Were you on the Belfast? Any sign of scurvy?
Thanks, Mike. I take it you flew the beast. At the time I meet the HeavyLift crew, the Belfast was the next smaller cargo cross section to the C-5. They loved it when challenged for a domestic (US) permit by Flying Tiger (they offered 747), the Heavy Lift agent would hand the load plan to the Tiger rep and say, "see if it'll fit", where on the agent dropped the challenge and DOT gave the permit to HeavyLift.
GF
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Thread Starter
galaxy flyer - thanks for your posts. Nice to get stuff from the big guys..... Remember being on a Belfast Westbound, nightstopping Dover AFB, with another nightstopping Eastbound, and the USAF Despatcher being somewhat gobsmacked when we told him he had 20% of the global fleet on his field.
As far as the cross-section of the freight bay was concerned - your C-5 was of course bigger. but, as I mentioned in another thread, we did have 12x12ft, which I think was taller than yours, and we could carry a Sea King without taking the rotor head off. At the time, I don’t think any other (western) aircraft could do that.
my final memory of 53 Sqn was the sqn flying everyone who wanted to go to the laying up of the sqn standard in Edinburgh cathedral. Can’t remember who drew the short straw to be the operating crew - but the rest of us got monumentally pissed, and, as far as I can remember, there was a distinct lack of roadsigns in Edinburgh the day after.
Happy days. Although the fact that the sqn was being disbanded in the first place was distinctly unhappy-making.....
I also went on the very last RAF Belfast task - 3598, Brize - Gütersloh and back, 12 Sep 1976.
airsound
As far as the cross-section of the freight bay was concerned - your C-5 was of course bigger. but, as I mentioned in another thread, we did have 12x12ft, which I think was taller than yours, and we could carry a Sea King without taking the rotor head off. At the time, I don’t think any other (western) aircraft could do that.
my final memory of 53 Sqn was the sqn flying everyone who wanted to go to the laying up of the sqn standard in Edinburgh cathedral. Can’t remember who drew the short straw to be the operating crew - but the rest of us got monumentally pissed, and, as far as I can remember, there was a distinct lack of roadsigns in Edinburgh the day after.
Happy days. Although the fact that the sqn was being disbanded in the first place was distinctly unhappy-making.....
I also went on the very last RAF Belfast task - 3598, Brize - Gütersloh and back, 12 Sep 1976.
airsound
This is off the thread a bit as it concerns a USAF C5 Galaxy earlier this year in the Solomon Islands and you are not going to believe it.
On one of the islands near Guadalcanal somebody found a cache of mustard bombs and the Pentagon sent out a team to dispose of them. All fourteen of them, in a GALAXY????.
The arrival was no problem but when it parked in the international terminal the civil traffic couldn’t get past it so it was taxiied forward to the edge of the ramp. The bomb disposal people did their stuff and then the problems started.
It couldn’t turn on the ramp so it sat there, the largest man-made construction in the Solomon Islands. They could not reverse taxy because it needed special authority from Washington and they wouldn’t give it so it was stuck.
I left about five days later and the last thing I heard was that they were going to fly out a Globemaster with a towing tractor to push it to the end of the runway.
On one of the islands near Guadalcanal somebody found a cache of mustard bombs and the Pentagon sent out a team to dispose of them. All fourteen of them, in a GALAXY????.
The arrival was no problem but when it parked in the international terminal the civil traffic couldn’t get past it so it was taxiied forward to the edge of the ramp. The bomb disposal people did their stuff and then the problems started.
It couldn’t turn on the ramp so it sat there, the largest man-made construction in the Solomon Islands. They could not reverse taxy because it needed special authority from Washington and they wouldn’t give it so it was stuck.
I left about five days later and the last thing I heard was that they were going to fly out a Globemaster with a towing tractor to push it to the end of the runway.
Last edited by Fareastdriver; 30th Sep 2007 at 11:27.
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During Clinton's African walkabout, the support crews used a couple of C5As. One was parked on the old tarred runway at Entebbe and when the time came to move it, it was found the aircraft had broken through the hard surface and was well and truly stuck with the wheels half buried. Had to bring in a crew of engineers from the US to get her out.
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Samuel
"Was the Tyne used on anything else other than the Belfast/Vanguard?; [the Lockheed Electra was a much better aircraft by the way, and in Orion form is still around!]"
The Tyne is still flying in Atlantics, Transalls, & G.222s, & was used in the CL-44. There's also a marine version, used in Type 22 frigates & Type 42 destroyers.
"Was the Tyne used on anything else other than the Belfast/Vanguard?; [the Lockheed Electra was a much better aircraft by the way, and in Orion form is still around!]"
The Tyne is still flying in Atlantics, Transalls, & G.222s, & was used in the CL-44. There's also a marine version, used in Type 22 frigates & Type 42 destroyers.
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KINGROCK !
You came home in a Belfast?
sheer luxury - we made it in a Hastings
Well I seem to think so - all totally knackered in any event ( people and planes!)
Phil Bright
95 C
sheer luxury - we made it in a Hastings
Well I seem to think so - all totally knackered in any event ( people and planes!)
Phil Bright
95 C
