from the Dayton Daily News By John Nolan, Staff Writer
The Air Force plans to retire the aging, massive C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and replace them with newer C-17 cargo transport planes sometime between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2012.
The 10 C-5s are to be replaced with eight C-17s, the Air Force said Friday, March 12. Maj. Cynthia Harris, a spokeswoman, said she did not have more precise dates for when the replacements will take place.
The 445th Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit, flies the planes several times a week from Wright-Patterson to carry munitions, weapons, airmen’s belongings and other cargo from the United States to international destinations in support of the global war on terror.
Reservists also often fly the planes in the Dayton area during pilot training runs.
The Air Force has seen rapidly increasing costs for modernizing its more than 100 C-5 planes system-wide, including replacing or overhauling their engines and navigation systems.
The oldest C-5s date to between 1969 and 1980. The C-17s date to the 1980s and 1990s.
The noisy C-5s are among the largest aircraft in the world. Their massive cargo interiors can carry up to 270,000 pounds of cargo, including tanks and helicopters.