Tue, Sep 21, 2004
Last Active Duty Starlifters Retired
The last two Lockheed C-141 Starlifters on active military duty
in the US arrived at Davis-Monthan AFB (AZ), their last journey
before retirement.
"It was a fantastic airplane," retired loadmaster Ron Nicklaus,
67, of Harrisburg (PA), told the Delaware News-Journal. "It was an
excellent airplane. It's like your dad's station wagon. You could
fill it up, and it would go anywhere."
The first C-141 was delivered to Tinker AFB (OK) in 1964 -- the
first transport jet in the military arsenal.
There are still 20 Starlifters on the ramp at reserve bases in
Ohio and California. They're slated to be retired in 2006, when
they'll be replaced by C-17 Globemasters.
C-141 Facts
General Characteristics
Primary Function: Cargo
and troop transport
Contractor: Lockheed-Georgia Co.
Power Plant: Four Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-7 turbofan
engines
Thrust: 20,250 pounds, each engine
Wingspan: 160 feet (48.7 meters)
Length: 168 feet, 4 inches (51 meters
Height: 39 feet, 3 inches (11.9 meters)
Cargo Compartment: Height, 9 feet 1 inch (2.77 meters); length, 93
feet 4 inches (28.45 meters); width, 10 feet 3 inches (3.12
meters)
Cargo Door: width, 10.25 feet (3.12 meters); height, 9.08 feet
(2.76 meters)
Speed: 500 mph (Mach 0.74) at 25,000 feet
Ceiling: 41,000 feet (12,496 meters) at cruising speed
Range: Unlimited with in-flight refueling
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 323,100 lbs (146,863 kilograms)
Load: Either 200 troops, 155 paratroops, 103 litters and 14 seats,
or 68,725 lbs (31,239 kilograms) of cargo
Unit Cost: $47.4 million (fiscal 2002 constant dollars)
Crew: Five or six: two pilots, two flight engineers and one
loadmaster and one navigator (added for airdrops). Aeromedical
teams are two flight nurses and three medical technicians each are
added for aeromedical evacuation missions.
Date Deployed: C-141A: October 1964; C-141B: December 1979; C-141C:
October 1997.
Inventory: Active duty, 0; Air Force Reserve, 20
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