McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III

Inspector @ Edwards AFB Flight test program. Loved it.

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Great airplane. I was privileged to be the Flight Test Engineer aboard the first flight (as well as the last flight) of the first C-17 (T-1). Yes, the C-17 owes much to the vision of Bill Casey (Pilot), and Ted Venturini (Loadmaster) - this was by design.

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Good plane now, but a constant headache at the beginning before MD bought Boeing out with Boeing's money and Boeing engineering got involved. Lots of problems and delays initially. (like the 787 today)

It is my understanding the airforce had to begin rewinging (at taxpayer cost) these aircraft almost immediately after initial delivery because of cracks in the the wing structure. The story is, the old MD company never could figure out how to build a decent wing box for a large modern jet aircraft.

But of course, that's just my biased opinion.

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Great airplane with numerous capibilities. Love to see it land, reverse engines and back up; then take off in 500 feet. Attend EAA Oshkosh each year and usually a C-17 is on static display and is always an attraction for the attendees.

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I was on the program from 1989 and left in 1996; smartest move I ever made. The program started out like a three ring circus; and it took Boeing to getting it to look that good. I agree cssweet, Bill Casey was the best thing MDC had going for it and probabaly the only reason the program kept going. I could tell you some horror stories about that program, and the people running it.

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In the 1980's and 1990's I was involved to some degree in the prototype programs YC-14 (Boeing) and YC-15 (DAC - Douglas Aircraft Corp.), as an aeronautical engineer at Wright Patterson AFB. After the prototype programs were completed, the AF began C-X development - hoping to incorporate the best features of both prototypes into the C-X transport. All of these projects were very interesting - but the future of this program rested in our "IN" boxes a very long time, barely keeping alive while several design trade studies were performed. At long last, full-scale development was initiated (to the suprise of many!). The C-17 has to be one of the most studied transports ever developed, but the results continue to amaze me. There were mock-ups and simulations - including crewstation simulators and mission simulations, with experienced AF crewmembers flying mock missions. Full scale mockups for the Medivac mission. Army participation with loading the cargo area mock-up with tanks, troops, etc. I truly enjoyed working with DAC (Douglas Acft Corp) engineers, and was continually amazed by their chief test pilot, Bill Casey. It often surprised me how much authority DAC invested in Bill... his cool, calculating ability to focus on the essentials - reflected in no small part in the current aircraft's design and performance. As most politicians are aware, parts of this aircraft are produced in nearly every one of our states... which has also contributed greatly to the support and success of the C-17 program. To Douglas (now Boeing), job well done!

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Umm, I would swear this was a Boeing aircraft. It is a sure thing, it is being built at the old Douglas aircraft plant at Long Beach, California...But it is Boeing today.

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Enlarge the fuel tanks a little and these craft could put trucking delivery out of business and take the trucks off the highways. They could deliver food from Cal. to Boston in one day. Think what a fleet of a thousand of these planes could do in one day.

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During the '90s I taught school across the freeway from the Boeing (formerly MD) plant in Long Beach where they built these. They would deliver these aircraft during the shift change which was right when we were letting the kids off. The pilot would take off, circle out over the Long Beach harbor, come back in low over the factory, gain some altitude, waggle the wings and then peel off toward their destination.
Each and every delivery we saw was truly awesome

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Been flying this airplane now for nine years after the 141 and the Herk. All I can say is it's better in every way than the sum of those two parts and that's saying a lot! A real loadmaster's aircraft in all the details. I look forward to every flight!

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I don't have a comment but a question. What is the lift off velocity of the C17 Globemaster 3, i.e., speed at which lift just equals weight?

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