Welcome to the C17 Globemaster III

Our team has made every effort to capture the C17 accurately based on the public documentation available. However, some systems have been simplified due to insufficient documentation. Remember that the C17 is in active service, and some areas of the aircraft are classified.

This aircraft is exclusively available as part of MSFS2024 Premium Deluxe, and MS Marketplace. It is not available for download or sale at any other distributor.

SIMULATION USE ONLY - DO NOT USE THIS DOCUMENTATION ON A REAL AIRCRAFT

Welcome to the user manual for the Miltech Simulations C-17 Globemaster III for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The C-17 Globemaster III is a 4-engine, heavy-lift, military transport aircraft manufactured by American aerospace company Boeing. The prototype C-17 took its maiden flight on September 15, 1991 and serial production airframes entered service on January 17, 1995 with the United States Air Force.

The C-17 is used primarily by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and the U.S. Air National Guard. Other countries that operate the airframe include the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. The C-17 is known for its operational versatility and mission adaptability, and it is renowned for being able to operate out of small and unimproved airfields. It can support military operations at all levels, tactical, operational, and strategic, and it can provide logistics for non-military initiatives including humanitarian assistance and scientific field work. The C-17 has operated on all seven continents and in all types of environments, from desert to polar, and has supported combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other locations.

The C-17 program traces its history to the 1979 Department of Defense Cargo Experimental (C-X) program. It outlined a request for a jet-powered aircraft that could perform global, strategic heavy-lift missions inclusive of troop transport and aerial delivery of paratroops and materiel. The aircraft needed to be able to accommodate the U.S. military’s largest pieces of equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks, and helicopters. It further needed to be able to operate out of short and austere airfields, including dirt strips. Meeting the requirement would prove technically difficult as it sought a functional hybrid of a C-130 Hercules, known for its ability to operate out of short and unimproved airfields, with the C-141 Starlifter, a heavy-lift strategic cargo airplane.

The military awarded the contract to American aviation and defense contractor McDonnell Douglas in August of 1981. The project was named the C-17 Globemaster III, extending a naming lineage that began with the Douglas C-74 Globemaster, a piston-powered cargo aircraft that first flew in 1945, and was continued with the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, a piston-powered freighter that took its maiden flight in 1949.

In developing the C-17, McDonnell Douglas relied on work it had completed during the 1970s with their YC-15. The YC-15 was a 4-engine, jet-powered, experimental, short take-off and landing (STOL) tactical airlifter intended to replace the C-130 Hercules. The C-17 design, while similar to the YC-15, is much larger and uses a different wing design. Production began in the early 1990s after initial successful test flights; Boeing took over the contract when it acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

The C-17 is crewed by three: two pilots and a single loadmaster. It features a high-mounted, swept main wing with winglets for mitigation of drag-inducing vortex formation. The wing incorporates externally blown flaps for short field performance and uses advanced airfoil designs to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. Its large cargo hold can accommodate over 100 combat-loaded troops, 48 litters for medical transport operations, a single M1 Abrams main battle tank, tracked and wheeled vehicles, and all types of transport containers and pallets. It has an advanced glass cockpit and redundant digital fly-by-wire flight controls.

The aircraft measures 174 feet in length, stands 55 feet, 1 inch tall, and has a wingspan of 169 feet, 10 inches. It is powered by four wing-mounted Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 high-bypass turbofan engines that each generate up to 40,440 pounds of thrust.

The aircraft can carry up to 170,900 pounds of payload, has a range of 2,780 miles (extendible by in-flight refueling), and it cruises at 520 miles per hour. It can operate out of airfields as short as 3,000 feet in length, depending on load, and it can execute a 3-point turn within 80 feet due to thrust reversers.

We are excited to present this aircraft as our first collaboration with Microsoft and to see it officially released as part of the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Premium Package.

We hope that you enjoy flying the Miltech Simulations C-17 Globemaster III,

Miltech Simulations Team - Gabriel, Dan, Chris, Rhys, Brayan, Max & our Partners at Echo19 and PropAir

Where to Get?

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 - Premium Deluxe Edition: Included

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Marketplace