Good Morning All,

Yaba Daba Do!  It's Friday!
 

News and Comments....

It a C-5M news day here at the Chronicles.  (I wonder where in the Warbirds
area we'll park one when they finally retire them and someone buys one .):

"Dover Airmen Fly First C-5M to Iraq

(Dover AFB, Del., February 3, 2010) -- A Dover Air Force Base C-5M Super
Galaxy aircrew delivering over 85,000 pounds of equipment for troops
supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and was the first C-5M to land in Iraq in
late January.

Dover AFB officials have three C-5M aircraft that have completed the
operational testing phase and are about to enter the conversion phase. 

"It's satisfying to get the aircraft into the fight delivering much needed
supplies to the troops in the field," said Lt. Col. Mike Semo, the 709th
Airlift Squadron pilot and C-5M Program Office chief. 

The aircraft not only delivered the cargo on short notice, but also was able
to arrive back to base ahead of schedule.

"Everyone in the C-5 community, including our crew, is very aware of past,
present and future C-5M operations," said Capt. Nicholas Cobb, a 9th Airlift
Squadron C-5M evaluator pilot. "When the 9th AS was tasked with this
Operation Iraqi Freedom channel mission on Jan. 18, we knew this would be
the first C-5M mission to actually land in Iraq. The entire crew was
extremely excited and proud of this first-time accomplishment. Not only did
we successfully accomplish the mission, but also we were four for four with
on-time takeoffs, demonstrating the improved reliability of the C-5M. We
arrived at Dover almost 1.5 hours earlier than originally scheduled by the
(618th) Tanker Airlift Control Center."

Once the aircraft has been approved for direct delivery capability, Dover
AFB aircrews will be able to fly cargo directly to Iraq without stopping to
refuel. 

"We've tested the ability to fly this aircraft directly to the Middle East
with 33 direct flights to Incirlik, Turkey and returning direct Dover,"
Colonel Semo said. "Now that it's been tested and proven, the only
requirement is the final approval to be able to accomplish direct flights.
This will allow us to develop a wider range of strategic abilities around
the C-5M aircraft and will significantly decrease the time the aircraft
spends on the ground. In some cases, this will save us over a day in travel
time."

After setting 41 world records with the C-5M, being the first to fly the
aircraft into Iraq, the Dover AFB aircrew is already looking toward the next
first, using the aircraft to fly supplies to Airmen in Afghanistan."

And in a related story:

"C-5: On Jan. 20, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) certified
41 world aeronautical records for the C-5M. A joint USAF and Aeronautics
C-5M crew set the records in a single C-5M flight from Dover AFB, Del.,
Sept. 13, 2009. The records include altitude in horizontal flight, altitude
with payload, time-to-climb, time-to-climb with payload, and greatest
payload to 2,000 meters."
 

Closing Thoughts...

A people that values its privileges above its principles will soon lose
both…
 

That's it for today, have a good weekend, and be careful out there,

Roger

Copyright 2010 by Roger M. Tener, with individual rights reverting back
to contributors after this one time use.  All opinions and versions of
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