In the fall of 1974, the Space and Missile
Systems Organization conducted an air-launched ballistic missile test. The Minuteman ICBM weighed 86,000 pounds,
and the only aircraft up to the task was the recently unveiled Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. The immense military transport aircraft conveyed
the gigantic mine and dropped it from 20,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, proving the feasibility
of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from the air. Although it was first conceived in the 1960s,
the massive piece of engineering continues to serve in the Air Force and has taken part
in several unique missions, including transporting Marine One to any place the president travels
within the United States or overseas. The unusually sizable aircraft also played
a pivotal role in the development of the first operational aircraft to be designed with stealth
technology, a mission so secretive that the C-5 could only fly at night to transport each
of the airframes… Healthy Competition Early in the 1960s, several top aviation companies
investigated heavy jet transport concepts. At the time, the industry strived to create
a new aircraft to replace the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster and complement the Lockheed C-141
Starlifter. Besides enhanced performance, the US Army
was looking for a transport vehicle with a larger cargo bay than its existing aircraft,
which were unable to carry outsized equipment. Finally, in 1963, a new concept came to light. It was the CX-X. Unlike earlier designs with six engines, the
new one had only four. The aircraft would weigh 550,000 pounds with
a maximum payload of 180,000 pounds, and the cargo compartment would measure 17.2 feet
wide, 13.5 feet high, and 100 feet long. On the other hand, the aircraft had to reach
a top speed of Mach 0.75, or 500 miles per hour. As such, the USAF conducted a study that determined
the model would need high-bypass turbofan engines to fulfill thrust and fuel efficiency
requirements. When the conditions were officially issued
in a request for proposal in the spring of 1964, several major companies submitted designs
for what they called the "Heavy Logistics System," or CX-HLS. Among the top competitors were Boeing, Douglas,
General Dynamics, Lockheed, and Martin Marietta. As for the specialized engines, General Electric,
Curtiss-Wright, and Pratt & Whitney proposed different ideas that shared a number of features. The air service considered Boeing's design
the top choice, but Lockheed's proposal was considerably cheaper. Thus, in September of 1965, Lockheed emerged
as the winner and was awarded the contract, with their aircraft being powered by General
Electric's revolutionary TF-39 engine. Notably, while Boeing's model lost the military
bid, the company went on to develop an equally successful civilian airliner: the Boeing 747. Eight-Three-Oh-Three Heavy On March 2, 1968, the first C-5A Galaxy rolled
out of the manufacturing plant in Marietta, Georgia. The immense transport, as long as a football
field and as high as a six-story building, became the world's largest aircraft along
with its life-long rival, the Boeing 747, and the Antonov An-124. The model has front and rear cargo openings
that enable it to be loaded and off-loaded simultaneously. Both nose and rear openings span the cargo
compartment's full width and height to allow drive-through loading and unloading of vehicles. In addition to carrying both tracked and wheeled
vehicles, the enormous aircraft can also be easily loaded with bulky equipment. Remarkably, the Galaxy showcases a 28-wheel
undercarriage configuration with a "kneeling" system that lowers the aircraft's cargo floor
to truck-bed height. Furthermore, the powerplant consists of four
turbofan engines mounted under the wings. Back then, GE's engine concept was innovative
in its unmatched bypass ratio. While no other engine before had less than
two-to-one ratios, the TF39 delivered a ratio of eight-to-one, thus increasing engine thrust
and fuel efficiency. Finally, by the end of June of 1968, aircraft
serial number 66-8303 took to the skies for its first flight piloted by Leo Sullivan,
with call sign "eight-three-oh-three heavy." The flight test phase then began, and the
new aircraft provided the US Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift
capability that could carry outsized and oversized loads and all air-certifiable cargo. Even so, as the testing revealed, the model
had a higher drag divergence Mach number than expected, and the maximum lift coefficient
also varied from predictions. Moreover, weight became a serious issue - even
on the drawing table. Nearly Adequate During the following years, the mammoth vehicle
would experience wing failures at less than the required 150 percent limit load. Therefore, it received a passive load-reduction
system comprising uprigged ailerons, but the maximum allowable payload was reduced nonetheless. In truth, no more than 10 percent of the 79
airframes were expected to reach the end of their service lives without cracking the wing. During static and fatigue testing, cracks
appeared in the wings of several aircraft, and the C-5A fleet was forcibly restricted
to 80 percent of maximum design loads. The program soon became the subject of Congressional
investigation, as it was the first development program with a 1-billion-dollar overrun. And as Lockheed experienced severe financial
difficulties, production was nearly brought to a halt in the early 1970s. Nevertheless, the US government intervened,
offering loans to keep the company operational. The colossal transport then went into production
