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http://www.seattlepi.com/business/boeing/article/Air-Force-retires-first-Boeing-C-17-Globemaster-3513345.php

Air Force retires first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

Thursday, April 26, 2012

McDonnell Douglas essentially hand-built the first C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane for U.S. Air Force developmental testing and evaluation.

The airplane, designated T-1, first flew on Sept. 15, 1991, six years before McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, and was expected to last about five years. On Wednesday, it finally made its last flight, into retirement at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, in Dayton, Ohio. The museum expects to put the C-17 on public display in its Air Park this summer.

"This aircraft will serve as the representative C-17 airframe in the museum's collection, allowing us to share with the public more of the story of the demanding airlift missions facing today's Air Force," Lt. Gen. (Ret.) John Hudson, the museum's director, said in an Air Force report.

Col. Andrew D. Ingram, C-17 system program director at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, called the airplane's new role an "incredibly important assignment," explaining:

If you've ever witnessed the face of an 8-year-old little girl or a 7-year-old little boy when they first enter the museum's Cold War Gallery and see the B-2 and the F-22 for the very first time, you know what I'm talking about. This is a place where dreams are born. America's future walks these galleries, every day.

After the C-17 flight test program, T-1 was periodically rebuilt and refurbished, allowing it to support other flight and propulsion test programs for the Air Force, NASA and others. It also appeared in country singer Toby Keith's Emmy Award-winning production of "American Soldier" and five movies: "Transformers," "Iron Man," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "Iron Man 2" and "Superman: Man of Steel" (scheduled for release next year).

While the Air Force has retired the first airplane, the service said the C-17 remains its "newest, most versatile cargo aircraft." It can rapidly deliver troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases and small airfields, perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and evacuate patients.

Bob Ciesla, Boeing vice president for Airlift and C-17 program manager, said: "We are proud to continue building and maintaining the world's C-17s to bring hope, save lives and preserve peace."

After the Haitian earthquake in 2010, seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen and photographer Josh Trujillo rode along with two C-17s and their crews from Pierce County's Joint Base Lewis-McChord on a mission to bring in specialized equipment and an elite rescue team and carry back refugees.

Boeing has delivered 241 C-17s worldwide: 216 to the U.S. Air Force and 25 to international customers Australia, Canada, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. India has ordered 10, scheduled for delivery in 2013 and 2014.

The U.S. Air Force's first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III arrives at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, in Dayton, Ohio, after its final flight on April 25, 2012. This C-17 was essentially hand-built for developmental test and evaluation, with an estimated life span of approximately five years. The aircraft was periodically rebuilt and refurbished over its 21 years of service
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