20 years later C-17 accelerates its ability to 'deliver hope, fuel fight, save lives' Published Sept. 21, 2011 By Diane Betzler Staff writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Most people involved with the program say it is hard to believe it's been 20 years since the C-17A Globemaster III took its first flight from a manufacturing plant in Long Beach, Calif. to Edwards. But when they look at what it has accomplished, 20 years doesn't seem long enough. Hundreds gathered Sept. 15 in Hangar 1623 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the transporter's maiden flight that took just over two hours. Millions of flight hours later, the Globemaster has lived up to its name - delivering its payload just about anywhere in the world. "It allows us to deliver hope, fuel the fight and save lives," said Col. Andrew Ingram, C-17 System program manager at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Team Edwards has been a key to the success this airframe has had and continues to have. Lt. Col. Clifton Janney, commander of the 418th Flight Test Squadron, which is responsible for testing the airlifter, said none of this would have been possible without the vision and innovation of a special team. "A team dedicated to making sure those we send into harm's way have the best possible chance of returning to enjoy those liberties we call upon them to defend," Janney said. "That team is a continual - consisting of all of you who have advanced C-17 capabilities," he added. George London, co-pilot on T-1's first flight also talked about that "special team." "When we made that first flight Sept. 15, 20 years ago, there was a shining light. That light was a C-17 taking off from Long Beach," he said. And the power behind that light is the team - comprised of the C-17 Combined Test Force at Edwards, the C-17 System Program Office, the Air Force, the Army and contractors McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, he said. Calling the C-17 a national treasure, Ingram said the aircraft is America's airlift capability of choice. "The Globemaster [since it became operational] has supported every major combat contingency that our nation has been involved in," Ingram said. C-17s are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan bringing needed supplies to the warfighter and airlifting wounded warriors to medical facilities and safety. The C-17 fleet also supports those who respond to disasters around the world. "The C-17 continues to deliver," he said. During the last two decades the workhorse transport started fast and shows no sign of slowing. Janney said T-1's first flight 20 years ago ushered in a new era for military airlift, "One that truly combined strategic and tactical capability," he said. T-1's first flight was the culmination of years of effort that brought a concept to reality, but that was just the beginning for the C-17, Janney said. "Ten years later the Air Force was operating a fleet of 81. Today seven countries and NATO operate 236 C-17s - 204 of those are employed by the Air Force," he said. He said in the past 10 years the fleet of C-17s has flown 500,000 sorties; delivered more than 4.5 million passengers and a little over 3 million tons of cargo to locations around the world. "It took 15 years for the fleet to achieve its first million flight hours - 5 years for it to achieve its second million. Last year the U.S. C-17 fleet flew an average of 599 flight hours a day," Janney said. The C-17 continues to prove itself, he said. Just last month it set a new airdrop world record with the delivery of an 85,000-pound Aries rocket test article. Janney said the many people working the C-17 program are great Americans who have great pride in the work they've done for the country. Ingram said the first flight is a particularly significant and emotional event and said it's a critical milestone in every aircraft program. "They are all pretty much must-win events," he said, adding first flight is not only a significant milestone, but is also a beginning of what can be some pretty tumultuous times in aircraft programs. "Their success is because of the hard work and dedication of the teams that pull it off." Ingram said the C-17's mission capability rates are above 85-percent and said that's a tradition the Air Force proudly carries on today. Janney said the contributions T-1 has made during the past 20 years is what made the C-17 fleet what it is today. He said when considering what the aircraft requires to meet the nation's challenges in the future, he's confident the C-17 team will meet those challenges and continue to advance this incredible weapon system. Among the guests there to celebrate the two decades of successful service to the Air Force and America were the aircraft's first flight crew - pilot Bill Casey, co-pilot London, loadmaster Ted Venturini, and flight test engineer Henry Van De Graf.