Station Virginia -- One of the military's largest transports got stuck at the end of a runway atop the I-564 overpass for more than 16 hours. It was unable to turn around at the West end of Chambers Field at the Norfolk Naval Station. The incident forced the closing of the field to all but helicopter traffic and made for a dramatic sight for hundreds of motorists passing beneath it during morning rush hour.
"That thing's like a big building sitting there.'' said motorists. The nose of the aircraft actually stuck out and OVER the Interstate!
The aircraft's nose was so far over the end of the ramp, the crew was unable to see the runway where it was supposed to turn around so the pilot simply had to leave it at the end of the runway. The Air Force C-5 Galaxy, largest airplane in the free world, is almost as long as a football field and as high as a six-story building.
Weighing 420 tons with a full load, it uses a system of 28 wheels to distribute its weight. The aircraft had to wait for a specially made tow bar trucked in from Dover, Del.! When the tow bar arrived, it was used to hook the C-5 to a tractor that then turned the aircraft around. The plane was not damaged.
The female co-pilot was overheard saying to the male pilot as they exited the plane...
"I told you we should have stopped and asked for directions."
From Charlieb.
The Russian AN-225 is considerably bigger than the C-5.
I'm not sure, but I think the AN-124 is also larger, by a small amount.
Just keepin' ya honest!
Just re-read your post and noticed the qualifier, "free world".
Obviously written when the AN-225 gave the Soviets bragging rights!
I saw an AN-225 fly over my place of employment in Seattle a few years ago as it was lining up to land at Paine Field in Everett. As I remember it made three passes overhead and couldn't have been more than 1500-2000 feet up. Sweet Jesus, THAT THING'S huge. It makes a 747 look like a toy.
Posted by: Gerry N. on October 14, 2005 02:34 AMWHAT IN THE WORLD is your point with this post????
Posted by: Dan S. on October 14, 2005 03:00 AMI wish I could live in America but I am a loser so I can't
Posted by: turdbrain on October 14, 2005 07:41 AMWHAT IN THE WORLD is your point with this post????
Confusing post for sure, as it's somewhat more cylindrical/cone-shaped than pointed.
Posted by: Tessa on October 14, 2005 08:30 AMWhile the AN225 is the largest in the world, there is only one. It was made to transport the Russian space shuttle, much like the modified 747 NASA uses. The AN124 is The largest in production. If you compare the stats, the C-5 and AN124 are very similar, but the C-5 is much older. Apparently the USAF has gotten out of the oneupsman game.
Spec-------------AN-124-----------C-5
Length-----------69.96M-----------75.3M
Wingspan---------73.3M------------67.89M
height-----------20.78M-----------19.84M
max weight-------405,000kg--------381,024kg
Empty------------79400kg----------153,285kg
Loaded-----------229,000kg--------348,810kg
Thrust-----------230kN X4---------191kN X4
Max speed--------865km/h----------917km/h
combat range-----4500km-----------6033km
service ceiling--12,000M----------10,360M
Russia is now in the free world and still owes the AN-225..
So it's the biggest airplane.
Then Airbus A-380 (commercial flight)
Jesus! none of them are U.S!!
How come?
Posted by jesus at October 14, 2005 07:41 AM
The AN-225 was not economically viable and consequently not mass produced.
As you can see from this post, big is not neccesarily better. A big aircraft is limited to where it can land due to maintenance requirements and airport length. Imagine how that'd restrict you in a combat theater.
Posted by: gordon the magnificent on October 14, 2005 09:04 AMThe aircraft's nose was so far over the end of the ramp, the crew was unable to see the runway where it was supposed to turn around so the pilot simply had to leave it at the end of the runway.
I'm still having some difficulty with this explanation. It's like saying the aircrafts nose was already so far in the bay, the crew was unable to see past the water for take-off.
Posted by: Tessa on October 14, 2005 09:15 AMHi All
I worked on the C-5 and C-141 for 4.5 years at the beginning of my military career. C-5 were big pigs. I hated working on them because it was a bitch to get around with maintenance stands and do maintenance on. They were designed to airlift at least 2 M-60 Main battle tanks and beat the Soviet Union in the defense of Western Europe. Wing cracks restricted the payload until this latest version was refitted. By that time, I was out of that field and into computer maintenance. I saw the AN 224 at the Paris Air Show in the late 1980's when I was stationed in Germany. It was showing the former Soviet version of the Space Shuttle riding on top of it. Looked exactly like our space shuttle. They must have bought up every plastic scale model of the U.S. Space shuttle they could find. The AN 224 was an impressive plane but probably an even bigger pain in the ass to work on.
