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C-17 Facts: Everything You Need To Know

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Landing on Austere Runways

C-17 Austere Runways
A C-17 Globemaster from the 452 AMW, March ARB, CA turns around at the end of the dirt runway at Bicycle Lake, Ft. Irwin, CA after landing there on Feb 10, 2006.
Tech Sgt. Joe Zuccaro, U.S. Air Force
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The design of the aircraft allows it to operate through small, austere airfields. High-lift wing, slats, and externally blown flaps allow the C-17 to take off and land on runways from 2,300 to 3,500 feet (1,064 meters) and only 90 feet wide (27.4 meters). Even on such narrow runways, the C-17 can turn around using a three-point star turn and its backing capability. The Air Force desribes an austere runway as, “runways are usually less than 4,000 feet long and can be as narrow as 60 feet. Payloads may be constrained by runway length and weight-bearing capacity. There is less than 100,000 square feet of ramp spaceaccessed by way of a single narrow taxiway and there are no turnaround areas at either end of the runway. Ground support and equipment are usually nonexistent.”