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Meet the aircraft
McDonnell Douglas developed the C-17 for the US Air Force, with its first flight in 1991. Four turbofans, a high wing and a rear cargo ramp support the heavy-transport role. Its landing gear and high-lift design also address operations from relatively constrained airfields. The Globemaster III can move very large equipment while retaining a modern two-pilot flight deck.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A first flight in the type marks the final Air Force delivery
For Jackson, taking the final new Air Force C-17 away from Long Beach was also his first flight in the type. Simulator preparation and instruction from experienced crews helped him feel ready. Boeing employees waved below as the aircraft departed, linking the delivery with the people who had spent years building the fleet. Clarke later flew the arrival at Charleston, also describing it as his first time flying a C-17.
Air Mobility Command report · September 2013. Shared account of the final U.S. Air Force delivery flight, P-223, with experienced C-17 aircrew supporting the visiting senior pilots.
Air Mobility Command · Read more ↗Cargo controls have documented simulation limits
Hydraulic and electrical power are required for cargo-door and ramp operation. The guide marks the chute/rail, aerial-delivery, ramp-blowdown and smoke-detection panels as inactive in this version.
C-17 Globemaster III · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube MOTORIZADO · 11 min ·
U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III Take Off, Cockpit View • Joint Base Charleston
A C-17 departure from Joint Base Charleston, filmed from the flight deck.
Real aircraft · Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
McDonnell Douglas developed the C-17 for the US Air Force, with its first flight in 1991. Four turbofans, a high wing and a rear cargo ramp support the heavy-transport role. Its landing gear and high-lift design also address operations from relatively constrained airfields.
The Globemaster III can move very large equipment while retaining a modern two-pilot flight deck. The Miltech manual describes the simulator's flight-control and autopilot features, including functions that were not implemented in the documented version.
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Boeing → · Explore the family →
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Wikipedia contributors · Boeing C-17 Globemaster III ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Reserve crews remember the early relief airdrops
The 315th Airlift Wing’s 2008 retrospective records a Reserve C-17 crew joining a four-aircraft humanitarian-ration drop in October 2001. Its loadmaster’s recollection describes hurried travel, crew briefings and several further missions, adding the cargo crew’s experience alongside the pilots’ accounts.
315th Airlift Wing · Anniversary passes for Reserve C-17s in Afghanistan ↗Loadmaster-led retrospective; not another independent pilot interview
Development milestones
First flight: 15 September 1991
Developed from: McDonnell Douglas YC-15
Wikipedia contributors · Boeing C-17 Globemaster III ↗Boeing C-17 Globemaster III · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1374113908
Pilot accounts
A first flight in the type marks the final Air Force delivery
For Jackson, taking the final new Air Force C-17 away from Long Beach was also his first flight in the type. Simulator preparation and instruction from experienced crews helped him feel ready. Boeing employees waved below as the aircraft departed, linking the delivery with the people who had spent years building the fleet.
Clarke later flew the arrival at Charleston, also describing it as his first time flying a C-17. He wanted the landing to be especially good for the crowd waiting there and joked about its size compared with fighters. The report follows a crew drawn from active duty, Reserve and Guard organisations, sharing one journey to mark the end of Air Force production deliveries.
Air Mobility Command report · September 2013. Shared account of the final U.S. Air Force delivery flight, P-223, with experienced C-17 aircrew supporting the visiting senior pilots.
Read the full account · Air Mobility Command ↗A familiar voice on the intercom changes the flight
Buckingham recognised concern in the loadmasters’ voices when they reported a fuel smell shortly after takeoff. He went into the cargo compartment while the other two pilots managed the flight deck. A helicopter was leaking fuel, and the soldiers travelling home had lifted themselves away from the spreading liquid.
The crew returned to Mosul and evacuated the passengers after landing. Buckingham remembered that some soldiers seemed more worried about going back than about the emergency itself. Once the leak had been repaired and the aircraft attended to, the journey resumed. His strongest praise was for the young loadmasters and the crew’s preparation: people with different responsibilities had recognised the problem, shared the workload and brought everyone back to the ground.
Air Mobility Command report · February 2004. C-17 aircraft commander recalling a fuel leak from helicopter cargo after departure from Mosul; three pilots and two loadmasters worked together.
