charleston AFB, SC, in June 1970. C-5AĬommonly described as, “The Box That The C-141 Came In,” the C-5A Galaxy was presented to the United States Air Force, for training purposes, in December 1969. Nevertheless, while corrective measures were devised, flight tests proceeded in Georgia and California, where the 2nd C-5A had been delivered to Edwards AFB on 4 June 1969 to take part in the 6-month joint Air Force/contractor Category I testing. In July 1969, full-scale structural ground static tests resulted in a premature wing failure at 84 percent of the scheduled maximum design load. The first phase of manufacturer’s flight trials proceeded without major problems (except for the loss of a main wheel during a routine landing the media had a field day with this event).
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(Note: This aircraft was lost following a ground fire on 17 October 1970.) The maiden flight took place on 30 June 1968 and lasted 94 minutes Lockheed pilots Leo J. The first C-5A Galaxy (#66-8303) was “rolled out” on 2 March 1968 and prepared for initial flight trials at Lockheed’s Marietta plant, located adjacent to Dobbins AFB in Georgia. With a gross weight of 764,500 pounds (346,771kg), Lockheed’s Model 500, later designated C-5A Galaxy, dwarfed not only other Air Force transports but also every other type of aircraft in existence.Ĭonstruction of the prototype began in August 1966. Lockheed won the contract in October 1965 with a design that was an extension of the company’s Hercules/Starlifter series. The design competition was between Boeing (which entered its initial designs for the Model 747, before it was incorporated as a commercial passenger carrier), Douglas and Lockheed-Georgia. Another major requirement, and the most controversial, was the design-life factor for the wing it must survive for 30,000 flying hours. It also had to be able to operate, at maximum weight capacity, from the same runway lengths and semi-prepared runways as the C-141A (8,000 feet (2,438m) takeoff / 4,000 feet (1,219m) landing). This enormous aircraft, first known as the CX-HLS (Cargo Experimental-Heavy Logistics System) transport, was required to carry a payload of 125,000 pounds (56,700kg) over a distance of 8,000 miles (12,875km), or twice that load over a shorter distance. After reviewing several airframe designs, they eventually choose one similar to that of the C-141A Starlifter featuring a high-set wing (swept 25 degrees), four underwing jet engines and a T-tail. In 1963, realizing that they needed a jet-powered replacement for the exhausted, turboprop-powered C-133 Cargomaster, the United States Air Force began to study very large logistic transports. The C-5 also plays a limited role in the airdrop and special operations arenas.
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The aircraft can takeoff and land in relatively short distances and taxi on substandard surfaces during emergency operations.
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The CONUS based fleet can provide delivery of palletized, oversized and outsized cargo, as well as passengers or combat-ready troops, anywhere in the world on short notice. The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a heavy logistics military transport aircraft designed to provide world-wide massive strategic airlift.