Friday, September 15, 2017

United States Air Force (USAF) Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy 87-0032 Departs Rockhampton Airport for Andersen Air Force Base in Guam as "Reach 340"

After arriving into Rockhampton Airport the previous day and seemingly again being unable to be loaded due to recurring problems with its front landing gear, the visiting United States Air Force (USAF) Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy (L-500) 87-0032 departed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Friday 15 September again as "Reach 340".  It appears that nothing was loaded into the Galaxy and so it departed empty.




Local plane spotters Ben O, 'IAD' and Daniel B were at different parts at and around Rockhampton Airport and they captured some great photos as the massive USAF military transport aircraft made a spectacular departure off Rocky's Runway 15, completing a nice left-hand turn to set course for Guam.


































Of interest, and as we've mentioned previously, the Galaxy 87-0032 is flown by the USAF's 22nd Airlift Squadron (22nd AS) "Mulies" which is part of the 60th Air Mobility Wing based at Travis Air Force Base in California.



It is the 26th USAF C-5 to be converted to a C-5M 'Super Galaxy' which features new General Electric F138-GE-100 (CF6-80C2) engines, pylons and auxiliary power units, upgrades to aircraft skin and frame, landing gear, pressurisation systems and modernised avionics designed to extend its service life beyond 2040.

One would assume that with the supposed cargo that the Galaxy was due to transport - the two Combatant Craft Medium (CCM) Mk 1 Stealth Boats which are operated by the United States Navy SEAL's - being still in a compound at Rockhampton, perhaps another USAF C-5 Galaxy could be due to arrive at Rockhampton Airport in the coming days!

Be sure to stay tuned to the CQ Plane Spotting Blog for all the latest news and updates on any possible future movements of the mighty USAF C-5M Super Galaxy via our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/cqplanespotting/

Sincere thanks to local plane spotters Ben O, 'IAD' and Daniel B for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos of the Galaxy departing Rockhampton Airport!

Photos taken by Ben O'Dowd, 'IAD' and Daniel Bishop  ©

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