Read the full account · Air Mobility Command ↗Three flags carry a father’s thanks around the world
Eberhart’s final flight from Afghanistan prompted memories of returning to the country over many years. He recalled the contrast between the early airfields he had used in 2001 and the infrastructure visible by 2013. The C-17 had also taken him on embassy-support flights and assignments around the world.
Three flags had travelled with him in the aircraft since 2006, including trips to the South Pole and humanitarian missions. He planned to give one to each son when he retired, as thanks for the time the family had spent without him. The interview also describes his interest in teaching judgment to other crews. Flying, mentoring and the cost of time away from home all form part of his recollection.
U.S. Air Forces Central interview · August 2013. C-17 pilot reflecting on his final Afghanistan flight that July before moving to a non-flying assignment.
Read the full account · U.S. Air Forces Central ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2024C-17 Globemaster III
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
C-17 Globemaster III
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 174 ft (53 m) |
| Wingspan | 169 ft 9.6 in (51.755 m) |
| Height | 55 ft 1 in (16.79 m) |
| Wing area | 3,800 sq ft (350 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 282,500 lb (128,140 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 585,000 lb (265,352 kg) |
| Powerplant | 4 × Pratt & Whitney PW2000 turbofan engines, 40,440 lbf (179.9 kN) thrust each (U.S. military designation: F117-PW-100) |
| Cruise speed | 450 kn (520 mph, 830 km/h) (Mach 0.74–0.79) |
| Range | 2,420 nmi (2,780 mi, 4,480 km) with 157,000 lb (71,214 kg) payload |
| Service ceiling | 45,000 ft (14,000 m) |
Manuals & resources
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Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Cargo controls have documented simulation limitsC-17 Globemaster III · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Hydraulic and electrical power are required for cargo-door and ramp operation. The guide marks the chute/rail, aerial-delivery, ramp-blowdown and smoke-detection panels as inactive in this version.
C-17 manual · PDF p.74; page visually checked
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Animated communication panels do not all control radiosC-17 Globemaster III · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The overhead standby radio is inactive. The guide also distinguishes animated intercom and microphone-selection modules from functioning radio controls.
C-17 manual · PDF p.50; archived version, not a current package test
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Modern transport controls with an explicit feature boundaryC-17 Globemaster III · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Miltech's C-17 guide describes fly-by-wire stabilisation and trim, selectable autopilot modes and stall-test controls. It explicitly marks VNAV, TURB and several other controls as unsupported in that version.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.6,8,45,58
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The loadmaster has a second view of the EFBC-17 Globemaster III · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The EFB appears as a tablet beside the pilot and as a laptop at the loadmaster station. Both interfaces provide access to attachments, doors and payloads.
Miltech C-17 MSFS 2024 manual · PDF pp.72–75
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The fuel page displays quantities rather than editing themC-17 Globemaster III · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The manual labels the EFB fuel page as a visual display. The payload page separately shows aircraft weights and a centre-of-gravity diagram alongside load selection.
C-17 manual · PDF p.73
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A first flight in the type marks the final Air Force deliveryAir Mobility Command report · September 2013. Shared account of the final U.S. Air Force delivery flight, P-223, with experienced C-17 aircrew supporting the visiting senior pilots.
For Jackson, taking the final new Air Force C-17 away from Long Beach was also his first flight in the type. Simulator preparation and instruction from experienced crews helped him feel ready. Boeing employees waved below as the aircraft departed, linking the delivery with the people who had spent years building the fleet. Clarke later flew the arrival at Charleston, also describing it as his first time flying a C-17.
James Jackson and Stanley Clarke
Air Mobility Command · Read the source ↗A familiar voice on the intercom changes the flightAir Mobility Command report · February 2004. C-17 aircraft commander recalling a fuel leak from helicopter cargo after departure from Mosul; three pilots and two loadmasters worked together.
Buckingham recognised concern in the loadmasters’ voices when they reported a fuel smell shortly after takeoff. He went into the cargo compartment while the other two pilots managed the flight deck. A helicopter was leaking fuel, and the soldiers travelling home had lifted themselves away from the spreading liquid. The crew returned to Mosul and evacuated the passengers after landing. Buckingham remembered that some soldiers seemed more worried about going back than about the emergency itself.
Bill Buckingham
Air Mobility Command · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1374113908 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Anniversary passes for Reserve C-17s in Afghanistan315th Airlift Wing · Tech. Sgt. Jeff Kelly · 14 October 2008Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III: The selected control law supplies heavy-transport yoke resistance.
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