and, not much later, into service. Lockheed finally delivered the first operational
C-5A Galaxy to the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston AFB, South Carolina, in June of 1970. In the words of aviation historian Robert
Dorr: (QUOTE) "After being one of the worst-run programs, ever, in its early years, it has
evolved very slowly and with great difficulty into a nearly adequate strategic airlifter
that unfortunately needs in-flight refueling or a ground stop for even the most routine
long-distance flights." Renovations In the early 70s, the Iranian government became
interested in the C-5 and offered 160 million dollars to produce the model, as it planned
to purchase the aircraft. However, the prospect was put to an end by
the Iranian Revolution. Even so, the financial support coupled with
President Ronal Reagan's military policy helped to restart the production, and a renewed version
of the Galaxy was soon delivered: the C-5B. Going into the 80s, the C-5B received an expanded
airlift capacity, as well as over 100 improvements and additional system modifications that enhanced
its predecessor's reliability and maintainability. Throughout the decade, 50 B models were added
to the fleet of 76 A examples in the Air Force's airlift force structure, and two space-cargo
modified C-5Cs were also delivered. Their modifications included the removal of
the troop compartment, the redesign of the aft pressure door and bulkhead, and the widening
of the aft doors to make room for the space shuttle's cargo container. The Galaxy would then undergo a more extensive
optimization after a study showed that 80 percent of the C-5’s airframe service life
was remaining. As such, the Air Mobility Command began an
aggressive program to modernize the Galaxy fleet in 1998. The C-5 Avionics Modernization Program sought
to upgrade the avionics, including the improvement of communications, navigation, surveillance,
and air traffic management, so that the aircraft could comply with national and international
airspace standards. It also included modern safety equipment and
a new autopilot system. One of the main features of the modernization
plan was a comprehensive Reliability Enhancement and Re-engineering Program that renovated
the engines to General Electric CF6-80C2-L1F (F-138) commercial ones, increasing thrust
by 22 percent. Moreover, the take-off roll was reduced by
30 percent, while the climb rate was increased by 58 percent. In addition, the fleet was now quieter and
with enhanced system integrity. Able to carry significantly more cargo over
longer distances, the modified C-5s became C-5M Super Galaxies - the renovated transports
that would extend the C-5's operational capability well into the 21st century. Crucial Transportation The C-5 airlifter supported the Air Force
across all major military operations from Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan, to the
Yom Kippur War and the Gulf War. Moreover, the Galaxy has also been deployed
in humanitarian aid missions and disaster relief operations - in addition to the space
program. But perhaps most notably, the imposing aircraft
was employed to aid the US Air Force with a highly secretive mission. During the mid-1980s, the Air Force was developing
the revolutionary Nighthawk stealth fighter. The air service was in need of integrating
the so-called Black Jet into regular operations, but unfortunate mishaps with losses of aircraft
and pilots in night sorties complicated the transportation of the unrevealed machine. The powerful C-5 was then chosen to transport
the Nighthawk, flying the disassembled aircraft from the Skunk Works Facility in Burbank,
California, to Groom Lake in complete secrecy. Upon arrival, the jet was reassembled and
test flown prior to its public unveiling in 1990. To this day, the airlifter is still the largest
aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory. And as a strategic transport aircraft, its
primary mission is to move cargo and personnel for the Department of Defense. The Super Galaxy Among B, C, and M variants, the Air Force
still operates a fleet of 52 C-5s stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware; Travis
AFB, California; Lackland AFB, Texas; and Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts. Building upon the legacy of the C-5's heritage,
the modernized C-5M is equipped with five sets of landing gear, but it includes a state-of-the-art
maintenance diagnostics system that enables the record and analysis of data from more
than 7,000 test points, reducing both maintenance and repair time. The Super Galaxy can also carry oversized
cargo over intercontinental ranges and features full-width drive-on ramps that enable double
roads of vehicles to be transported. It can also load and offload cargo with reduced
transfer times, and the M variant can even take off and land on relatively short runways
compared to its predecessors. The C-5M can carry a load of 281,001 pounds
across 2,150 nautical miles. It can then off-load and fly to a second base
500 nautical miles away from the first destination without needing aerial refueling. In fact, with aerial refueling, the aircraft's
range is allegedly only limited by crew endurance. As for the future, the Super Galaxy aims to
extend the fleet's life into the 2040s. But, as the Air Force envisioned, further
modernization efforts will include the incorporation of advanced weather radar, mission computing,
communication systems, and air traffic management to enhance survivability. Thank you for watching our video! Please subscribe to Dark Skies and check out
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