The first C-5M Super Galaxy is now at Dover AFB, Del., undergoing its first isochronal inspection—a process that takes about 14 days and that every C-5 must undergo about every 420 days to ensure it meets safety and operations standards. The use of the M designation means the aircraft has undergone the complete Aircraft Modernization Program and Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program the Air Force is currently testing for the C-5 fleet. Lockheed Martin finished work on this first M model last spring.
With the Air Force in the midst of its biggest testing boom in decades, the Maintenance Operational Test (MxOT) Division at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., is making sure those tests include an often-overlooked perspective: that of maintainers.