Today’s Gulf War I Photo
Honestly. It’ll fit. We do this all the time.
As a matter of fact, they wrote the book on it.
Loading an HMH-466 CH53E Super Stallion into C-5.
You’ll notice it’s green. No spray cans yet.
MCAS El Toro.
Military Thingies | Mr. Bingley | 
January 20, 2006 2:25 pm
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Good god, it reminds me of an anaconda consuming a goat…
Way to go, give Ken a heart attack why dontcha…..
That picture reminds me of a story. An ex-army (82nd airborne) buddy told me this story. I do not know if he saw this happen or heard about it.
Apparently there was a small corporate Lear jet preparing to taxi at the air base. You know, the kind the Generals use.
Anyway. While sitting on the tarmac, a C-5 taxied up behind the little jet and stopped. Then the front cargo door opened up like in your photo.
The pilot in the small jet nervously radioed the tower asking what the C-5 was doing behind them. The crew from the C-5 radioed:
C-5: We’re going to eat you.
Jet: What was that? Tower, please repeat. What’s going on?
Tower: Well apparently, they’re going to eat you.
Heheheheheh….
My buddy Jeff did this for a living in the Air Force. He could probably tell stories too.
See the plywood on the ramp of the C-5? that’s called rolling shoring. Since the entire weight of the chopper is on (it appears) three wheels, the wood helps spread the weight and protect the floor.
The C-5 has a max take-off weight of about 3/4 of a million pounds. I met one on the ground @ Dover AFB which had seven other little stunt planes in it.
When the aircraft is full of palletized cargo, the aircrew helps us out by leaving the plane tilted a little nose up, so it’s easy to roll the cargo off the rear. Unfortunately, the floor is left in that position when it’s time to upload.
Without cargo and fuel, the C-5 is not in balance and cannot fly. So ballast pallets, AKA “pet rocks”, are loaded in the front of the aircraft for lightly-fueled “circle the flagpole” type training missions.
Above the cargo compartment is a passenger compartment where 73 folks can sit in airline seats and enjoy a full kitchen. And a real bathroom; you don’t have to poop in a trash can like in the old C-130.
Very cool.