Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The FReeper Foxhole Profiles The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III - April 16th, 2004
see educational sources

Posted on 04/16/2004 12:02:21 AM PDT by snippy_about_it



Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.



...................................................................................... ...........................................

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III:



The New Global Airlift Standard


The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is designed to fulfill military airlift needs well into the 21st century. A high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed aircraft with a rear-loading ramp, the C-17 can carry large combat equipment and troops or humanitarian aid across international distances directly to small austere airfields anywhere in the world.

In August 2002, the U.S. Air Force extended its total C-17 order to 180, by committing to an additional 60 C-17s. This order means Boeing will design, build and deliver C-17s through at least 2008. By Mid-January 2004, 117 C-17s had been delivered, 112 to the U.S. Air Force, one to the Mississippi Air National Guard and four to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force.

The U.S. Air Force declared the first C-17 squadron operational in January 1995. Since then the fleet has amassed nearly 600,000 flying hours. The C-17 has been involved in numerous contingency operations, including flying troops and equipment to Operation Joint Endeavor to support peacekeeping in Bosnia, Allied Force Operation in Kosovo, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.



In Afghanistan, C-17s have flown more than 230 humanitarian missions, airdropping more than 2.4 million ration packages to refugees as well as landing bulk foods and blankets. In addition, C-17s continue to fly daily missions carrying troops, supplies and heavy equipment into austere fields in Afghanistan and into airfields in neighboring countries.

In 1998, eight C-17s completed the longest paratrooper airdrop mission in history, flying more than 8,000 nautical miles from the United States to Central Asia, dropping troops and equipment after more than 19 hours in the air, a feat repeated in 2000.



A cockpit crew of two and one loadmaster operates the C-17, which can be refueled in flight. This cost-effective flight crew complement is made possible through the use of an advanced digital avionics system and advanced cargo systems.

In the cargo compartment the C-17 can carry Army wheeled vehicles in two side-by-side rows. Three Bradley infantry-fighting vehicles comprise one deployment load. Similarly, the Army's newest main battle tank, the M-1, can be carried.



The four engines are Pratt & Whitney PW2040 series turbofans, designated as F117-PW-100 by the Air Force, each producing 40,440 pounds of thrust. The engines are equipped with directed-flow thrust reversers capable of deployment in flight. On the ground, a fully loaded aircraft, using engine reversers, can back up a two-percent slope.

With a payload of 160,000 pounds, the C-17 can take off from a 7,600-foot airfield, fly 2,400 nautical miles, and land on a small, austere airfield in 3,000 feet or less. The C-17 is equipped with an externally blown flap system that allows a steep, low-speed final approach and low-landing speeds for routine short-field landings.

C-17s have set 33 world records – more than any other airlifter in history – including payload to altitude, time-to-climb, and short-takeoff-and-landing marks in which the C-17 took off in less than 1,400 feet, carried a payload of 44,000 pounds to altitude, and landed in less than 1,400 feet. These records were set during flight-testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in 2001.



In 1995, the C-17 received the prestigious Collier Trophy, symbolizing the top aeronautical achievement of 1994. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, maker of the C-17, for business excellence. In 2002, the C-17’s assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., was recognized by Industry Week’s Best Plants award, for being one of the top 10 in the North America. In December 2002, the C-17 Program – and its Aerospace Support unit – won the U.S. Senate’s Productivity Award for Performance Excellence. And, in April 2003, the C-17 Program won the first ever “Best of the Best” California Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence.

C-17s are based at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.; McChord Air Force Base, Wash.; and Altus Air Force Base, Okla., where initial aircrew training occurs. The Air National Guard Base at Jackson, Miss., received its first of eight C-17s on Dec. 18, 2003. Between now and 2007, other new C-17 units will be established at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and March Air Reserve Base,Calif. Additional domestic basing locations will be announced by the Air Force in the near future.




FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links




TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: c17; freeperfoxhole; globemasteriii; militarytransport; samsdayoff; usairforce; veterans
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140141-146 next last
To: Samwise
LOL. The parent's meeting. Ruh-roh, you'll probably be the only one who isn't snooty!
121 posted on 04/16/2004 8:18:29 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 119 | View Replies]

To: Samwise
Naw. I never really was snooty, I too was an outcast so to speak. Good grades and all. Not in the in crowd but not out either. I was lucky enough to accumulate all the courses I needed so I could leave school and work at a paying job my last two years. No time for "groups".
122 posted on 04/16/2004 8:21:33 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 120 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
Not in the in crowd but not out either.

