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Subject: Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
Date: 7 Jan 2017 16:05:23 -0800
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-141_Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with
the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the
Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of
the United States Air Force (USAF). The aircraft also served with airlift and
air mobility wings of the Air Force Reserve (AFRES), later renamed Air Force
Reserve Command (AFRC), the Air National Guard (ANG) and, later, one air
mobility wing of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) dedicated to
C-141, C-5, C-17 and KC-135 training.
Introduced to replace slower propeller driven cargo planes such as the C-124
Globemaster II and C-133 Cargomaster, the C-141 was designed to requirements set
in 1960 and first flew in 1963. Production deliveries of an eventual 285 planes
began in 1965: 284 for the Air Force, and one for the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) for use as an airborne observatory. The aircraft
remained in service for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s
from service in 2006, after replacing the airlifter with the C-17 Globemaster
III.
President John F. Kennedy's first official act after his inauguration was to
order the development of the Lockheed 300 on 13 March 1961, with a contract for
five aircraft for test and evaluation to be designated the C-141. One unusual
aspect of the aircraft was that it was designed to meet both military and civil
airworthiness standards. The prototype C-141A serial number 61-2775 was
manufactured and assembled in record time. The prototype was rolled out of the
Lockheed factory at Marietta, Georgia on 22 August 1963 and first flew on 17
December, the 60th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight. The company
and the Air Force then started an operational testing program and the delivery
of 284 aircraft.
An effort to sell the aircraft on the civilian market resulted in provisional
orders from Flying Tiger Line and Slick Airways for four aircraft each. These
were to be a stretched version, 37 feet (11 m) longer than the C-141A, and
marketed as the L-300 SuperstarLifter. Other changes were also incorporated to
make it more commercial, including a different yoke. The development was not
sustained and only one civilian demonstration aircraft was built. When no
commercial sales were made Lockheed donated the aircraft to NASA.
Role
Strategic airlifter
Manufacturer
Lockheed
First flight
17 December 1963
Introduction
April 1965
Retired
May 2006
Primary users
United States Air Force
NASA
Produced
Number built
285
In October 1973, C-141s and C-5s airlifted supplies from the United States to
Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War as part of Operation Nickel Grass. Over
the course of the operation, C-141s flew 422 missions and carried a total of
10,754 tons of cargo.
The first strategic airlift flight of Operation Desert Shield was flown by a MAC
C-141 of the 437th Military Airlift Wing out of Charleston AFB, SC, on 7 August
1990. The C-141 proved to be a workhorse airlifter of Operations Desert Shield
and Desert Storm, flying 159,462 short tons (144,661,000 kg) of cargo and 93,126
passengers during 8,536 airlift missions.
On 1 June 1992, following the disestablishment of Military Airlift Command, all
C-141s and the airlift wings to which they were assigned were transferred to the
newly established Air Mobility Command (AMC). Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)
and Air National Guard (ANG) C-141s and units were also transferred to AMC.
On 16 September 2004, the C-141 left service with all active duty USAF units,
being confined to Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units for the
remainder of its operational service life. As of 25 September 2005, there were
only eight C-141 aircraft still flying, all from the Air Force Reserve's 445th
Airlift Wing (445 AW) at Wright-Patterson AFB. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, the
C-141s assigned to the 445 AW participated in missions to Iraq and Afghanistan,
mostly for the medical evacuation of wounded service members. The last eight
C-141s were officially retired in 2006.
In 1994 one of the aircraft at Wright-Patterson AFB was identified by its crew
chief as the Hanoi Taxi (AF Serial Number 66-0177), the first aircraft to land
in North Vietnam in 1973 for Operation Homecoming in the final days of the
Vietnam War, to repatriate American POWs from North Vietnam.
In 2005, Hanoi Taxi and other aircraft were marshalled by the Air Force to
provide evacuation for those seeking refuge from Hurricane Katrina. This
aircraft and others evacuated thousands of people, including the medical
evacuation (MEDEVAC) of hundreds of ill and injured.
With the 5 May 2005 announcement of the retirement of these last eight C-141s,
the Hanoi Taxi embarked on a series of flights, giving veterans, some of whom
flew out of POW captivity in Vietnam in this aircraft, the opportunity to
experience one more flight before retirement. On 6 May 2006, the Hanoi Taxi
landed for the last time and was received in a formal retirement ceremony at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base near Dayton.
15 aircraft including the "Hanoi Taxi" are now on static display at various air
museums around the United States, all the remaining airframes retired to the
"boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona have been scrapped.
Specifications (C-141B Starlifter)
General characteristics
loadmaster routinely used, in later years navigators were only carried on
airdrop missions); 5 medical crew (2 nurse, 3 medical technician) on medevac
flights
Length: 168 ft 4 in (51.3 m)
Wingspan: 160 ft 0 in (48.8 m)
Height: 39 ft 3 in (12 m)
Empty weight: 144,492 lb (65,542 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 342,100 lb (147,000 kg)
each
Performance
Maximum speed: 567 mph (493 kn, 912 km/h)
Range: 2,935 mi (2,550 nmi, 4,723 km)
Ferry range: 6,140 mi (5,330 nmi, 9,880 km)
Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,500 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s)
Thrust/weight: 0.25
*
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