Pirate, I've been to your old neck of the woods this week...

[Black Diamond Vol]

And wouldn't you know it, I ran into my ex up there.  She's gone gray since I last saw her, but she still has the same fat ass, and she probably still leaks fuel, too. 

[PirateVOL]

The AF spent way too much $$ keeping that pig flying far too long, even after they got a 2nd permanent and another temp test bird.

What is really sad is the last C-17 is going to a foreign customer.

Once again we shut a line down too soon.  Far too many C-17s got rode very, very hard and put up wet during GWOT.  The original birds with my toy installed went home to Charleston twice a year, for HSC.  Each time their 781s were several dozen pages long (spent way too much time in G081)

The C-17 is a fantastic aircraft, does a great job moving stuff and people and despite several attempts by aircrew only one has been lost (due to extreme aircrew stupidity at Elmendorf)

[Black Diamond Vol]

The AF spent way too much $$ keeping that pig flying far too long, even after they got a 2nd permanent and another temp test bird.

What is really sad is the last C-17 is going to a foreign customer.

Once again we shut a line down too soon.  Far too many C-17s got rode very, very hard and put up wet during GWOT.  The original birds with my toy installed went home to Charleston twice a year, for HSC.  Each time their 781s were several dozen pages long (spent way too much time in G081)

The C-17 is a fantastic aircraft, does a great job moving stuff and people and despite several attempts by aircrew only one has been lost (due to extreme aircrew stupidity at Elmendorf)

I didn't even know T1 was up there, I was shocked to see it.  I assumed they would've kept it for the museum at Eddies. 

That's an impressive place, though.  It's been probably 10 years since I've been to the Smithsonian A&S museum in DC, but to my recollection I'd say the one at Wright-Pat is comparable.