Those massive military airplanes buzzing around the Eagle County airport? Here’s where they’re from
The C-17 Globemaster can haul troops, tanks, helicopters... you name it
Lincoln Holley via Unsplash
There have been some massive airplanes flying around the Eagle County Regional Airport this week.
The aircraft were C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft, most likely flown by Great Britain’s Royal Air Force. According to Eagle County Aviation Director David Reid, the big planes were “doing pattern work and low passes around the airport.” Since they didn’t land, the only coordination they had with the airport was with the facility’s control tower.
The aircraft apparently were also spotted in northwest Colorado, over Craig and the airport in Hayden.
Low-elevation work is common for the C-17, known as the “Globemaster.” The aircraft, manufactured by Boeing and in service since 1993, is built to land on short, unimproved airfields. You can take off and land a fully-loaded Globemaster on a runway as short as 3,500 feet and 90 feet wide. And, according to Air Force Technical Sgt. Jordan Thompson of the Buckley Space Force facility in Aurora, “You can put a lot of stuff in one.”
According to a quick internet search, one Globemaster can haul nearly 171,000 pounds of cargo. That’s big enough to haul 102 soldiers, a tank or a good-sized helicopter. The aircraft stands 55 feet tall, has a wingspan of nearly 170 feet and, with in-flight refueling, the range is described as “global.”
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The cost of one of the cargo planes? Approximately $340 million.