I thought all the early vintage C-5As were being structurally updated and retrofit with new avionics and CF6-80C2 FADEC engines. Were some of the early ones too far gone?
9 crashed/written off, 39 stored. Stored aircraft used as source of spare parts
to keep the remaining fleet flying...
.......In FY04, the Air Force determined that 14 C-5A aircraft would be retired during FY04 and FY05. The eight aircraft retired in FY04 were T/N: 69-0004, 70-0458, 66-8307, 66-8306, 70-0450, 66-8304, 67-0171, and 67-0170. Aircraft 69-0004 was the first aircraft to be retired from the C-5 fleet and was delivered to Robins AFB on 21 October 2003 for an engineering teardown analysis with the remaining aircraft placed in excess status and stored at Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The Air Force determined that aircraft 70-0458 would be the first aircraft delivered to AMARC on 4 November 2003, with the remaining aircraft scheduled for input to AMARC at a rate of two per quarter.
The Air Force placed these aircraft in excess status at Davis-Monthan allowing the SPO to reclaim parts. Heavy use in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq caused the transport aircraft to edge close to a severe parts shortage situation. Retired aircraft provided the SPO with a unique opportunity to reclaim parts and return them to Air Force supply inventory or direct ship parts to customers to fill MICAP requirement. The Air Force established a save list of 488 line items, thus over one thousand parts, valued at over $20M, could then be returned to AF inventory.
Aircraft stored at AMARC enabled the C-5 supply chain managers an exceptional opportunity to satisfy the war fighter's needs when no other source of supply proved available. When needed to support immediate needs for C-5 aircraft, WR-ALC materiel managers could request a priority parts removal from AMARC. During FY04, managers requested 136 priority removals to support the field units. Of these aircraft parts, 131 (96 percent) were directly shipped to field units to support OEF and OIF aircraft; the other five (four percent) were shipped to sources of repair for inspection, test, or overhaul prior to being shipped to the field. Technicians at AMARC removed 2059 parts from C-5s during FY04 and returned to the appropriate source of supply. The Air Force shipped 1058 parts directly to C-5 field units filling MICAP requisitions.
In FY04, the continuing need for C-5 aircraft in support of OEF and OIF required using all available parts resources. Using AMARC as a source of supply ensured C-5 availability during the largest troop movement seen since WWII. With these efforts, WR-ALC continued to provide support for the C-5 Galaxy and assist in meeting the mission goals of the USAF.......