Facelift for a Giant

The first of the Air Force’s C-5M Super Galaxy transports is with the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing in Newburgh where maintainers are hard at work trimming out its capacious interior and giving it a much-needed facelift. C-5s “have been in constant motion since Sept. 11,” and with airmen spending up to 11 hours en route to combat theaters, the state of the C-5s’ interior is a “quality-of-life” issue, an official with Air Force Reserve Command’s 512th AW at Dover AFB, Del., told the Daily Report Tuesday during a visit to Dover. The Delaware base is home to the first C-5Ms. The C-5M undergoing work in Newburgh pioneers the C-5’s “new look” interior that the entire C-5 fleet will eventually receive as airframes come in for annual inspection. In addition to touchup and deep cleaning, the fleet will receive new soundproofing, upholstery, paint, and a lavatory upgrade, replacing tattered turquoise batting and flesh-toned paint with a fresher, more livable ambience. (See Newburgh report)