Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

what is it?

The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) during the 1980s and the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. The C-17 is based upon the YC-15, a smaller prototype airlifter designed during the 1970s. It was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and also fulfill some of the duties of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · retractable tricycle gear · 51.8 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 833 km/hcruise speed
• range 4,482 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 134passengers
• size 265.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 279made 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 35 years ago, in 1991.
• 🚗Wingspan of 51.8 m: about 12 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 44 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 4,482 km: 25× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.6× 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

1991-09-15

introduced

1995

status

still flying

number built

279

role

strategic and tactical airlifter

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Boeing, McDonnell Douglas

engines

4× Pratt & Whitney PW2000

crew

3

passengers

134

length

53 m

wingspan

51.8 m

height

16.8 m

max take-off weight

265.4 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

833 km/h

range

4,482 km

ceiling

13,716 m

wings

monoplane

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

ICAO code

C17

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