Raw power and beauty of USAF machinery captured on film.

The C-17 Globemaster is a massively powerful heavy aircraft.  Powered by four  Pratt and Whitney engines providing 40,000 lbs of thrust, the C-17 can carry up to 170,900 pounds of cargo.  Even more impressive about this jet is how maneuverable it is both at high speeds and low speeds.

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In this video you’ll see the giant airlifter seemingly turn on a dime through the canyons of Washington.  Many C-17 pilots comment on how maneuverable and fun to fly the jet actually is.  This video makes us believers that it must be a blast to fly.  It makes sense. The jet is fast, maneuverable, and can land on semi-prepared fields that seem built more for a Cessna Caravan than a jet around the size of a 767.   Making the jet even more fun, it has a center-mounted stick instead of a yoke.  The top section of the stick is actually a similar design as the one in an F-16.

In this video, the C-17 is executing low level training on VR-1355 through Washington State and Oregon.  A C-17 can execute a low level at over 300 knots and as little as 300 feet above the ground. The footage is shot from the ground near Sidewinder Transition.  The video is a rare chance to see what a low-level training route looks like from the perspective of people on the ground.

This video was originally posted by Alan Chadwick.