Guy Norris/BICYCLE LAKE
McDONNELL Douglas C-17s achieved launch-reliability levels of 97.6% during a series of US Air Force exercises, which pave the way for final assessments of the programme in July.
The outcome of the mid-year evaluation is critical to the US Government's November decision on whether to extend C-17 production line beyond the 40 now on order.
Dubbed the "Readiness Review", the trials involved 12 C-17s operating a total of 85 sorties. Missions ranged from strategic airlift to tactical sorties such as the delivery of tanks to austere airfields in the Mojave Desert, California.
Lt. Col. Dale Shrader, director of planning for the July exercise says, of the reliability, maintainability and availability evaluation that "...out of the 85 sorties, all the missions got off. In only two cases were there minor logistics problems - one with a nitrogen strut and the other a hydraulic leak".
Shrader says that the high reliability levels of the 12 C-17s used in the review were also indicative of the efficiency of the "en route" support structure erected by Air Mobility Command to support the air-lifter.
To simulate tactical operations under wartime conditions, aircraft from the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, flew tanks, other vehicles and supplies into two austere airfields in California.
A "bare-base" operation was established at a small reserve strip near Barstow, while a dry lake in the US Army training area of Fort Irwin was used as a landing zone for tanks.
Lt. Col. Lawrence Brinker, commander of the Tanker Airlift Control Element in California, says: "The aircraft is performing magnificently. We anticipated more difficulties, but it's worked better than advertised."
Brinker adds: "We've had very little in the way of major problems. The only things we've had to do is change some tyres and deal with minor computer problems."
Source: Flight International
