Second CC-177 delivered and operational

That was snappy.

Delivery:

Oct. 19, 2007

Canada has now received its second giant strategic airlifter, the CC-177 Globemaster III.

The big bird landed at its new home of 8 Wing Trenton at around 6 o'clock last night on time, piloted by Aircraft Commander Major Jeremy Reynolds. His first officer was Captain Jeff Jackson while the loadmasters on board were Warrant Officers Pete Lessard and Dave Evans.

The aircraft left the Boeing plant in Southern California earlier this week after undergoing rigorous flight testing and evaluation by Canadian Forces and Boeing personnel.

Acquiring strategic airlift allows Canada to make timely and relevant contributions to international operations that few other countries can, and to be able to better respond to crises domestically.

Examples include:

* Supporting humanitarian aid operations through Canadian Forces' Disaster Assistance Response Team operations;
* Providing relief to domestic crises such as floods, ice storms and forest fires; and
* Transporting two combat ready Light Armoured Vehicles to Afghanistan.

Currently, the only strategic airlift capability the Canadian Forces owns is the CC-150 Polaris (or modified Airbus A310), which is limited by its cargo carrying capacity and the operational conditions under which it can be used...

Operational:

FREDERICTON - One of Canada's new heavy-lift aircraft for the Canadian Forces is making quick work of transporting equipment from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick to a training exercise in Alberta.

The new CC-177 Globemaster is an imposing site at the Fredericton airport where two air defence anti-tank systems have been loaded for the flight to Cold Lake, Alta.

The military took ownership of the huge aircraft last Thursday - the second of four it will own by next April [emphasis added].

Aircraft commander, Maj. Jeremy Reynolds says when compared to the old Hercules aircraft, the Globemaster allows him to move more than twice the payload, over a longer distance, and in a shorter amount of time.

The Globemaster has a wingspan of almost 52 metres.

Reynolds says despite their size, the new planes have the latest computer technology and handle like a small aircraft [?!?]...

Now, consider such a flight in the context of rapid disaster relief...

Mr. Laurie Hawn (Edmonton Centre, CPC) [now Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]:
Thank you.
Thank you, General, and thank you, gentlemen, for joining us.
As we all know, operations is the rose and logistics is the stem upon which it grows.
I just have a comment with regard to strategic airlift and the use of it in North America. You may or may not have been involved with it--probably not--but all the heavy equipment for the ice storm and the floods in Manitoba was moved by U.S. Air Force C-17s. It would be nice to have our own...