| About the Model
This is a 1/150 scale mahogany model of a C-5 Galaxy model. It comes with a wooden stand and is best suited as an desk or office model. Length is 20" and wingspan is 18"
About the C-5
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. In 1961, several aircraft companies began studying heavy jet transport designs that would replace the C-133 transport and complement C-141 Starlifters. The US Army wanted a larger transport than the C-141. In 1962, the Army rejected the proposed CX-4 transport, because it was not viewed as a significant advance over the C-141. By late 1963, the CX-X conceptual design had a gross weight of 550,000 lb (250,000 kg), a maximum payload of 180,000 lb (82,000 kg) and a speed of Mach 0.75 (919 km/h). The cargo compartment was 17.2 ft (5.2 m) wide by 13.5 ft (4.1 m) high and 100 ft (30 m) long with front and rear access doors. Requests for Proposal (RFPs) for the Heavy Logistics System (CX-HLS) (previously CX-X) went for bid in 1964. The CX-HLS was equipped with four engines, instead of six engines in the earlier CX-4 concept. Later in 1964, proposals for aircraft were received from Boeing, Douglas, General Dynamics, Lockheed, and Martin Marietta. Proposals for engines were received from General Electric, Curtiss-Wright Corporation, and Pratt & Whitney. In 1965 Lockheed's aircraft design and General Electric's engine design were selected for the new transport. The first C-5A Galaxy (number 66-8303) was "rolled out" of the manufacturing plant in Marietta, Georgia on March 2, 1968. On June 30, 1968 Lockheed-Georgia Co. began flight testing its new Galaxy C-5A heavy transport with the aircraft's first flight taking to the air under the call-sign "eight-three O three heavy". Upon completion of testing the first C-5A was transferred to the Transitional Training Unit at Altus Air Force Base, OK, in December 1969. Lockheed then delivered the first operational Galaxy to the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, SC, in June 1970. In the early 1970s, the C-5 was considered for the role of Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to transport the Space Shuttle to Kennedy Space Center by NASA, but rejected in favor of the Boeing 747 due in part to the 747's low-wing design. In contrast, the Soviet Union chose to transport its shuttles using the high-winged An-225, which is derived from the An-124, which is very similar to the C-5 in terms of design and function. In the mid-1970s, wing cracks were found throughout the fleet. Consequently, all C-5A aircraft were restricted to a maximum of 50,000 pounds (22,700 kg) of cargo each. To increase their lifting capability and service life, 77 C-5As underwent a re-winging program from 1981 to 1987. The final re-winged C-5A was delivered in July 1986. The first C-5B incorporating significant improvements was delivered to Altus Air Force Base in January 1986. In April 1989, the last of 50 C-5B aircraft was added to the 77 C-5As in the Air Force's airlift force structure. The C-5B includes all C-5A improvements as well as more than 100 additional system modifications to improve reliability and maintainability. C-5s are stationed at Altus AFB, OK; Dover AFB, DE; and Travis AFB, CA. AMC transferred some C-5s to the Air Force Reserve components starting with Kelly AFB, Texas, in 1985; followed by Stewart Air National Guard Base, NY; and Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts. Beginning in October 2005 squadrons were formed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, the Tennessee Air National Guard at Memphis International Airport, TN and Martinsburg WV (WV ANG) in December 2006. The Wright-Patterson C-5s replace the squadron's C-141s, which were the last Starlifters to be retired. In December of 2006, the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard in Martinsburg (WV) received the first of 10 C-5A aircraft slated for the base. 70-0459 was the first Aircraft to go to Martinsburg. Memphis received 70-0449 as their first aircraft in October 2003, while Wright Patterson received 70-0457 from Travis in October 05. Personnel unload cargo from a C-5 Galaxy on an ice runway near McMurdo Station, Antarctica in 1989.The C-5 is the largest aircraft to ever operate in the Antarctic. Williams Field near McMurdo Station is capable of handling C-5 aircraft and the first C-5 landed there in 1989. Fourteen C-5As have been retired as of 2005.
About the Unit
The C-5 is currently based in active duty units at Travis AFB and Dover AFB. The C-5 is also based at Lackland (kelly) AFB, Westover ARB, Wright-Patterson AFB, Martinsburg WV, Memphis International Airport and Stewart AFB. |
