MikeL

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http://www.af.mil/stories/story.asp?storyID=123006340

I haven't heard anything about this on the news, but did read something on a military forum. Apparently a C-5 that was lightly-loaded (returning to the US perhaps) was hit by an SA-7, losing an engine. It's pretty amazing that the only "real" info I could find on this came from a DoD site. Anybody got any other info?

Flyboy Dave

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Mike....

....I didn't hear a thing about it either....I guess it's a secret. [X(]
I would think a C-5 would be pretty hard to knock down....except
by a real lucky shot....[]

Dave.

Jim C.

well as big as they are.. they are pretty much a nightmare. i was at work the other day, and i happend to see one take off and watched a wheel fall off from about 50 ft.. everytime one takes off.. they send a street sweeper down the runways to look for something that falls off of them. that crew.. was just lucky... im not sure if they have countermeasures or not.. im only a c-130 guy.

GrnBrt

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It was on the news here and yes it was hit by ground fire in an engine and made back safely. It is a piece of falling off junk and I worked with a crew man on one at Edwards in the early 70's and what he told me would scare the devil![X(]

SDR-Hammer

Art please tell some stories, you've got my interest.

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

All they reported was that it was by ground fire after taking off and climbing 6000' and an outboard engine had to be shut down due high vibration, well DUH I guess so. It made a safe landing at baghdad airport. a witness on the ground said he heard the whoosh of a rocket and then what looked like a meteorite streaking towards the plane and then it was hit.

Jim C.

the gear has 28 sepreate operations to raise or lower it ... alot of the time they land with a bogey up .. pretty scary sight to see mosty the center one is the prob.
i was told a story about how they came to be.. dont know how true it was.. but it was interesting nonetheless, they say the Air Force wanted a heavy lifter , but didnt like the 747's due to cargo loading restrictions, so Lockheed Martin developed it and the Air Force didnt like it due to the maintenance nightmares so they said they didnt want them, and lockheed says, "well you dont buy so many of these, you dont get no more 130's" and they actually halted production on the C-130's untill they bought like 20 some C-5's. pretty sleazy business practice.. but as i said.. dont know how true it is.. but interesting .

Todd D

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I'm a former C-141/C-5 crew chief USAF (86-91) we called the C-5 "F.R.E.D."
F$#&% Rediculous Ecomonic Disaster. Like "FREDs on the runway, FREDs in the air, FREDs got a hydraulic leak/ fuel leak." You get the picture. Gotta love a plane that can carry 6 blackhawks though!

Flak

My Feedback: (1)

FOX Cable News covered this event well. It was the same day a Medivac Black Hawk was shot down. We need more combat support personnel around our air support to wax the *******s who are shooting at our aircraft. On the ground you have a fighting chance, because you have a 360 view of your area. In an aircraft, espescially a C5 you mainly see straight ahead and you don't have much in the way of self defense. My dad, a 1st Cav. WWII Vet was a BAR gunner. He said every morning they sprayed the foliage with bullets around their perimeter and more often than not the trees would rain Japs. Maybe we need more stringient perimeter clearing options around our air facilities in Iraq.
"Keep 'Em Flying!'
Flak

jhunter

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I remember the first C5A to come to Elmendorf AFB Alaska on it's look at me tour and the A/C wanted to impress the Base Commander by demonstrating how the entire aircraft could be lowered to facillitate easy off an on loading. Sucker kneeled down and froze!!! Stayed that way for 7 days. I was in Air Cargo at the time, and of course the entire ship was loaded for showin off purposes and guess what....every ounce of freight had to come off. Used every piece of equipment we had.... man I hated that pig, the best freighter's we had were the last 3 C-124's on the active inventory, go Shakey!!!!

scottrc

I agree, I'm amazed how much we seem to be lacking in air support. Same with our convoys being attacked by guys running out of ditches, I don't hear anything about aircover. I would think a few Cobras guarding a convoy could seek out a deter any attackers.

