Tag Archives: c-5

Air Force Endorses New England Patriots over Ravens

A C-5 Galaxy — the US Air Force’s largest cargo aircraft — from Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, performed a flyby of Gillette Stadium at the conclusion of the National Anthem on Sunday.  The ceremony opened the NFL Patriots-Ravens football game.

Inscribed along the bottom of the aircraft, visible from the stands, was an emblem and “Go Pats!”  The Patriots went on to win.

You never know, fighter aircraft flybys may have similar endorsements on their lower wings or fuselages…  Read more

Air Force Pilots told to Save Fuel

According to an Air Force Times article, the Air Force is directing its pilots to plan and conduct their missions more efficiently to save fuel.

Interestingly, while the article focuses on fighter pilots, fighter pilots are the ones least able to contribute to the fuel-saving effort.  LtGen William Rew noted that the restrictions on fuel consumption did not apply to the “combat phase of a training sortie.”  For a fighter, that would mean that the fuel-savings mentality would be valid for only a few minutes on each flight.

In addition, the “efficient” flying suggestions won’t necessarily change fuel consumption.  For example, the article notes that pilots are told to return home at 300 knots rather than 350 — but that assumes pilots were flying at the faster airspeed to begin with.  It also assumes the relative fuel burn between those two speeds is large enough to be Read more