2011 PARIS AIR SHOW -- Check out this panoramic shot of the 2011 Paris Air Show Static display that I took yesterday from the roof hatch of one of only five Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxys in existence. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience. Notice how small that C-17 Globemaster III looks.
The airplane has been upgraded with a glass cockpit, digital flight controls and GPS navigation system and the old GE TF39 engines have been replaced with new GE CF-6 engines that increase thrust by more than 20 percent. The upgrades are meant to help keep the largest jets in the U.S. military flying for decades more.
More on this airplane, which served as a test plane for the C-5M program, later.
Many thanks to Kelli Bland of EUCOM public affairs and Lt. Col. Lee Merkle of Dover AFB, Delaware, where this Galaxy is based.