C_Watkins

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I've never had the pleasure of being "up close" to a C-5, but, working under the final approach
to Dobbins/Lockheed/etc... over in Marietta, about 2 miles out, I definitely get to hear and see quite a few.
I love being outside when they're shooting touch-n-go's.
Still an unbelievable sight... to see one of these big birds that low, looking as slow as they do on approach.
Anyhow... cut it out with all that "parts falling off" business. Makes me not wanna go outside when I hear the
next one (Actually, maybe I should- at least then I'll have a chance to dodge something... maybe)

Jim C.

the strangest thing to see is one of those gooney birds flying a full pattern...[X(] i have only seen it once here on base, but i swore to god it was gonna crash.. it was soo sloooooowwww.. and i said to myself when i seen it turn final.. that is SO wrong.!!

Flyboy Dave

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Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin Country of Origin: USA

Model:C5 Galaxy

Information:

How do you get six Apache helicopters to fly in formation with their
engines off? Put them inside a C-5 Galaxy. Or two M1 main battle tanks,
each weighing 135,400 pounds. Or six M-2/M-3 Bradley Infantry Vehicles.
Or a quarter-million pounds of relief supplies. You get the idea, the C-5 is
big - one of the biggest airlifters ever made. The Wright brothers could have
made their miraculous first flight within the C-5's cargo bay. There is no
piece of army combat equipment it can't carry, including a 74-ton mobile
bridge. It's six stories high, as long as a football field, and if you ever wanted
to open an eight-lane bowling alley at 30,000 feet, you could do it in a C-5.

Yet despite its size, the C-5 is amazingly versatile. Even with a payload of
263,200 pounds, the latest version can fly non-stop for 2,500 miles at jet
speeds and with aerial refueling, it can go forever. It can load outsized
cargo from both ends at once (at truck bed height or ground level), and
its 28-wheel, high flotation landing gear lets it operate from unpaved
airfields without ground support equipment.

FalconWings10

My Feedback: (4)

Not just any bird could take a missle hit and return to base! That was a good plane and the landing was perfect!

jimmike44

I was on that C5 when it was hit. We had taken off from BIAP immediately prior to the missile strike. We had been circling over the airport to gain some altitude before heading out over the city to put some distance between us and the ground fire. I think I had just dozed off (looooooong day of travelling, heading out there for my second tour) when I was awakened by a loud "boom." After the boom, it seems like we rocked back and forth a few times, but that may not have happened, it was a very confusing time and quite a while ago! It was fairly evident what had happened (although we weren't being told anything by the crew, if I remember correctly) and we immediately returned to the ground. Although it sure seemed to take forever! I had to leave the plane as soon as possible to escort one of my squad to be checked out by the medics (I think he was in shock, I had to yank his weapon out of his hands and he couldn't speak), so I wasn't able to see the damage that the rest of my detachment got to see. I don't remember much about it, but I think somebody told me the "cone"(?) was missing from the engine. It was one hell of a first day on the job!

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Thanks for the first hand information jimmike44.

Whirledpeas

I was on the Carrier Forestall 1980 - 82 as an hydraulic mechanic on f-4 J Phantoms. I was up on the deck during the day. A F-4 had just taken off on the catapult. You could see one of the main landing gear wheels and brake go flying off and bouncing across the waves for what seemed a mile or more. Our squadron had 15 aircraft. We ended up spending the next 4 months removing and replacing both main landing gear or all 15 jets. The navy never got around to ordering the replacement before we deployed. We had to jack the jet up. Tie down all the jacks to the deck with chains. Secure the jet to the jacks with chains, remove and replace the lower struts. Do the presuure checks and raise and lower the gear. Not fun during rough seas.

domer1234

Sorry,I didn't heard about that before. But I think will be good thing if the light airplane was use in military.
.

WhiteRook

My Feedback: (38)

i went into the AF in 1975 and was stationed in AK at elmendorph , the big pity is that at which falls in texas we just took
a basic aircraft maint course , they never sent us to school on the F-4 , so when i went there crazy young me didnt have a clue.
musta been lousy changing all those gears.