News

Eagle, Liberty Wing Airmen laud new C-5M

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  If you had to choose a method to navigate your car, would you use a state-of-the-art Global Positioning System or pull off to the side of the road, flip on the overhead light and unfold a road map to locate your destination?

For most, the question is arbitrary and the answer is obvious. 

For the 436th and 512th Airlift Wing aircrews charged with 'driving' the new C-5M Super Galaxys, many of the upgraded features make them feel like they just stepped from a black-and-white movie into the modern world, said Lt. Col. Mike Semo, a 709th Airlift Squadron pilot. 

"The new engines are like a whisper compared to the whine of the [older, non-upgraded C-5] legacy aircraft," Colonel Semo said. "It's like adding a fifth engine while using the same or less fuel depending on the situation. The C-5M is more powerful and it can carry more cargo father. The new engines are Stage-Three noise compliant which is a big deal in the national and international community." 

Colonel Semo explained that in the Super Galaxy, his crew can fly to Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., and then fly directly to Spain without re-fueling in the process. For his crews, this saves valuable time in their process. 

From the cockpit point of view, the Super Galaxy has revolutionized C-5 flight, Colonel Semo said. 

"Using the new [Avionics Modernization Program] cockpit versus the legacy aircraft is like using a GPS versus a map," he said. "With AMP, you just look at the display and you know exactly where you are." 

This means a higher degree of accuracy and more efficiency, said Colonel Semo. 

"AMP takes all the gauges you see in a legacy aircraft and consolidates them, basically like looking at a TV," Colonel Semo explained. "Now, instead of knowing a distance to a certain location, you have a top-down view of where the aircraft is compared to where you're going. It gives you a lot more situational awareness which is very important in a combat zone." 

An easy way to explain the AMP concept in laymen's terms is to compare flying a C-5 to driving an automobile, he said. 

"You have much more situational awareness when you use GPS in your automobile," Colonel Semo said. "You know what highway you're on and you know what the next exit is. All that is in front of you, instead of having someone read a map to tell you where you're at." 

Another huge advantage to the C-5M comes in the way of cargo capability, said Lt. Col. Thomas Loper, 436th Operations Group. 

"The C-5M is capable of carrying increased payloads over the current routes or carrying the current loads farther," Colonel Loper said. "The new engines increased the performance and allow faster climbs to higher altitudes where the aircraft uses less fuel than the old C-5s." 

A seasoned crewmember, Chief Master Sgt. Don Cunningham, 709th AS, agreed with Colonel Loper's assessment of cargo capability. 

"The C-5 has always been the backbone of the Air Force's airlift capability," said Chief Cunningham. "The C-5M will give us the opportunity to demonstrate the capability of the aircraft. We can offload six [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles] from the airplane in less than 30 minutes, and we can fly higher, faster and more efficiently." 

Speed on the ground and in the air are also major advantages to the C-5M, Chief Cunningham said. 

"The improvements of the C-5M decrease pre-flight time and requirements which, in turn, increase aircraft reach, he said. "With the C-5M, I can pick up an Army combat unit at Fort Bragg, [N.C.,] with all their gear and equipment, and deliver them to their area of operations in 18 hours, which is a capability that does not exist today." 

Colonels Semo and Loper, and Chief Cunningham, all expressed their excitement with Dover AFB's upcoming Feb. 9 receipt of its first C-5M, and all agreed that the Super Galaxy will benefit the combined 436th and 512th AWs for years to come.