Expert: James Bell - 9/14/2006

Question
Is it hard to fly the C-5 galaxys since they're so huge? How about the KC-10? How much fuel do those aerial tankers carry?

Answer
Greetings Kevin -

Here are some basic numbers for each aircraft ...

KC-10A:
 Maximum Takeoff Weight - 590,000
 Maximum Fuel Load - 350,000 lbs (50,000 gallons)

C-5B:
 Maximum Takeoff Weight - 769,000
 Maximum Fuel Load - 325,000 lbs (46,425 gallons)

With the use of hydraulics to power the flight controls, flying any aircraft is as easy as driving your car.  Of course, the heavier it is, the slower it is to respond to your inputs, but you get used to that.  Most pilots adjust to the size of the aircraft relatively quickly.  Many have commented, however, that they do encounter problems when they transition to another aircraft.

I had one pilot friend who went into C-21s after flying the C-5.  The C-21 is a military variant of the Gates 25 Learjet.  His problem was, when he was coming in to land, he was used to still being 50 feet in the air when the main landing gear touched down on the runway.  In the Learjet you are only 15 feet in the air, so he had a tendency to be VERY high.  With practice, he got used to the smaller aircraft.

I started out on the C-5, then transitioned to the C-141.  I thought the C-5 was a flying warehouse, until I got used to it.  Then, to me it was normal.  I moved on to the C-141 and felt crampt.  After a year, it was now normal for me.  I then went and flew on a C-5 as a passenger and it felt like a flying warehouse again.  You always tend to get used to the plane you fly on as the normal size, and everything else is either bigger or smaller.

In addition to the hydraulics, there is a lot of electronic automation.  On the KC-10 the pilots engage the autopilot shortly after takeoff, then simply make changes to their altitude, airspeed or heading by dialing them into the autopilot.  The electronics actually flies the plane after that.

There are also many safety features built into the system.  You can't tell the aircraft to fly too slow for the current altitude and weight, as the computer will only allow it to slow to the slowest safe airspeed.  Many of the flight controls also have safety features that, if you tell the airplace to fly too fast, it will retract the flaps to prevent damage to them.

If you would like to see more on the aircraft I crewed during my Air Force career, visit my family website at ...

http://64.41.64.113/home/Air_Force.html

There are several links on the pages that will take you to other places, namely where you can see all the specs for each of the aircraft.

There are many more things I could tell you, but I think this answers your basic question.  If you have anymore, don't hesitate to write back.

Sincerely,
James Bell