Boeing announced that its C-17 Globemaster III aircraft celebrated 35 years since its first flight on September 15.
Introduced in 1981, the C-17 completed its first two-hour, 24-minute flight on September 15, 1991. The aircraft took off from the Long Beach, California, airport and landed at Edwards AFB, the company reports.
In its first week of testing, the C-17 conducted three missions to document flight handling qualities at various altitudes, check out emergency backup systems, and demonstrate flap, slat, and landing gear performance, among other tests.
The first C-17 squadron became operational with the U.S. Air Force in January 1995.
C-17s have set 33 world records, including payload-to-altitude, time-to-climb, and the short takeoff and landing mark. In particular, C-17 took off in less than 427 meters, carried a payload of 20,000 kg to altitude, and landed in less than 427 meters.
The worldwide C-17 fleet exceeded 2 million flying hours in December 2010 and is expected to surpass 5 million flying hours next year.
C-17s production finished in 2015, but Boeing still supports and modernizes the aircraft. For example, in 2025, the company entered into a three-year agreement with GKN Aerospace to provide fan blade repair services for the vehicle.