T-1: The First C-17 Ever Built and Its Incredible Journey
Before the C-17 Globemaster III became the backbone of American airlift capability, before it starred in Hollywood blockbusters, there was T-1. Serial number 87-0025. The very first C-17 ever built.
This aircraft’s story spans three decades of aviation history, from classified flight tests to movie sets to a museum display.
T-1 (87-0025), the first C-17 ever built, landing at Edwards Air Force Base. (Public Domain)
Birth of a Legend
Douglas Aircraft Company (later acquired by Boeing) completed T-1 in 1991. On September 15 of that year, the prototype took to the skies for the first time from Long Beach, California. It was immediately delivered to Edwards Air Force Base to begin an extensive flight test program.
For the next 20 years, T-1 served as the primary test platform for the C-17 program. Every capability that makes the Globemaster III exceptional, its short-field performance, its enormous cargo capacity, its unique thrust reversers, was first proven on this aircraft.
Inside the Cockpit
The cockpit of the first C-17 built, showing the glass cockpit configuration. (Public Domain)
T-1 featured what was then a revolutionary glass cockpit design. Four large multifunction displays replaced traditional analog instruments, reducing crew workload and improving situational awareness. This same cockpit design would later equip all 279 C-17s produced.
The aircraft requires just three crew members: pilot, copilot, and loadmaster. Compare that to the C-141 Starlifter it replaced, which needed six.
Test Missions
Throughout its career at Edwards, T-1 supported test programs for:
- The U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center
- NASA
- Various defense contractors
- Foreign military sales evaluations
The aircraft flew thousands of test hours, pushing the C-17 design to its limits and validating the capabilities that would make it the Air Force’s most versatile transport.
Hollywood Stardom
T-1’s unique status as a test aircraft made it available for film productions when operational C-17s were deployed worldwide. Between 2007 and 2013, it appeared in five major motion pictures:
- Transformers (2007)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Man of Steel (2013)
Cast members including Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jon Favreau left autographs inside the aircraft. Movie production stickers still adorn the interior.
Retirement and Legacy
After two decades of flight testing, T-1 was retired at Edwards AFB in 2011. In April 2012, the aircraft made its final flight to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Today, T-1 sits on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton. Visitors can walk through the cargo bay, see the celebrity signatures, and experience the aircraft that started it all.
Specifications
- First flight: September 15, 1991
- Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company (now Boeing)
- Length: 174 feet
- Wingspan: 169 feet 10 inches
- Max cargo: 170,900 pounds
- Engines: Four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100
- Crew: 3 (pilot, copilot, loadmaster)
From prototype to movie star to museum piece, T-1 represents the entire C-17 legacy in a single airframe.
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