C-17s BRING IT ON!!!
You really have to admit, if anyone is going to create a sight that looks like an old WWII photo, it'd have to be the United States Air Force. I mean, is there any ROOM for any "real birds" in this shot?!
And, to top it all off, when SEVENTEEN C-17s assigned to the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings start doing low-level tacticals over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, the scream of the engines has got to be AWESOME!!! I still remember the days of a C-141 or C-5 just sloooowly coming in to Rhein Main AFB. But, when ya got tacticals and funky stuff in a C-5, best place to be is either around Charleston AFB or Travis AFB - WHAT A SIGHT!!!
Turns out that this was the largest formation of C-17s to fly from one base, ever!
The record was held previously by McChord AFB WA with 15 C-17s in formation.
This was a training mission that took the 437th and 315th all over the southeast to do low-level air drops and standard flight level refueling practice. Some stats from the article on AF.mil:
"On average, Charleston's C-17s move more than 295 tons of cargo every day. About 45 percent of all air cargo bound for American warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan originates here."All I can say is, thanks for being there! Without this kind of support, Air Mobility Command would be hard pressed to get into mid-to-large places and deploy quickly. Top this off with a few of my favorite Hercs, and you got the makings of "Bring it On!"
"If fully loaded, the 17 airlifters would be able haul more than 2,890,000 pounds of cargo or more than 1,734 passengers."
Stay Tuned to ... LinkedInUSAF
posted by LinkedInUSAF Founder @ 12:28 AM
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4 Comments:
Wow...those are some impressive pictures...wish I could have seen that live!
I know - I really miss being active. I do know that based on my career path, I wouldn't have seen this EITHER! :)
I think I'd either be at Davis Mothan or some other place that all the 9th AMS folks landed. Maybe working on Global Hawk? (she is at Beale AFB now)
But, nothin' like seeing a line of transports in flight! There is a great snap of 6 C-130s in formation-taxi on AF.mil. I remember those days at Rhein Main AFB. I think in 1983 we launched 9-11 C-130s for a "training" mission (I cannot confirm is it was training or not!)
Awww, the days ... :)
That is an awesome sight! My dad was an airplane mechanic back in the day when they were still sewing canvas on the wings. My dad could fix anything. Thanks for adding me to your links :)
Laurie,
I think that those days were much harder for the Army Air Copr/Air Force. Just about anything could hurt pilots and crew on a mission. Those were amazing days, and amazing men -- and women! The WACS flew TONS of aircraft back then, taking a chance and risking their lives, too!
Soldiers' Angels is an amazing group. I would be a goof if I weren't adding the volunteers that make a HUGE difference.
God Bless to you, and to all the Soldiers' Angels!
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