The C-5 is one of the largest aircraft in the world. It can carry outsize and oversize
cargo intercontinental ranges and can take off or land in relatively short distances. Ground crews can load and off
load the C-5 simultaneously at the front and rear cargo openings. Other features of the C-5 are:
- Able to take off fully loaded within 8,300 feet (2,530 meters) and land within 4,900 feet (1,493 meters).
- High flotation landing gear with 28 wheels sharing the 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 of the parked aircraft so the cargo floor is at truck-bed height or to facilitate vehicle loading and unloading.
- Full width drive-on ramps at each end for loading double rows of vehicles.
- A system that records and analyzes information and detects malfunctions in more than 800 test points.
The C-5 is similar in appearance to its smaller sister transport, the C-141 Starlifter,
although the C-5 is much larger. Both aircraft have the distinctive high T-tail, 25-degree wing sweep,
and four turbofan engines mounted on pylons beneath the wings.
The Galaxy carries nearly all of the Army's combat equipment, including such bulky
items as its 74-ton mobile scissors bridge, from the United States to any theater of combat on the globe.
Four TF39 turbofan engines power the big C-5, rated at 43,000 pounds thrust each.
They weigh 7,900 pounds (3,555 kilograms) each and have an air intake diameter of more than 8.5 feet
(2.6 meters). Each engine pod is nearly 27 feet long (8.2 meters).
The Galaxy has 12 internal wing tanks with a total capacity of 51,150 gallons (194,370 liters)
of fuel -- enough to fill 6 1/2 regular size railroad tank cars. A full fuel load weighs 332,500 pounds
(150,820 kilograms). A C-5 with a cargo load of 270,000 pounds (122,472 kilograms) can fly 2,150 nautical
miles, offload, and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles away from the original destination -- all without
aerial refueling. With aerial refueling, the aircraft's range is limited only by crew endurance.