The Globemaster has such heavy wake turbulence that anything flying behind it would be shaken apart, so when they fly multiple planes, they have to be scattered across the sky to keep them from being damaged.
is this aircraft "new"? I seem to remember something similar in size (2nd only to the C5 and the Russian things) that's been around, gotta be 30 years
C-17 is much newer than that.
It's an awesome aircraft, I had a tour on the flight line at Charleston from a buddy who's a pilot with significant combat hours.
More info here:
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-17.htm
Maiden flight in 1991.
The C-17's been in service for less than 20 years; it replaced the venerable C-141 Starlifter. It's the USAF's "mid-sized" transporter; they use the C-130 for shorter-range tactical transport, the C-17 when stuff has to go a long way, and the massive C-5 Galaxy when the REALLY BIG stuff (like Abrams tanks) has to go somewhere.
}:-)4
You're thinking of the C-141 Starlifter, a much more graceful aircraft than the Globemaster.
The Globemaster has such heavy wake turbulence that anything flying behind it would be shaken apart, so when they fly multiple planes, they have to be scattered across the sky to keep them from being damaged.