Safety wiring bolt heads, Do's and Don'ts...

[GoToGuy]

The early KC- 135 had wimpy early style turbo fan engines. NASA did some testing with some 135's re engined with late model High Bypass turbines. It turned the 135 into a rocketship. Twice the power, full weight, full load shorter take off roll. Climbed higher , cruised faster.
The dash sixty, -60, ground power unit, Detroit diesel,( 4-71 ?) . Ran at full power, RPM, when giving power to C5. It was so loud you could scream yell at someone standing right next you, and nothing , just WAAAAAA!
You fix aircraft like the next people getting on board are your wife and kids.

 

[GoToGuy]

There are some areas that are easier to hand wire. Especially when it's narrow, or just not enough room to spin the pliers. One example is back of propeller hub attached to crankshaft. Large diameter, and 040 inconel wire.
SR-71, yeah that's one of the sounds of Freedom. I was at Okinawa Air Base, doing a preflight on C5. Heard this loud jet go by, whatzat? Top of C5 fuselage about 60 ft. I stood up through No.1 hatch, quick gimme my camera. I got some beautiful photos of the SR just touchdown , rollout and two big bright orange parachutes pop out to slow it down . So from higher up on adjacent taxiway, it looks like we standing right next to it. I'll have to post if anybody's interested. Happy days.

 

[Road Trip]

I got some beautiful photos of the SR just touchdown , rollout and two big bright orange parachutes pop out to slow it down . So from higher up on adjacent taxiway, it looks like we standing right next to it. I'll have to post if anybody's interested. Happy days.

I'd love to see those photos. Seeing as how some of the most mission-critical
bits of the SR-71 was safety-wired, then your photos would be considered
definitely on topic!

 

[GoToGuy]

Ok, I'll find them and some others you didn't see in the news or the history channel.

 

[Road Trip]

I was at Okinawa Air Base, doing a preflight on C5. Heard this loud jet go by, whatzat? Top of C5 fuselage about 60 ft. I stood up through No.1 hatch, quick gimme my camera.

Hey GoToGuy, sounds like you have spent some quality time
tending to the needs of the aluminum cloud?

Q: Did you guys refer to them with this moniker? Or was it just us F-16
roadies who occasionally got the pleasure of riding backwards way above
all our spares, toys, & test equipment? Man, I *always* enjoyed the
C-5 experience! (insert hand salute here)

 

[Erik the Awful]

If I recall the KC-135 was a tanker... I think I had a poster of it in my bedroom as a kid.

IS a tanker. They're still in service. The newest ones were built in 1963. It's amazing getting to see the depot work they do on them.

The early KC- 135 had wimpy early style turbo fan engines. NASA did some testing with some 135's re engined with late model High Bypass turbines. It turned the 135 into a rocketship. Twice the power, full weight, full load shorter take off roll. Climbed higher , cruised faster.
The dash sixty, -60, ground power unit, Detroit diesel,( 4-71 ?) . Ran at full power, RPM, when giving power to C5. It was so loud you could scream yell at someone standing right next you, and nothing , just WAAAAAA!

The -135s came with four Pratt & Whitney TF33s, which were basically fighter jet engines bolted onto a heavy. They are maintenance hogs, noisy, stinky, and as you said, wimpy. In the '90s the Air Force re-engined most of the -135 fleet with F108s, which are the military version of the Rolls-Royce CFM56. They are supremely reliable.

Top of C5 fuselage about 60 ft.

I had to tow a B6 maintenance stand up to the wing root of a C5 one time. You really have to trust the guy guiding you in. I've also had to replace the ram on two B6s. It's about 30' in the air. We used one guy on a high-lift or deicing truck to hold it in place and me reaching through the stand from the top to do the wrenching. I can't say I miss that, I'm a bit shy of heights.

 

[GoToGuy]

A 1/8 to 3/16 layer of ice on a C5 upper wing( top) , fuselage and the horizontal can add up to or more than 20,000 lbs to the weight of the airplane. Deicing is important . And I have been in a scissor lift to inspect the top of the T tail. Wow everything is really small from up there.

 

[Road Trip]

Hey GoToGuy, sounds like you have spent some quality time
tending to the needs of the aluminum cloud?

Q: Did you guys refer to them with this moniker? Or was it just us F-16
roadies who occasionally got the pleasure of riding backwards way above
all our spares, toys, & test equipment? Man, I *always* enjoyed the
C-5 experience! (insert hand salute here)

FWIW I just stumbled across a cool photo of a ramp with
C-130s on the top, a C-5 in the middle, and a couple of
C-17s nearest the viewer. C-130s seem plenty big when
standing next to them in real life...but they are dwarfed by
the C-5:

You must be registered for see images attach

NOTE: To get an everyday relatable size perspective, check out the vehicle off the nose of C-17 closest to the C-5.
(Expo? Security Police? Or possibly extra short wheelbase truck aka: flightline tow tractor?)

Aluminum cloud. When they are in the pattern from the ground it looks like they are flying all of 35-40 mph. :0)

 

[Schurkey]

"Aluminum cloud" I understand. How many "Aluminum clouds" does it take to get to "Aluminum overcast"?

 

[GoToGuy]

You remove the wings and tail on the C130 then you roll into the C5 to deliver anywhere.
the max fuel load just fuel no cargo, on a C5 is almost the maximum take off weight of the C130.
the new C5 B, has much more powerful engines, like half again as much. The C5A, early TF39 had 39,000.
The B777-ER has Rolls Royce engines rated at 110,000 lbs each. Monster power.