The F-22 fighter jet flew for the first time on September 7, 1997, from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta. At the beginning of this test flight, which lasted more than an hour, the aircraft reached an altitude of 15,000 feet in less than three minutes.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Compared with earlier models of C-130 Hercules cargo planes, Lockheed Martin's C-130J has a higher cruising altitude and can reach 28,000 feet in fourteen minutes.
Photograph by Wikimedia
In the mid-1960s the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter became the first all-jet cargo plane to deploy in the U.S. Air Force. It quickly became the air force's airlift mainstay. Its wide body can accommodate a variety of missions, including personnel and equipment transport, disaster relief, and cargo supplies.Â
Photograph by Wikimedia
One of the biggest aircraft ever made, Lockheed's C-5 Galaxy first flew in 1968. The plane has a wingspan of nearly 223 feet, is 247 feet long and 65 feet high, and can carry 135 tons of cargo.Â
Photograph from the U.S. Air Force
A C-141A Starlifter flies over the Rocky Mountains in 1972. The first C-141A, a troop transport and cargo carrier for the U.S. Air Force, was completed in 1963. The aircraft was designed and built by Lockheed-Georgia in Marietta.
Courtesy of Robins Air Force Base
The C-141 Starlifter is a versatile jet aircraft known as the "workhorse" of the U.S. Air Force. Initially introduced in 1963 by Lockheed-Georgia, the aircraft has been updated twice since that time and is used for more than thirty types of transport missions.
Photograph from U.S. Air Force
The C-141B, a transport aircraft designed in the 1970s at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta. Adapted from the earlier C-141A model, the C-141B features a universal air-fueling receptacle that allows for longer nonstop flights.
Image from Rob Schleiffert
The C-141C model aircraft was designed during the late 1990s to improve upon the earlier C-141 Starlifter models. Its many technological advancements include a digital autopilot and the All Weather Flight Control System.
Courtesy of Robins Air Force Base
The Lockheed-Georgia C-5 Galaxy can carry 135 tons of cargo, making it the largest production aircraft built in the United States and a vital part of any military action in which large amounts of material need to be airlifted around the world. It has a wingspan of just under 223 feet and is 247 feet long and 65 feet high.
At both ends of the C-5 Galaxy aircraft large doors can swing open to the cargo deck, and two rows of vehicles can drive on and off at the same time.
The airframe of a C-5 Galaxy that has received structural upgrades will maintain its integrity for an estimated 50,000 flight hours before being retired. This means that many of the planes now in service can keep flying until past 2060.
The high tail of the C-130 Hercules allows room for a large cargo door that lowers to form a ramp. With a length of 97 feet and wingspan of 132 feet, the C-130J can carry up to 46,631 pounds. In troop transport configuration, it can accommodate 92 combat troops or 64 paratroopers. The aircraft can fly up to 2,729 miles and has a maximum speed of 417 miles per hour.
With a wide fuselage, distinctive high tail, and multiwheeled landing gear, the C-130 Hercules is one of the most versatile and rugged transport aircraft ever built. Beyond its role as a versatile cargo and troop transport, C-130s are used as bombers, cannon-firing gunships, hurricane hunters, aerial refueling tankers, air ambulances, firefighters, and even aerial sprayers.
A B-29 bomber being assembled at the Bell Aircraft Corporation, circa 1943.
Courtesy of Atlanta History Center.
(Left to right) Frank Shaw of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Cobb County commissioner George McMillan, Atlanta Chamber representative Ivan Allen Sr., county attorney James V. Carmichael, and Marietta mayor Rip Blair pose for publicity pictures at the groundbreaking of Bell Bomber on April 2, 1942.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, # cob496a.
(Left to right) James V. Carmichael, general manager of the Bell Aircraft Corporation; Lawrence D. Bell, founder and president of Bell Aircraft; and Leon M. Blair, mayor of Marietta, enjoy a party at Blair's home in 1949. Carmichael holds a cane, which he walked with for most of his life, after being struck by a car at age sixteen.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #cob497a.
Bell Aircraft Corporation built B-29 bombers at its Marietta, Georgia, plant during World War II.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, # cob202.
