Continuing the theme of late of heavy long-range USAF cargo aircraft, here is the C-141 Starlifter:
The Air Force might have wanted to replace its Globemasters and Cargomasters with the Starlifter, but it really couldn't. The piston-engined Globemaster could lift 50% more cargo by weight than could the Starlifter; the Cargomaster lifted double the weight of a Starlifter.
Of course, the Starlifter was faster. Later in their service life, the Starlifters were given the ability to be refueled in flight.
The Starlifter was also designed to meet civilian certification rules, though none were ever sold.
Starlifters served from 1965 to 2006, being replaced by the C-17.
Back in the early `90s, I made a more than one trip down the Atlantic coast to the Sun `N Fun airshow. I was flying down the New Jersey coast at about 8,500' (having overtopped the NYC TCA) when I saw a string of C-141s pass beneath me, heading into McGuire AFB. They were too far away to get a decent photo, but it was still quite the sight.
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