The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy: Moving the US Military

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[williamtauriello]

Many years ago, I was on an Eastern Airlines’ Lockheed L1011, flying from FL to NY, when the pilot got on the speaker and said: “Ladies and gentleman, if you look out the left-side windows, you’ll see an ‘aluminum overcast’.”
There, about 3-4 miles off, flying parallel with us, was a C5.
Now the L1011 is considered a ‘jumbo jet’.
The C5 dwarfed us.
To this day, I am still in awe of these planes!

[davidhoyt]

As a civilian, I had the privilege to ride in one of these while they were training mid air refueling. Pictures don’t due it justice. It’s a beast! It was surreal being in the cockpit while another plane is so close refueling the C-5 mid air going hundreds of mph.

[seanlawrenz]

The epitome of a Mega Project. Seeing these things take off is always amazing. They look like they're going way too slow but then they appear to effortlessly lift into the sky. Blows my mind.

[bravedirtyhawk]

Former C-5 mechanic here ….was always a great airplane to work on to me and having worked on C-17s as well I’d take a C-5 any day. We would several multi- person crews working on various locations of the aircraft and never see each. It’s like working in mansion and you can get lost if unsure where your going. Fun fact there’s a little ladder that runs all the way up the T- tail and a little hatch to gain access to the top. The old engines were so loud compared to the new ones as well

[swisstestpilot]

The main reason why the C-5 was not choosen as Shuttle carrier was not his high set wings (like on the An-225) but its T-Tail, because this would have been affected by the airflow turbulences created by the shuttle.

[lencac]

Years ago my brother worked at Travis as an airframe tech. I visited one day while he was working. He was working on a C5. So as a result I was able to walk the wing, the fuselage, stand in the engine, climb to the top of the tail interior. At that time there was 2 pilots getting ready to get some flying time. I wonder up to the cockpit and made the comment "jeez what keeps this thing in the air?" One of the pilots replied with a serious Texas accent says "theory boy theory"

[lannyfaulkner]

I was an aircraft loader at Cam Ranh Bay in 1970 when the first C5a came to Viet Nam. Lots of ceremony but the kneeling mechanism did not work so they had to stay longer than planned and it was a long time before they tried using the C5a on a regular basis. As time went by, the C5a proved to be an incredibly effective airlifter, as it still is today.

[shuttlemanjack]

Pushing the envelope developing a groundbreaking system like this is rarely cheap or without teething problems. It remains an amazing aircraft.

[Ksweetpea]

Ive walked around inside a C-5 at an airshow, definitely was in awe at the size and at aviation in general

[chrislong]

I'll tell ya! Living in San Jose, we used to get P-3 Orians flying overhead into Moffet Field. Just before my family and I moved to Co, they were shutting, or at limiting its use...
When you see one of these monsters coming in low, on approach, the sky gets shadowed and you can't help but look up, and are then mesmerized by the size of this monster, seemingly hovering in the air!

It really takes your breath away!

[xxxotiknightz]

You should do a video on the KC-135 and KC-10 refuelers. I spent the later part of my USAF career as a boom operator on KC-10s and refuelers are a forgotten part of the USAF Fleet

[roriquevernonii]

The C-5C looks like a cathedral inside without it's upper floor. Fun fact:. The TF-39 was the basis of the CF6, which was used on many commercial aircraft for decades before the C-5M finally got them, coming full circle.

[dominicmanzella]

I see these flying once in a blue moon, they're always fun to spot. I'm currently going to school for aerospace engineering and it's always fun learning about historical moments of interest such as this one.

[j.needqlife]

The the two C-5C's were not converted B models but converted A models 68000213 and 68000216 making them some of the oldest C-5 aircraft still flying. I worked on them for over a decade keeping them fully functionable.

[thattimguy]

I saw these every once in a while at Los Alamitos, CA growing up. Beautiful aircraft and the tail was so tall you could see it above the houses. Also, super loud, which living by the base meant lots of power.

[magnificentfailure]

Growing up outside a SAC AFB, I thought I'd seen all the big boys. B-36's and B-52's.
The first time I saw a C-5 on approach I could've sworn it was falling out of the sky.
They are just so big that they hardly look like they're moving at 200 mph.

[kfeltenberger]

In the early 70s, I was a kid living in Smyrna, DE, and my best friend's dad was the NCOIC of Dover AFB's data processing department. One day he calls us and says to pack a picnic basket and come down and meet him at the main gate. My friend and I, in 1st grade at the time, were packed in the cars by our moms and off we went. He took us to an area where we could watch the approach to the runway and for almost an hour, we watched as the C-5 wing practiced touch and go landings. Those damned planes are mesmerizing as the float through the sky, gently touch the ground, and then the coiled power as the engines spool up and they leapt back into the sky. It was like you were a little fish watching a school of sharks swim around you.

[darrylmay]

I had the opportunity to ride in several C-5s during my career in the Air Force. Unlike a civilian plane, the passenger section located above the cargo area has a definite lack of windows.

[NobleOmnicide]

I'll never forget the sound of the C-5! It was so distinct for a jet aircraft. Watching them lumber through the air was also so crazy. They looked like they were flying so slow!

[GlamorousTitanic]

Having seen one of these beasts up close, the pictures and graphics don’t do it justice. It is a colossus of the sky.