Boeing C-135 Stratolifter

what is it?

The Boeing C-135 Stratolifter is a transport aircraft developed from the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. The aircraft eventually served as a basis for a number of variants performing various different roles. Since the first one was built in August 1956, the C-135 and its variants have been a fixture of the United States Air Force.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · retractable tricycle gear · 39.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 933 km/htop speed
• range 5,550 kmwithout refuelling
• size 146 tmax take-off weight
• built 803made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 70 years ago, in 1956.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 39.9 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 24 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 5,550 km: 31× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1956-08-17

introduced

1957

status

still flying

number built

803

role

military transport aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Boeing

engines

4× 4 Pratt & Whitney TF-33-PW-102 low-bypass turbofan engines

crew

3

length

41.5 m

wingspan

39.9 m

height

12.7 m

max take-off weight

146 t

top speed

933 km/h

range

5,550 km

ceiling

15,200 m

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family