The C-17 is 174 feet long and has a wingspan of approximately 170 feet. It can airlift cargo fairly close to a potential battle area. The size and weight of U.S. mechanized firepower and equipment have grown in recent decades, which has significantly increased air mobility requirements, particularly in the area of large or heavy outsize cargo.
The C-17 is powered by four fully reversible, F117-PW-100 turbofan engines (the Department of Defense designation for the commercial Pratt and Whitney PW2040, used on the Boeing 757). Each engine is rated at 40,400 lbf (180 kN) of thrust. The thrust reversers direct the flow of air upward and forward. This reduces the probability of foreign object damage and provides reverse thrust capable of backing the aircraft. Additionally, the C-17's thrust reversers can be used in flight at idle-reverse for added drag in maximum-rate descents.
C-17 landing, showing its landing gear.The aircraft requires a crew of three (pilot, copilot, and loadmaster) for cargo operations. Cargo is loaded through a large aft door that accommodates both rolling stock (trucks, armored vehicles, trailers, etc.) and palletized cargo. The size of the cargo compartment of C-17 is 88 feet (26.82 meters) x 18 feet (5.49 meters) x 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 meters). The cargo floor has rollers, used for palletized cargo, that can be flipped to provide a flat floor suitable for rolling stock. One of the larger pieces of rolling stock that this aircraft can carry is the 70-ton M1 Abrams tank.
Maximum payload capacity of the C-17 is 170,900 lb (77,500 kg), and its Maximum Takeoff Weight is 585,000 lb (265,350 kg). With a payload of 160,000 lb (72,600 kg) and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 ft (8,500 m), the C-17 has an unrefueled range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km) on the first 71 units, and 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km) on all subsequent units—which are extended-range models using the sealed center wing bay as a fuel tank. These units are informally referred to by Boeing as the C-17 ER.[45] The C-17 cruise speed is approximately 450 knots (833 km/h) (0.76 Mach).[3] The C-17 is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers and their equipment. The U.S. Army BCT Ground Combat Vehicle is to be transported by the C-17.
C-17 creating a visible vortex while demonstrating the use of reverse thrust to push the aircraft backwards on runway.The C-17 is designed to operate from runways as short as 3,500 ft (1,064 m) and as narrow as 90 ft (27 m). In addition, the C-17 can operate out of unpaved, unimproved runways (although there is the increased probability of damage to the aircraft).
