C5A just flew over head.

P

Prof Marvel

Joined Aug 2006
40 Posts | 0+
Fishkill, NY
I am sitting here quietly enjoying a nice stick when.......the unmistakable sound of a C5A cuts through the night air sounds of crickets and such. This is a semi-common sound here and I am impressed each and every time I hear and see one moving in what seems like slow motion.

Just thought I would share.



And how do those things keep from falling out of the sky?
 
It's a common occurrence above my house too.
Every time I hear that "whining" sound of the turbofans the kid in me takes over and I run outside awestruck with my chin on the ground.
It's a beautiful piece of American machinery.
 
I've flew on one from Iraq to Spain then to Dover.

Awesome bird.
 
I live not to far from Dover where many of them are based. They look even more un-flightworthy when they are sitting on the ground, the way their wings droop.
 
My job in the USAF is refueling aircraft, and the first time I refueled one I was awe struck in just how big the aircraft really is. Not that I would, but I could Drive my truck under the wing and never touch the aircraft.

And as far as the wings drooping, you can literally watch them sink to the ground when you start filling them with fuel. And it takes a couple hours to fill the tanks even though you are pumping 600 gallons a minute.


Without Fuels, Pilots are Pedestrians.
 
Speaking of refueling, I live near the 911th Air Wing in Pittsburgh and they do some refueling from there. I saw a C-5 being refueled while sitting on my front porch. The only way I'm pretty sure it was a C-5 is because it absolutely dwarfed the tanker. Do they still use KC-135s for tankers or is there something newer?
 
My base has 12 KC-135's but must of the active duty bases use the KC-10s, which are about twice the size of a 135.
 
Cool - the base near me is a reserve base so I wouldn't be surprised if they had some of the smaller ones.
 
They bank and turn almost directly over my house a few times a week, usually in the afternoon, but sometimes at night. It's a bit wild when you hear the engines wind down as they're banking, and I'm thinking, uh, oh, is that thing about to fall on my house?:cryinlaugh: Then there's the sound of the thing revving back up and moving away. Having actually seen them make the move, there's always a bit of trepidation, knowing the size of that thing, and wondering, "what if that bank and turn move fails some day?"

:eek:mg: :flush: :help: :help:
 
I remember flying on one from Hickham AFB to NAS Agana, and it was something of an experience for me. First enter the cargo hold, then climb a spiral ladder (all this in typical South Pacific heat). Then enter the 'passenger' compartment (UH-OH- SEATS FACING BACKWARDS!). Sit in typical tourist- style seats, listening to all sorts of thumps and bumps, still sweating like crazy. Suddenly, an increase in noise, the blower speed increases and WHITE SMOKE APPEARS! A moment of panic, then realization that the 'smoke' is just the condensation as the air conditioning kicks in (WHEW!). Interesting sensation, accellerating backwards and rotating forward until cruising altitude is reached. Then hours of boredom and the two or three day old 'fried chicken boxed lunch'-cold as usual! Finally, repeat of the 'pitch forward' sensation, thrust back into the seats, and return to sauna conditions until told we could unfasten seat belts and exit the aircraft. Once is quite enough, thank you-I'll stick to my submarines!
 
I've heard backwards facing seats are actually safer in a crash. That's probably why they set it up that way.
I don't quite recall why commercial airliners don't use that arrangement, but I think it has something to do with increased weight or more space per seat and passengers thinking it's strange.

Oh, and the "classified" comment from my previous post was a joke just in case anyone took me seriously.
 
I am constantly amused by people who ride Metro-North railroad who WILL not take a backward facing seat. My ex-girl had a big psychological (yeah, PSYCHO!!! :cryinlaugh: ) explanation about it, but no matter how crowded the train was, we HAD to find a forward facing seat whenever we rode up here together, or back down to NYC.

A real funny thing to me is that Metro-North runs its trains in what is known in railroad parlance as "push-pull,"* because it has no place to turn its locomotives at the end of the run. This means that when the train leaves Grand Central, the locomotive is at the front of the train, and when it leaves Poughkeepsie, it is at the north end, or what I would call, rear of the train. I have heard people, usually a child, ask the conductor or their parents out loud if the train is running backward, and the conductor always says "no."

YES, IT IS!!! :cryinlaugh: :rotflmao: :cryinlaugh: :cryinlaugh:

Stop lying to people. :duh: :neer: :cryinlaugh:

Okay, it's harmless, and it's technically not "backward" because the train's really running forward in "push" mode. :roll: :roll: :duh: :duh:


*Actually, true "push-pull" is a locomotive at either end, but not fiscally conservative for most railroads to pull off. Metro-North and other such railroads run what is more correctly called "modified push-pull."
 
bloofington,

Did you hear the C5A that flew over us moments ago? I think you are slightly higher in elevation so it must seem like the plain is landing on your roof.

Metro-North: That reminds me that I need to purchase some NYR tickets and make a few rail trips to the Garden!!!!
 
I did hear one a while ago, but not moments ago. It was definitely only a little while though, so if that's the one, yes, I did. :sm_angel:

And yes, since I'm up near the top of the hill in Dutchess Park, it does sound really ominous. That's why when the engines nearly stop for the plane to turn, I always have my heart in my mouth, because I'm waiting to hear the whine of a plane spinning downward out of control.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :eek:mg: :eek:mg: :giveup: :help: :help: :dunno: :bolt:
 
If one does fall I hope it ends up near by so I can use it as a Humidor.

Well I guess it was almost 2 hours ago now. Prolly the one I heard. I was fighting with a one year old and trying to get him to go to bed. Time usually becomes all :?: .
 
Not that long ago, but yup, we heard the same one. Same one. :roll: How can you not hear those things? :mrgreen: EVERYBODY heard it.

:cryinlaugh: :cryinlaugh: :rotflmao: :cryinlaugh: :cryinlaugh:
 
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