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Canada One C-17 makes historic first flight
Boeing’s first flight pilot has Canadian roots
July 25, 2007
Canada One takes off on its maiden flight from the Long Beach, California airport. CREDIT: GINA VANATTER
Submitted by Boeing
It was a three-hour and 45-minute flight into Canadian aviation history on Monday afternoon as Canada One, the first of four new C-17 Globemaster IIIs Canada has on order from Boeing, took its first flight.
The first Canadian C-17, with the Maple Leaf and giant Canada word mark emblazoned on its fuselage, took off at 3:36 p.m. for its maiden flight from Long Beach, California Airport.
"For a first flight, we thought it performed exceptionally well," said Boeing production pilot Joel Brown. "But our expectations are always high that the C-17 will perform well."
The C-17 flew out over the Pacific Ocean, on a route that skirted Catalina Island, while Mr. Brown and a crew of seven performed a battery of checks of the plane.
Monday's first flight for Canada One had special significance for Mr. Brown. His mother, Penny's, side of the family is Canadian -- natives of Alberta. And his grandfather, Bruce, is a retired aviator who served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was a squadron leader who flew Boeing-built B-24s and B-17s. Mr. Brown himself has visited Canada about a dozen times.
"This was a great opportunity, with my Canadian roots and family history, that I was able to fly Canada's first C-17," Brown said. "My grandfather would have thoroughly enjoyed flying it. Overall, it was a good feeling to be able to say I was able to fly Canada's first heavy air cargo aircraft."
Canada One, which had a takeoff weight of 460,000 pounds (208,650 kilograms) for its maiden flight, was carrying some special cargo in honor of the event: five Canadian flags.
In all, Canadian requirements will mean at least two more days of test flights for Canada One. During test flights, new C-17s are put through a set of rigorous exercises, including touch-and-go landings, shutdown and restart of engines, testing of emergency backup systems and a variety of functional checks that are required prior to delivery.
Boeing pilot Joel Brown sits in the cockpit of Canada's C-17 for its first flight from the Long Beach facility.
Monday's flight crew of seven included United States Air Force aircrew Captain Tony DeAcosta; co-pilot, and Master Sergeant Chris Lester, Loadmaster; as well as Boeing employees Robert Tenorio, Loadmaster, and Flight Test Engineer Gerald Pendergast.
Delivery and arrival ceremonies are planned for early August both in Long Beach and the C-17's new home, 8 Wing Trenton in Ontario.
Boeing and the Canadian government in February signed a direct commercial sale agreement for the purchase of four C-17s for Canada's Department of National Defence.
Boeing is on contract to deliver 190 C-17s to the USAF, five to the Royal Air Force, four to the Royal Australian Air Force and four to the Canadian Forces. The second of the Canadian C-17s will be delivered later this year.