Keep it simple, people....the female co-pilot was overhead saying:
"I told you we should have stopped and asked for directions."
Men get lost...never ask for directions...
Denny! Wasn't that your point?
Posted by: vicki on October 14, 2005 10:14 AM
My point with this post was humor. I thought it was funny so I decided to share it with my readers. Not everyone appreciates my sense of humor. Charlieb does and that's why he sends me stuff like this. And yes, the joke was about the pilot not asking for directions. I'm sorry that some people missed it and went off on a tangent about how some Russian plane was bigger. Turdbrain (Jesus for those who read this post before 11:30 AM)is obviously a French troll. He also has no sense of humor, but I guess that goes along with being French and being a troll.
Posted by: Denny on October 14, 2005 11:38 AMI was just going to laugh at this, read the postings and move on, but then I realised how complicated people were making it. People over complicate things and they turn into big arguements, I think the post "Racist Washing Machines" perfectly explains this. Not all agitators are black... some are French Trolls too!
Posted by: W.T.F on October 14, 2005 01:17 PMI don't think anyone appreciated my sense of humor either..sooooooooo....back to using those girlie smilies...;P Did you know that everyones sense of humor is as different as their fingerprints? I'm surprised in that case how two people can laugh at the same thing sometimes. Just goes to show...can't trust studies.
Posted by: Tessa on October 14, 2005 02:57 PM"My point with this post was humor. "
Huh? You mean you didn't expect stats from other planes or a listing of planes that are bigger or what qualifies as "free world"????
I feel disenfranchised I think. I didn't understand the point and I want a hand repost.
Posted by: Eric(the new guy) on October 14, 2005 04:44 PMShould I start by offering an apology? I guess it's true that if you're walking around with a hammer, lotsa stuff looks like a nail!
Humor? I caught it. Guys are idiots and don't ask for directions. I'm one of 'em. Brought a smile to my face.
But I'm a professional pilot/hammer. I've been at it for nearly 40 years. It was my lame attempt at passing information. I guess it's easy to misunderstand not only other's humor, but well-meaning attempts at passing along technical information/nail.
I'll just shut up and sit down right over here!
Posted by: Greybeard on October 14, 2005 06:36 PMPart of my humor is that face to face, even my closest associates can never tell when I'm joking. Several of the guysd who have worked with me for three or four years have never seen me mad, and the kid who has worked with me for six years claims to have only seen me mad twice. Thats how level I am. I tell jokes with such a straight face, that most people ask if it was a joke.
I love to tell this story about my second sister, (its true). when I was thirteen I took a cooking class for bachlors during the summer. When I got hom from it one day, sis was there. She greeted me with a "So your learning how to cook?" line.
I replied Yup, I've got the TV dinners donw pat, but canned soup has me stumped, every time I put a can on the stove, it blows up!"
She launched into a lengthy speal about what I was doing wrong, while mom, dad, her husband and I stood there laughing. Considering her sence of humor, to this day I wonder, who pulled the better joke?
I think maybe we just need to move around the furniture and hang some new paintings. Probably just a case of bad Feng Shui.
Posted by: Tessa on October 14, 2005 08:08 PMI saw an Antonov a couple of weeks ago, in South Carolina. Big mother. It was flying parts in to the BMW plant in Greenville. I watched it take off--the TSA guy there said it needs every inch of the runway to get into the air.
Posted by: Rick C on October 14, 2005 08:28 PMDenny: Turdbrain? French? What else do you expect from a country that calls a swimming pool a "peess enn"?
Posted by: Tessa on October 14, 2005 08:45 PMRick C - As Greybeard would attest, if that sucker needs every bit of runway, taking off on a hot day must be a real thrill!
Greybeard - I'm a pilot also. I never got my license 'cause the FAA won't let me fly on some of my meds. I do have 6 solo hours. I'm thinking of getting a recreational license if I can find the right plane to buy that is in that category. It has to be sumpin' I can do the preflight on.
Posted by: Denny on October 14, 2005 09:04 PM"Damn it Nigel,let me see that bleeding flight plan again"
Posted by: starboardside on October 15, 2005 12:37 PMTurdbrain is a troll, that's because he's dumb, not because he's French.
Denny we have a good sense of humor, sadly your site gets some guys excited and they just troll 'cause they're angry or frustrated I don't know.
This is a good joke, when things go wrong, women always end saying something like "I told you we should have ..."
I love Tessa's joke. We indeed call a swimming pool a piscine and that sounds like "piss in". I never noticed it before. thx :))