Boeing

The Boeing-U.S. Air ForceC-17 Globemaster III set 13 world records during flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base Tuesday, including resetting two of the 22 world records that it claimed during initial flight testing in 1992-994.

The records set Tuesday will be forwarded to the National Aeronautic Association for certification. When the newest records are confirmed, the C-17 will have set 33 world records in various categories.

The C-17 used for the record flight, P-71, was the first C-17 with the extended range fuel containment system. Eleven of the records were for maximum altitude with various payloads as the C-17 carried payloads up to 40,000 kg (88,200 pounds) to an altitude in excess of 43,800 feet. The other records were for maximum altitude in horizontal flight without a payload, and greatest payload to a height of 2,000 meters.

The previous 22 world records included payload-to-altitude and time-to-climb in additional categories, as well as greatest payload to a height of 2,000 meters in the short-takeoff-and-landing (under 500 meters) category.

The new records were set with assistance from the U.S. Air Force C-17 System Program Office at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio; the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and the 412th Test Wing there. The C-17 used for the record flight was already at Edwards for various other flight tests.

The U.S. Air Force has taken delivery of 77 C-17s of the 120 on order. The C-17 fleet has amassed more than 300,000 flight hours since first flight in 1991. The United Kingdom Royal Air Force also operates four C-17s.

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