America’s $8 Billion Disaster That Refused to Die

Test pilot Leo Sullivan straps in and pushes the throttles, bringing the massive C-5A Galaxy’s TF39 turbofans to life. It’s taken years of painstaking engineering just to get here. It needed wings strong enough to carry two battle tanks and six helicopters across the world. Its landing gear and structural frames have been redrawn from scratch just to ensure this titan can stand on its own. But the result has been worth it. With a wingspan stretching longer than a football field and a silhouette that towers over the runway like a building, this is the largest aircraft America has ever built. The giant slowly picks up speed. Sullivan pushes the throttles at maximum capacity; engines burning 80 gallons of fuel a minute as it nears the end of the runway. Time to see if America can get 380,000 pounds of metal into the sky. --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.