Delta Air Lines’ Oldest Active Jet Is 37 Years Old: Here’s Where It’s Still Flying

Is It True That American Airlines’ Airbus A321neo Main Cabin Extra Exit Row Has More Legroom Than First Class?

July 12, 2026

How The 585,000-Pound C-17 Globemaster Lands On Some Of The World’s Shortest Runways

Simple Flying

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III has a maximum takeoff weight of 585,000 lb (265,352 kg), which is heavier than a fully loaded Boeing 747-400. Despite this massive weight, it can land on a runway 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) long and just 90 feet (27.4 meters) wide. We will try to explain why that is physically possible: the C-17’s externally blown flap system doubles the lift coefficient available to the wing compared to a conventional jet transport, allowing the aircraft to approach at around 115 knots (132 miles per hour / 213 km per hour) rather than the 140-plus knots a conventional heavy transport would need at similar weights. That 25-knot difference in approach speed is the aerodynamic mechanism that separates a strategic airlifter that operates from unpaved forward strips in Afghanistan, Antarctica, and Kosovo from one that requires commercial airport infrastructure to function.