USAF - C17

[buster]

"Pentagon: U.S. can get up to 30 C-17 evacuation flights out of Afghanistan each day.
16,000 people evacuated in the last 24 hours, about 11,000 of those on military flights.
Have you ever seen a C-17? I know most of my fellow aviation nuts have, but for my friends/family who have not, that is a HUGE aircraft. Absolutely immense. And the USAF is cranking out a full C-17 flight from Kabul every 45 minutes, using a SINGLE runway in enemy-controlled territory, non stop, 24 hours a day right now. This has literally never been done before in the entire history of aviation... the USAF is literally making history. They evacuated more than twice as many people YESTERDAY as we did in the entirety of the Saigon evacuation in 1975.

It started rough, no denying that, but in less than a week, the situation has been stabilized and the mission exponentially increased to a tempo never before seen, not even during WW2. The part that gets me is the logistics of supporting this mission - the ground crews are going full throttle right now, bringing in fuel, oil, fluids and servicing the aircraft as best and as fast as they can. What they are achieving right now is nothing short of incredible."

 

[TumblrDucks]

Beautiful planes. On takeoff/approaching stage it seems to fly slower but much more agile than airliner.

 

[GON]

Jumped out of C17s many times. C17s can take off and land on runways, but also on dirt strips. A very nice cargo aircraft.

If memory is correct, they are only based out of Charleston AFB and McCord AFB. They were manufactured in Long Beach, CA. That assembly line was shut down last decade. Tough plane to replace if/ when there are losses.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Bravo!

 

[skyactiv]

Note: I watched a movie on TV called The Big Lift. Filmed in post war Berlin. Interesting scenes of civilians picking up rubble, putting into hand pushed carts from the structure's bombed during WW II. Worth watching if you've never seen it.

 

[gman2304]

Amazing work horse! I’ll reserve my comments on this……”airlift”!

 

[wpod]

Jumped out of C17s many times. C17s can take off and land on runways, but also on dirt strips. A very nice cargo aircraft.

If memory is correct, they are only based out of Charleston AFB and McCord AFB. They were manufactured in Long Beach, CA. That assembly line was shut down last decade. Tough plane to replace if/ when there are losses.

You jumped out of a perfectly good C17 !!!???? I won't be messing with you.

 

[GON]

You jumped out of a perfectly good C17 !!!???? I won't be messing with you.

LOL!!! I can't even intimidate my three year old Grandson to put down a water balloon.

We loved jumping the C17s, SO much room, felt like we were flying in a Cadillac limo, when compared to the C130s which felt like 55 guys packed into a Ford Escort.

 

[Astro14]

It is a great airplane. Great performance. Pretty big. But I’ve seen bigger...flown bigger.

The USAF is getting people out of country. The CRAF (including United 777s) are getting them to the US.

United Airlines fleet helps fly Afghan refugees and Americans to safety

The chaotic Afghanistan refugee situation now stretches from Kabul to Germany and Washington D.C. to Wisconsin.

abc7chicago.com

 

[wemay]

Beautiful Airplane.

 

[tyman]

C17 is bae

 

[y_p_w]

C17 is bae

What? It's Boeing - previously McDonnell-Douglas. Or are you referring to some slang term?

 

[y_p_w]

Well - I'd say it's not that big. A C-5, KC-10, or even C-141 is bigger. It's really, really chunky, and that was intentional so that they fit helicopters. The requirements were insane. They wanted something bigger that could land at the same makeshift or damaged airports that a C-130 could land on, but with much faster speed and much higher capacity.

 

[RooflessVW]

Jumped out of C17s many times. C17s can take off and land on runways, but also on dirt strips. A very nice cargo aircraft.

If memory is correct, they are only based out of Charleston AFB and McCord AFB. They were manufactured in Long Beach, CA. That assembly line was shut down last decade. Tough plane to replace if/ when there are losses.

Friend of mine is a C-17 Loadmaster out of Charlotte

 

[y_p_w]

Jumped out of C17s many times. C17s can take off and land on runways, but also on dirt strips. A very nice cargo aircraft.

If memory is correct, they are only based out of Charleston AFB and McCord AFB. They were manufactured in Long Beach, CA. That assembly line was shut down last decade. Tough plane to replace if/ when there are losses.

I'm pretty sure they're based all over the world. I guess it's complicated what they consider the home base. But there are several at Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA which moves more cargo and passengers than any other US military installation. I saw this one in a movie:

 

[Astro14]

Wingspan and length are just under the 767-300. Big, but not like a 777-300 or a 747. Mid size, really.

But it is chubby. A fat fuselage for good load capacity.

Relatively heavy, at a max of 580,000, which puts it above a 767-300 at 407,000 or a 767-400 at 450,000 but well below the 747-400 at 875,000 or the 747-8 at 975,000, let alone the A-380 at 1,200,000.

Those who have flown it love it. Great handling. Capable. Modern. A good jet. The austere field capability is impressive based on size, but it’s so heavy that the number of fields are limited by the weight.

A C-5 has a lower landing gear loading and while bigger, can land on fields with lower reinforcement/strength specifications.

Neither airframe has been risked in the truly austere locations that are the C-130s forte.

 

[Pew]

What? It's Boeing - previously McDonnell-Douglas. Or are you referring to some slang term?

Bae is slang for baby, babe, and such.

 

[captno4]

Well - I'd say it's not that big. A C-5, KC-10, or even C-141 is bigger. It's really, really chunky, and that was intentional so that they fit helicopters. The requirements were insane. They wanted something bigger that could land at the same makeshift or damaged airports that a C-130 could land on, but with much faster speed and much higher capacity.

The C-141 is not larger than the Globemaster.

C141 & C17

 

[y_p_w]

Bae is slang for baby, babe, and such.

Got it now. Wasn't quite sure because BAE (British Aerospace) was the name of an aircraft company that made some military transports.

 

[tyman]

What? It's Boeing - previously McDonnell-Douglas. Or are you referring to some slang term?

It's 2021 and you haven't heard the term bae?

Uhhhhhhhhhhh........