United States Air Reserve Tech Sgt. Kevin Godek of Palmer attaches a power supply to a C-5M Super Galaxy as he works in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
CHICOPEE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) — Working seven stories above the shop floor and strapped in by cables to the wing of a giant aircraft isn’t in the job description of most people. For Air Force technicians at Westover Air Reserve Base, it’s simply what they do day in and day out.
The C-5M Super Galaxy transport jets that call Westover home have a cargo bay 143 feet long, which is 20-feet longer than the Wright Brothers first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.
The galaxies are used to transport military assets and emergency supplies around the world.
Just like your car, these giants need to come in for service. Fluid leak? Tire change? All of it gets done in the huge pull-through hangar that can house an entire plane.
More than two years ago, Westover welcomed their eighth and final upgraded C-5M Super Galaxy to the base. The upgraded planes having engines with 22% more thrust and 20% improved fuel efficiency. The retrofitted planes are also much quieter. The eight aircraft represent a $720 million investment by the Department of Defense.
United States Air Reserve Master Sgt. Anthony Botass and Tech Sgt. Joshua Newman work on the aileron of a C-5M in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
United States Air Reserve senior Airman Alex Lowe moves a ladder in the belly of a C-5M Super Galaxy in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
United States Air Reserve Staff Sgt. Shaun Day of Warren is dwarfed by the engines of a C-5M Super Galaxy as he works in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
Technicians use flashlights to examine a possible fluid leak on a C-5M Super Galaxy in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
United States Air Reserve Master Sgt. Anthony Botass and Tech Sgt. Joshua Newman work high above the ground on the wing of a C-5M Super Galaxy transport plane in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
United States Air Reserve Master Sgt. Anthony Botass of Tolland, and Tech Sgt. Joshua Newman of Enfield, work on the aileron of a C-5M Super Galaxy in a maintenance hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. (Don Treeger, The Republican/TNS)
©2022 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit masslive.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