That's probably the best place to be.

123 posted on 04/16/2004 8:28:05 PM PDT by Samwise (The day may come when the courage of men fails...but it is not this day....This day we fight!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 122 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
Uh oh. I just realized something. She made band too. Does nerd+cool=normal? I hope they equal out.
124 posted on 04/16/2004 8:31:13 PM PDT by Samwise (The day may come when the courage of men fails...but it is not this day....This day we fight!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 123 | View Replies]

To: Johnny Gage
The wings are high-mounted and back-tapered with blunt tips and a negative slant. Two turbofans are mounted in long pods mounted on top of the wings.

Weird! I wonder why they put the engines on top of the wings?
125 posted on 04/16/2004 8:48:58 PM PDT by Valin (Hating people is like burning down your house to kill a rat)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
COUNTERMEASURES

Comic On duty...World Tour
Comic On duty...World Tour Steve Eblin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1049017/posts
(snip)
We’re hitching a ride to Uzbekistan on a C-130 cargo plane. It’s the 5 of us, 2 other passengers, and a giant pallet of supplies that looks as if it’s going to break loose and crush us all like ants at any moment. I keep an eye on it and plan what I’m going to do if it does snap loose. Granted, this plan mostly involves wetting myself and screaming, but it’s still nice to have a plan in place. Making sure we all were wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts (“It gets a little chilly at 30,000 feet! Ha Ha!”) we’re handed earplugs and given instructions on how to exit the pane after an emergency landing. We’re the only ones not armed and/or wearing Kevlar at this point. During takeoff we see one of the crew in a perch at the rear of the plane, looking out a side window. We later learn that his job is to watch for anything coming at the plane, like rockets or missiles, and fire off “heat decoys,” which obviously take the incoming hit instead of the plane. I’m glad they didn’t tell us this until later, because the takeoff itself was enough to make me poop my pants.

(snip,off topic)
About halfway through the flight, the navigator comes down and invites us up to the cockpit, one by one. My turn comes as the flight nears the end, so I get to be up there with Steve Mazan for the approach and landing. This is possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever done, which admittedly is not a fierce competition. Wearing a headset to listen in on the cockpit chatter, and getting to look out the windows is amazing, then the navigator points me to the “bubble” in the top of the cockpit. It’s what it sounds like, a simple glass bubble that protrudes from the top of the plane for viewing; I stick my head up and it’s so cool I can hardly stand it; I’m at 30,000 feet over Uzbekistan, with a view that maybe a couple hundred people on earth ever see; the mountain ranges butting right up against the desert, the small towns and villages going by, tucked into the valleys and on the hillsides…it’s kind of like South Dakota, except the roads look like they’re in better shape. They also probably have better gigs here. (For the record, the Bishkek gig is on the front end of Rapid City; $200, no room, 25% off dinner. Be there by 3 for radio or you’ll be skinned!)
(snip)
After breakfast we’re taken on a tour of the base. This is where the Taliban had their stronghold, so there are bullet holes and mortar craters everywhere. It’s eye opening, and then we reach a building called “The Taliban’s Last Stand.” This is the place we heard about on the news, the fiercest resistance they put up; several hundred Taliban…well, former Taliban, if you get my drift… were found inside once it was taken. Walking around inside this structure, seeing the gaping holes in the roof where bombs and rockets came through, you wonder what they were thinking. Did they really believe that brick and mortar would withstand the might of the American military? If they did, how brainwashed are they? I’d sooner believe the Bengals will win the Super Bowl, but apparently their heads are so filled with anti-American propaganda they don’t know any better. I wonder if they had a revelation at the last minute, as the walls crumbled around them; “Hey, wait a minute! These Americans are fighting awfully hard and awfully strong for the ‘weak, paper tigers’ we were told they are. I should have listened to my mother and been an accountant.”
(snip, on topic)
September 11, 2003

