Embry-Riddle Air Force ROTC Cadets Climb Onboard Air Force’s Largest Plane

For dozens of Air Force ROTC cadets at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a tour of a C-5M Super Galaxy — which can carry two M1 Abrams tanks — inspired awe and provided insights into the inner workings of the Air Force’s largest plane.

The tours of the C-5M Super Galaxy, parked at Sheltair at Daytona Beach International Airport, came courtesy of Maj. David Cryder, assistant director of operations for the 9th Airlift Squadron and a 2014 graduate of Embry-Riddle.

Cryder also served as a cadet with Detachment 157 at the Daytona Beach Campus, the same unit as the cadets who eagerly scaled the C-5M Super Galaxy, which stands 65 feet tall, equivalent to a building of more than six stories.

“It’s a pretty surreal moment to be bringing this plane to where it all started and to show the next generation of cadets what their life could look like if they stay in the books and keep working hard,” he said.

Cryder’s aviation journey did not begin with the idea that he “was going to fly the world’s largest cargo aircraft,” he said. He graduated with a B.S. in Applied Meteorology and then trained as a pilot after he was commissioned as a lieutenant.

“As I've looked back over the last ten years, I am incredibly thankful that I ended up in this airplane, which was part of my motivation of bringing the asset here,” he said. “I want the cadets to know that there's more to being an Air Force pilot than necessarily being a fighter pilot or a bomber pilot. There are a litany of options available to them.”

Cadets climbed to the upper-level flight deck, where they sat at the plane’s controls. They also toured the massive cargo bay and an upper level that contains the crew’s rest area.  

Lt. Austin Wood, who was among the 9th Airlift Squadron team showing the plane’s flight operations, explained that the C-5M Super Galaxy requires a crew of at least nine for an overseas mission, including two flight engineers, three pilots, two loadmasters and two crew chiefs.

“It’s a very crew-intensive plane,” he said. “So we try to emphasize that moving forward, you're going to need to be a team player to succeed.”

For Cryder, it’s not the plane’s size that he likes to tout but the crew and their mission, which he said have made his time with the C-5M Super Galaxy so rewarding.

“We'll go through some of our locations moving our cargo, and the crew becomes like your family,” he said.

By having the cadets tour the plane and speak to its crew members, Cryder also wanted to give them a glimpse of what their futures hold once they become commissioned officers.

“They are now in charge of other people, and you are expected to rise to the occasion,” he said.

That future is near for Bradley Rhoads, cadet wing commander for Detachment 157, who will graduate in December of this year with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering.

“Obviously, seeing the jet and sitting in the chair is cool,” Rhoads said. “But going up and talking to the crew and getting their experiences about what their day-to-day life is like, that was definitely my favorite part.”

Col. Gregory Adams, commander of the detachment, said that “opportunities like these allow cadets to learn about active-duty life and the numerous career fields available to them.”

“If you are looking for unique opportunities like this, please come see us,” he added.