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Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
Cargo Aircraft
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
is a military strategic airlifter in service
with the United States Air Force. Introduced
to replace slower piston-engined cargo planes
such as the C-124 Globemaster II, the C-141
was designed to a 1960 requirement and first
flew in 1963; production deliveries of an
eventual 248 began in 1965, and the aircraft
is still in service almost 40 years later,
although the USAF plans to withdraw the C-141
from service in 2006 when sufficient C-17
Globemaster III aircraft are available.
A C-141 Starlifter leaves
a vapor trail over AntarcticaThe original
Starlifter model, the C-141A, could carry
138 passengers, 80 litters for wounded, or
ten standard 463L pallets with a total of
62,700 pounds (28,900 kg) of cargo. The C-141
could also carry a Minuteman missile. It was
soon discovered that the aircraft's volume
capacity was relatively low in comparison
to its lifting capacity; it generally ran
out of physical space long before it hit its
weight limit.
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