Photo: USAF/Kevin Clark
The U.S. Air Force has plenty of massive airplanes to use to advance its goals, but none are as impressive as the C-5M Super Galaxy. The Lockheed Martin behemoth is described as the largest strategic airlifter in the fleet, being capable of hauling, in a single outing, six Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) or up to five helicopters. Yes, five helicopters inside a plane…
The Super Galaxy came to be in 1970, and was designed as an intercontinental means of transport for American troops and gear. The thing has a wingspan of 222.8 feet (68 meters) and a total length of 247.8 feet (75.53 meters), and those are not even the impressive numbers when it comes to this plane.
Those would be the numbers pertaining to the weight it can carry. Empty, the plane tips the scale at 380,000 lb (172,365 kg), but can take off with almost triple that, namely 920,000 lb (417,305 kg).
Four General Electric engines move the beast through the air at altitudes of up to 41,000 ft (12,000 m) and at speeds of 532 mph (856 kph), while the 51,150 gallons (193,600 liters) of fuel allow it to stay in the air for up to 5,500 miles (8,900 km).
Add to that some misty clouds and a skilled photographer, just like we have here, and you really start to see a glimpse of what the C-5M Super Galaxy is all about.
The main pic of this piece (click photo to enlarge) shows a C-5M Super Galaxy flying military personnel at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin, during an exercise back in July meant to test “the ability to move troops and equipment on short notice in an emergency situation.”
We are not being told how the exercise went, but we do like the sight of this Super Galaxy enough to include it in our Photo of the Day section.
Those would be the numbers pertaining to the weight it can carry. Empty, the plane tips the scale at 380,000 lb (172,365 kg), but can take off with almost triple that, namely 920,000 lb (417,305 kg).
Four General Electric engines move the beast through the air at altitudes of up to 41,000 ft (12,000 m) and at speeds of 532 mph (856 kph), while the 51,150 gallons (193,600 liters) of fuel allow it to stay in the air for up to 5,500 miles (8,900 km).
Add to that some misty clouds and a skilled photographer, just like we have here, and you really start to see a glimpse of what the C-5M Super Galaxy is all about.
The main pic of this piece (click photo to enlarge) shows a C-5M Super Galaxy flying military personnel at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin, during an exercise back in July meant to test “the ability to move troops and equipment on short notice in an emergency situation.”
We are not being told how the exercise went, but we do like the sight of this Super Galaxy enough to include it in our Photo of the Day section.
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