C-17 landing at small airstrip
I bet 3580'x100' looked pretty small from the cockpit..
I love the last line....."the plane later relocated...."
Seriously. How?
Imagine what would have happened had he been loaded down with a M1A or a Buffalo.
Would have been a different story for sure.
An empty C-17 has a short take off roll. While it looks like a "big ole plane" it still has awesome STOL capabilities. He did not use up all of the runway landing, nor did he use it all when he took off later in the day.
Landing distance is listed at 3500 feet.
Takeoff at max weight is listed at 7600 feet.
I agree it was flown out the same way it came in. C-17 crews routinely practice STOL. Two things I'd like to see, though..
One - the crews eyes when someone finally realized there was only 3000' of runway.
Two - the stack of paperwork that the pilot and crew have to fill out explaining what they were doing there in the first place (I'm assuming it was not an emergency landing).
For a comparison, MacDill is obviously the large base in the picture, where he landed is the tiny barely visible strip at "Davis Island".
The short hop return to base must have been something to see.......:-P
I know a Blackhawk pilot, recently retired. He said he flew with 1980's technology... non graphic GPS. Many chances for error.
Funny thing......they are both "Runway 04-22"!!!
:-O :-O :-O :-O
The bearing likes identical and it almost looks in line if you are flying in from the Northeast. He should have looked a little further up ahead, tho.
That's right. Somebody was snoozing.
The C's are definitely STOL. C-130's have done carrier takeoffs and landings.
I have never flown in any of those. My last "C" flight was a C-118 in 1967. Well, that dates me. I know I probably have an e-mail waiting from my old pal and former dorm mate who was a navigator on a Navy A-3 back then, reminding me about how bad the Air Force was and is. :-/
my favorite STOL plane
