USAF Photo of the Day: C-17 Globemaster III Flies Off, Leaves Mid-Air "Yes, I Was Here!" Signature

Air Force Week in Photos, 26 May 2006 ^ | May 16, 2006 | Tech. Sgt. Russell E. Cooley IV, USAF

[EnjoyingLife]

060516-F-9712C-956, Over the Atlantic Ocean, 16 May 2006: The USAF C-17 Globemaster III from the 14th Airlift Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, USA flies off after releasing flares over the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, South Carolina during a training mission on Tuesday, 16 May 2006. The resulting "smoke angel" -- suspended in the sky -- is impressive.

Photographer
Tech. Sgt. Russell E. Cooley IV, United States Air Force, http://www.af.mil

Photo and Caption Links
http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/060516-F-9712C-956.JPG
http://www.af.mil/weekinphotos/060526-03.html and http://www.af.mil/weekinphotos/wipgallery.asp?week=169

Related
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/focus/f-news/1241860/posts
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562989/posts
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20051111.htm
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1118641/posts
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=86
http://www.Boeing.com/defense-space/military/c17/index.htm
http://GalleryOfFluidMechanics.com/vortex/v_lift.htm

[Inyo-Mono]

Why is it that only pilots get to have fun with smoke? If I did something like that on the highway with my truck I'd be arrested.

[Aeronaut]

[DannyTN]

If that's repeatable, that has some psychops potential.

[BlessedBeGod]

Wow! It looks like angel wings!

[battlegearboat]

Turn the engine off before adding oil.

[arbee4bush]

Beautiful!

My daughter is in the 14th Airlift Squadron. Wonder if she got to play making sky angels :)

[Fresh Wind]

Uh, oh. Just wait 'till the tinfoil hat crowd sees that one!

[Irishguy]

man that is the coolest...

[EnjoyingLife]

DannyTN wrote (post #4): If that's repeatable, that has some psychops potential.

Two USMC KC-130s in Iraq engaging in unforgettable flare-o-drama by those who were fortunate enough to see it:

Video clip: http://YouTube.com/watch?v=_vyXkD8TVUQ and http://www.Archive.org/details/Herc_Salvo2

Photos: http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20051111.htm and discussion at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562989/posts

[Jaxter]

Wow! Neat pic. Must have been a really fast shutter speed to freeze the props like that. Thanks for posting.

[monkapotamus]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Decoys against heat seeking missiles? I want that kind of action when take off, too.

[Hatteras]

Oh Heavens! Think of the environmental damage! That's why all the little dolphins and whales are trying to escape the ocean by beaching themselves! George Bush's military is destroying our planet!!! /sarcasm off

[HighWheeler]

BuWahahahahahahah!!!!

[SSR1]

I live inland from Charleston and I see GlobeMasters all the time. They do training at a small emergency strip and I happen to sit on the side of the approach. SO cool to watch three of them (they usually come in threes) sliding through the air. Almost as much fun as being on the end of the runway when a C-5 comes screaming over, clawing it's way into the air! Man those planes are big!

[rightwingextremist1776]

Those aren't "Spectrum" gunships (proper name is Specter), they are USMC KC-130s. Gunships don't have refueling pods. Note the lighter color on the belly...AF birds are all grey. I would think they are T models. Defiantly Marine sky pigs..Semper Fi.