Boeing YC-14

My father was Chief of Flight Controls Systems for the YC-14 in the 1970s and he loved working on that airplane. Never forget when he came home the day it was canceled. The Air Force changed the specs after the airplane was in flight test which doomed the project.

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I began working at Boeing Aerospace Company's Visual Fight Simulator in Kent, Washington, in October 1972. I worked on the flight simulator development and pilot training for the YC-14. I recall waiting for several days for good weather for the maiden test flight. The test pilot, Ray McPherson, continued flying the simulator each day, until the phone call came that the weather was good. We all jumped in a car and followed Ray to Boeing field where we watched the YC-14 lift off on its maiden journey, accompanied by two chase planes. It was a thrill for us when Ray landed and said the craft flew just like the simulator. Ray was an incredible pilot and great aerodynamics engineer to work with on the plane development. The other pilots would comment that you could give Ray a rock to fly and he would make it look good. I believe the co-pilot that day was Dale Rantz.

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In the late 1970's I was working for Pacific Telephone on Edwards AFB. One morning while driving south west on Rosamond Blvd a Boeing YC-14 came across the road at a 90 degree angle from my right. It was going so slow you would think it was hanging motionless in the air by a "sky-hook". The normal landing pattern on Rodger's dry lake is parallel to Rosamond Blvd, but this guy was landing on the lake from the side. It was only 200 feet in front of me and maybe 500 feet high. He had his Flaps down and seemed to be floating on the air like a balloon. What an airplane!

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I was stationed at Langley AFB, VA from late '76 to '79. I saw the YC 14 preform in '77 or '78. Have awesome pictures from that display.

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Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here knows the dimensions of the interior cargo hold for the bird? I can't find the information anywhere on the internet. If you could help me out, I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

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I was a Boeing Quality Assurance Inspector and worked on this aircraft as it was built in the Developmental Center in Seattle. It was a great engineering, planning, and manufacturing team effort that we all took great pride in being a part of. We enjoyed watching it being assembled and then we standing outside when it made its' first flight.

It was a great project and deserved better. The Carter Administration was one of the poorest ever.

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I was stationed at Edwards AFB during the AMST Program. Both the YC-14 and YC-15 aircraft were very capable, and we witnessed many test operations while the competition was in progress. The YC-14 was hangared adjacent to our building (Base Operations) and we included that hangar on our occasional tours we gave transient flight crews. Boeing didn't mind, as long as we let them know ahead of time. The YC-14 is deceptively large. If you view the aircraft from a distance, it looks comparatively small, but up close, it's huge. I sat in the cockpit of the YC-14, and it had some fairly normal instrumentation. I was impressed with the ergonomics of the cockpit design, and the visibility was outstanding. I remember the YC-15 heading to Yuma for testing, and the YC-14 being flown to AFMC Headquarters in Dayton, OH (Wright Patterson AFB)to be included in the Air Force Museum after the program was cancelled. The entire AMST effort was overshadowed by the Space Shuttle ALT Program, and hardly anyone noticed those funny looking cargo planes were gone.

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Sometime during my assignment to Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ (Sep 1977 - Sep 1980), I watched both the YC-14 and YC-15 prototypes land to be prepped and put into the Boneyard

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The flight demo was even more impressive than the "new" F-16 from GD. Jimmy Carter just couldn't shut down the Georgia based Lockheed C-130 line to buy this most impressive acft.

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The problem along with Mr. Carter; the YC-14 was a two engine airplane and the Atlantic and Pacific were four engine oceans at that time.

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I saw the YC14 and the YC15 during competition at Pope AFB and the YC14 out performed the 15.

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Saw this impressive aircraft in the open air display area (75 acres) of the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, loacted just outside Davis-Monthan AFB. (Tail No. 01873) The only way to get a true sense of its enormous size is to stand next to it. It is huge.

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I was on the test team for this aircraft from start to finish. The plane was the most awsome aircraft I ever flew on or had the oppurtunity to work on. Tsgt retired

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Was a nav on C-141's and was part of a crew which accompanied the YC-14 to the Paris airshow. I was also a SME (subject matter expert)during the C-17 accuisition and made several trips to the McDonald Douglas plant in Long Beach from Hq MAC. The C-17 was a Douglas design and only became a Boing aircraft because Boing accuirered McDonald Douglas.

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This was a very impressive airplane, but the design process employed by Boeing to develop it was even more impressive. This prototype airplane, along with the YC-15 developed by Douglas Aircraft Corp, led directly to our fielding of the C-17 - which is one of our most effective military transports.

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Took this and the 15 to mildenhall for the paris air show, great performer

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Jimmy Carter put the program in the trash? What a jerk. Stick to peanut farming and pounding nails you fool.

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From the intro..In early 1972 requests for proposals were sent out to nine US manufacturers,... Who whould the other 7 manufactures have been at that time?

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I have seen the yc14 in the arizonia desert and wow is she big for her size.

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If you like this one, go check out the Russian Antonov AN-72 - it's a knock-off of the YC-14 with an interesting design history.

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