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McDonnell Douglas C-17
"Globemaster III" transport 1991
The first prototype flew in September 1991. Entered service in 1994. Boeing (then McDonnell Douglas) was selected as the prime contractor to build the C-17 in August 1981. However, the full-scale engineering and development contract was not signed until December 1985. During flight testing, C-17s set 22 world records, including payload to altitude time-to-climb and short takeoff and landing, in which the C-17 took off in less than 1,400 feet, carried a payload of 44,000 pounds to altitude, and landed in less than 1,400 feet. On January 17, 1995, the first squadron of C-17s was declared operationally ready for worldwide operations by the U.S. Air Force.
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