who would ever dream the c17 is gone

[bobski]

i was part of the evaluation team for paraops out of those beasts, for specops.
it was the last plane i jumped out of in 96.
and now its gone.
and its been gone for 6 years!
i feel old.

 

[Bob Wright]

You may come to visit them at the Tennessee Air National Guard base in Memphis.

Bob Wright

 

[Snake45]

Huh. My son has been under the impression that he's been flying one for about five years now. He'll be surprised to learn they're "gone." :shock:

 

[P89DC]

USAF has 222 working, active C-17 Globemasters. Some of the older high hours C-17 have been retired.

 

[sceva]

I was working as a Quality Assurance Engineer for Mcdonnell Douglas when the first one flew. I had a lot of their parts in my hands.

 

[Rick Courtright]

and its been gone for 6 years!
i feel old.

Hi,

By "gone" do you mean "out of production?"

A buddy worked for Boeing and I remember him telling me he watched the last C-17 roll out of the hangar to go into service. About six years ago would sound right for that event.

Rick C

 

[tinman]

I remember doing some of the "test" jumps out of the C-5......the C-17 did not exist while I was in........all of a sudden I feel older. :shock:

 

[bobski]

ahhhh....so they are still in SERVICE, just not in production anymore. that makes more sense.

 

[bobski]

it took 4 seconds to clear the ramp from (go!) on a c17, let alone a c5. it felt like you could get lost looking for the ramp. lol.

 

[bobski]

my first jump was out of a C7. my last was out of a C17.
amazingly, my first jump was naec lakehurst dz, nj. my last was the same place, same spot 22 years later.

 

[tinman]

ahhhh....so they are still in SERVICE, just not in production anymore. that makes more sense.

That's ok, my daughters last plane, a KC135, was built in 1964.....and is still flying. Much like the B52, that's what happens when the designers and builders "get it right". :idea:

 

[tinman]

my first jump was out of a C7. my last was out of a C17.
amazingly, my first jump was naec lakehurst dz, nj. my last was the same place, same spot 22 years later.

I always loved jumping Caribou's......they always felt sorta homey. I'd have to go find my logbook to remember all the different aircraft I have "exited at altitude".
My first was from a C141.....ain't thought about it in many years so don't remember what my last ride was.
Did fixed wing and rotary......but never got to jump from a balloon. 8)

 

[bobski]

i jumped out of this the day prior to this pic. this pic was day 2. jumps canceled. C7 had a flat. note how it is leaning.

 

[blume357]

did not know they were called that... all I remember from a long time ago was the cadence.... with C-130

"C-130 rolling down the strip,
airborne daddy gonna take a little trip.
Jump up, hookup, out the door on the count of four...

If my shoot don't open wide
I got another one by my side..
if that one should fail me too.,,
Move your ass I'm coming through.

And when I land on the old drop zone...
Scrape me up and ship me home.
Tell my girl I done my best
and bury me in the leaning rest.

All I ever got to jump out of was helicopters and I think that was about 5ft to the ground....

 

[Armybrat]

Well now, all you fellows jumping out of perfectly good airplanes explains a lot about this here Ruger forum.
:mrgreen:

 

[bobski]

army/ang airplanes? far from perfectly good!

 

[bobski]

c130 is a hercules.

 

[Robb Barnes]

My son flew the KC135 for multiple deployments before he switched to the MC130J for Special Ops. His wife flies the Osprey for them and that way they can be stationed at the same base. Their last deployment was to Afghanistan and while they were at different bases, he actually refueled his wife during one combat flight. He mentioned it was a random chance thing but he said if the base commander knew it had happened he might not be happy.

 

[blume357]

Yep, there are a number of off color jokes that could have been made over that 'refueling'.

 

[tinman]

Well now, all you fellows jumping out of perfectly good airplanes explains a lot about this here Ruger forum.
:mrgreen:

Yeah, the more I travelled in those "perfectly good" aircraft, the more I appreciated having a parachute handy. I tell the story of boarding a C123 where I noticed a 55 gallon drum strapped to one of the outer walls. At first it simply looked like an odd place to transport a steel drum, but later in the flight I realized there was a hose routed from the top of this drum running up into the framework of the plane. I asked one of the crew the purpose of the drum/hosing. His reply was that the drum was filled with hydraulic fluid which was tied into the planes hydraulic system and was to offset their "normal" loss due to leakage........... :shock:

 

[RSIno1]

I was working as a Quality Assurance Engineer for Mcdonnell Douglas when the first one flew. I had a lot of their parts in my hands.

A guy I went to high school with had the same job. He rejected a lot of parts to the point they were under the gun to meet the deadline.

 

[wheelgun1958]

Well now, all you fellows jumping out of perfectly good airplanes explains a lot about this here Ruger forum.
:mrgreen:

No such thing as "perfectly good." Airworthy or safe for flight but something always needs fixing.

 

[graygun]

"...55,every month..."

We sang about that in basic but I was a ground troop for my three years.

C-17 still seems new to me.

 

[Jeepnik]

Gone? Someone forgot to tell the one that just flew over my house twice. Or it could have been two that flew over once. I know Harris was in town so I figure they/it are here to pick up her limo.

 

[Snake45]

Gone? Someone forgot to tell the one that just flew over my house twice. Or it could have been two that flew over once. I know Harris was in town so I figure they/it are here to pick up her limo.

Very possible. My kid sometimes flies the presidential vehicles or helicopter to where they need to be.