C-5B Galaxy at Boeing Field &


Message posted by Christian Bryan on August 05, 2005 at 22:46:19 PST:

This is a story I've wanted to share for some time; waiting for the right place to tell it! I'm sure alot of you have read about when that C-5 was parked at Boeing field some years back. It was there for about a week or so. I know there have been a few reputed sightings of a nose portion of something exotic being loaded/unloaded on a C-5. At the time the C-5 was here, I was at a friends party one evening, sandwiched between Boeing Field and West Seattle. I was playing some music for people (I'm one of those "Good for nothing long haired rock musicians", so you may want to drop this post right here) Just being polite. After we kind of stopped around 2:30 AM, things got more mellow, and I picked up my Indian Sitar, like I often do after hours. Just relaxing playing; then around 4:15 AM I started to hear this roar, and I MEAN ROAR!! Something was on a take-off roll, and I had to see what it was! Unfortunately, where I was situated, it was impossible to get a good look at the runway (Everyone thought I was NUTS jumping up to see some airplane, but everybody also commented on the incredible decible level of this aircraft) I was scrambling outside, literally jumping on hoods of cars to try and get a view (It's pitch black outside of course) Nothing seemed to be materialising, the roar just continued for quite awhile. Then finally I could see a pair of nav lights lifting off to the south in a pretty shallow takeoff; quite a flat attitude. What sticks with me that is either interesting or contradictory, is the fact that this airplane was moving quite slowly; nothing high performance about the take-off at all. There were too many buildings, houses in the way, so I only got a glimpse for about 10-15 seconds. I knew it was'nt the C-5; the GE TF-39's have a distinct whirring to them, and of course they are'nt that loud. The only thing the sound was similar to, was an old KC-135A, with the P&W J-57-P29WA engines under full power w/ water injection. Of course, by this time, they were almost all KC-135B's or R's, and much quieter. And have not seen any tankers of any kind fly into Boeing field for a long, long time. There was no whine at all to the sound of these engines; just a deafening roar from the start. I really can't recall if I remember the so-called "Low rumbling"; there was way too much roar to notice any rumbling. I've been watching/listening to airplanes my whole life (Dad was an airline pilot), and have never heard anything quite like this before or since. The 4 AM departure is also intriguing (I can only imagine the switchboard lighting up with noise complaints!) What would deflate my story, would be why Boeing Field? In front of everybody?! Unless it HAD to depart from there. I'd LOVE to hear some feedback on this, and if anyone has any more info they could share. Best regards, Christian Bryan PS- The word "Aurora" was in circulation by this time, and I do remember commenting to a friend that night that I really thought that's what was, or SR-75, or something! It was louder than hell.

Attached link: The Boxart Den

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