We return from our show in Kanduhar and get to our fabulous accommodations at the airport Hilton, bombed out division. After beating the Cobras out of our shoes and wiping the top 3 layers of dust from our food, we settle in for a long winter’s nap. Why we thought we’d be able to sleep through the night, I have no idea. About an hour later (Just when the dream cheerleaders are starting to lock and load) our escort Bill O’Brien comes in and informs us that there’s good news and bad news: the good news is we have a flight to Bagram; the bad news is that it leaves in an hour, and due to an odd quirk we have to check our luggage with Lufthansa. So once again we pack up our bags and head to the airfield for an overnight flight. Crammed onto a C-130 along with several scary looking Romanian troops and a monster vehicle carrying at least 8 rockets (“No, bouncing them around like this won’t set them off! Just try to relax!”), we swerve our way around the mountains and onto Bagram Air Field, which is the center of operations for the entire Afghani theater. The light is coming up as we land. Today is September 11, and I can tell I’m not the only one – civilian or military – that’s not on a higher alert.

A hop, skip, and a combat landing/lost lunch later we’re on the ground.


Note a loooong piece but well worth the time.


126 posted on 04/16/2004 9:03:21 PM PDT by Valin (Hating people is like burning down your house to kill a rat)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf
The Niagara River is fast, as soon as it makes the turn at the north end of the Island it's full speed to the Falls.

I only live 5 miles from there and canada..

Good night all!

127 posted on 04/16/2004 9:11:24 PM PDT by The Mayor (Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 118 | View Replies]

To: PhilDragoo; SAMWolf; snippy_about_it; bentfeather; Darksheare; Johnny Gage; Light Speed; Samwise; ..
Hellooooo to all at the Foxhole!

To all our military men and women, past and present, and to our allies who stand with us,
THANK YOU!

Dang, that Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is BIG!!!!!
This shot you posted, Phil, is just toooo wild! LOL!


128 posted on 04/16/2004 10:10:52 PM PDT by radu (May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 92 | View Replies]

To: Samwise
Good grief, she'll be a teenager next year

Oh Boy! Then the real "Fun" starts

129 posted on 04/16/2004 10:23:49 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Puns are bad, but poetry is verse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 116 | View Replies]

To: Valin
Thanks Valin. IMHO, that's some good writing.
130 posted on 04/16/2004 10:26:59 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Puns are bad, but poetry is verse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 126 | View Replies]

To: The Mayor
Night Mayor.
131 posted on 04/16/2004 10:27:29 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Puns are bad, but poetry is verse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 127 | View Replies]

To: radu
Evening Radu! That is a good picture and Phil's comment was a gem.
132 posted on 04/16/2004 10:28:13 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Puns are bad, but poetry is verse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 128 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Hiya SAM.
LOL!....Phil's comment with that pic was a winner, for sure. I'm still giggling about it.

How are things over your way these days? Has Spring finally sprung?
After the SNOW we had here Tuesday, I think Old Man Winter is finally through with us. 80F and clear skies today! WOOOHOOOO!! Of course, this nice weather means hubby and I have been busting butt the past couple of days. win a little, lose a little. LOL!
133 posted on 04/16/2004 10:38:01 PM PDT by radu (May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 132 | View Replies]

To: Valin
I remember this piece. Good read, thanks.
134 posted on 04/16/2004 10:50:40 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 126 | View Replies]

To: Samwise
The band and cheerleading. Hey, how can you play at the games and cheerlead at the same time?
135 posted on 04/16/2004 10:54:20 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 124 | View Replies]

To: The Mayor
You are in a cold place. Good night Mayor. Stay warm.
136 posted on 04/16/2004 10:56:05 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 127 | View Replies]

To: radu
Beautiful here, been cool the last few days but everything is green and all the flowers are in bloom. :-) Winter is done here.
137 posted on 04/16/2004 10:57:22 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Puns are bad, but poetry is verse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 133 | View Replies]

To: archy
what would the designation of that aircraft so tasked be?

B-17, B-29 or MB-17 or MB-29 for MOAB. :-)

138 posted on 04/16/2004 10:59:08 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
We thought winter was done here til it SNOWED the other day. grrrrrrr! Dogwood winter. We still have Blackberry Winter to deal with but it shouldn't be as drastic.

Things are nice and green....and growing like crazy! LOL! We were out mowing til after dark this evening. Firtunately, the riding mower and the tractor have headlights.
139 posted on 04/16/2004 11:11:59 PM PDT by radu (May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 137 | View Replies]

To: radu
It snows in Tennessee?
140 posted on 04/17/2004 12:06:00 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Puns are bad, but poetry is verse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 139 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140141-146 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson