Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. Wonder of Aeronautical Engineering

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. Wonder of Aeronautical Engineering

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a long-range heavy military transport aircraft developed by McDonnell Douglas between 1980 and 1990 for the United States Air Force (USAF), currently the manufacturer is Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. The C-17 has the United States McDonnell Douglas / Boeing IDS flag; the first flight was on September 15, 1991.

The C-17 Globemaster III is used as a rapid transport aircraft for troops and supplies for tactical transport missions, medical evacuation, airborne troop transfer and parachute launch. (102 fully equipped paratroopers). The C-17 continuously provides supplies to operative bases and troops in combat. The performance and flexibility of the C-17 improves the capacity of the global air cargo and transportation system in the USA.

The C-17 is operated since 1993 by the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Canadian Forces, 6 NATO, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and India. The C-17 was created to replace the C-30 Hercules.

At the beginning of the 80s, when choosing the winning proposal of McDonnell Douglas, the C-17A Globemaster III aircraft, it was agreed that it should have sharper wings, a larger size and more powerful engines, to perform all the work of other models ( C-141, C-5 Galaxy). The development continued until December 1995, the year in which a large-scale production contract was signed. Then, Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas.

In recent years, the size and weight of mechanized units in the United States have grown, which implies an increase in transportation capacity to meet this demand and comply with participation in armed contingencies, peacekeeping or humanitarian missions. The load capacity is 77. 500 kg, it is the only airplane that could transport the gigantic tank M1 Abrams, of 10 m in length and 70,000 kg of weight.

The C-17 is powered by 4 fully reversible engines, F117-PW-100 (Pratt and Whitney PW2040 engines used in the Boeing 757), each engine has a thrust of 180 kN (18 343 kgf, 40 440 lbf). The aircraft operates with a minimum crew of 3 people (pilot, co-pilot and cargo manager). The cargo is entered into the C-17 by a large rear door that allows access to wheeled equipment (vehicles, trailers, etc.) or load on pallets. In medical evacuation can carry 36 stretchers and 54 outpatients. In combat vehicles, an M1 Abrams tank, or 3 armored 8 × 8 Stryker or 6 armored 4 × 4 M1117 Guardian.

The maximum load of the C-17 is 77,500 kg, and its maximum take-off weight is 265,350 kg. With a load of 72600 kg, the cruising altitude of 8500 m and the range is of 4,482 km in the first 71 units and 5200 km in the new ones, they have an additional fuel tank in the center of the wings. The cruising speed is approximately 833 km / h (0.74 mach). The C-17 is designed to operate on tracks of 900 m in length and 27 m in width, it can also operate on unpaved tracks.

In September of the year 2013, Boeing announced for the year 2015, the end of the production of the C-17. The total production was 2381 units. The unit cost of production was 218 million US $ (in 2007), the cost per flight hour is greater than 20,000

The length of the aircraft is 53 m (173.9 ft), the wingspan: 51.8 m (169.8 ft) and the height: 16.8 m (55.1 ft). The empty weight is 128,100 kg (282 332.4 lb). The fuel capacity is 134,556 liters; with Cruise Speed ​​of 830 km / h (516 MPH), it has a flight ceiling of 13,716 m (45,000 ft). The push / weight ratio is 0.277; to take off you need

2,316 m (7,600 ft) at full load; the landing distance is 1,060 m (3,500 ft).

References

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_C-17_Globemaster_III