The C-5 Galaxy is able to operate on runways 6,000 feet long (1,829 meters), quite an impressive (especially for its size) capability
This something you don’t see everyday.
The gorgeous video in this post in fact features a United States Air Force (USAF) C-5B Galaxy (which actually is 87-0041 / 127th C5 built) from 439th Airlift Wing based in Westover Air Reserve Base (AFB) performing a tremendous, screaming short take-off from Gdansk (Poland) Lech Walesa Airport, runway 29 after delivering US equipment for military exercise.
Noteworthy, the C-5 is able to operate on runways 6,000 feet long (1,829 meters), quite an impressive (especially for its size) capability.
The C-5 has a greater capacity than any other airlifter. It has the ability to carry 36 standard pallets and 81 troops simultaneously. The Galaxy is also capable of carrying any of the Army‘s air-transportable combat equipment, including such bulky items as the 74-ton mobile scissors bridge. Ground crews are able to load and off-load the C-5 simultaneously at the front and rear cargo openings, reducing cargo transfer times. Other features of the C-5 are:
– Five sets of landing gear totaling 28 wheels to distribute weight
– Nose and aft doors that open the full width and height of the cargo compartment to permit faster and easier loading
– A “kneeling” landing gear system that permits lowering the parked aircraft to facilitate drive-on/drive-off vehicle loading and adjusts the cargo floor to standard truck-bed height
– Full-width drive-on ramps at each end for loading double rows of vehicles
– A maintenance diagnostics system that records and analyzes data from more than 800 (C-5A) and 7000 (C-5M) test points, reducing maintenance/repair time.
Source: U.S. Air Force; Photo credit: screenshot from video
