89th AS trains on dirt strip during Global Medic exercise

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The 445th Airlift Wing had the opportunity for the first time to employ the semi-prepared runway operations (SPRO) capabilities of one of its own C-17 Globemaster III aircraft May 25.

The C-17 participated in Global Medic 2011, redeploying troops and cargo from the Schoonover Landing Zone in Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., to March Air Reserve Base, Calif. The Schoonover LZ offered the crew the opportunity to train on a dirt landing strip.

"This Global Medic support mission to the Schoonover LZ presented a unique opportunity to employ the austere field capabilities of the C-17 in a joint war exercise scenario. From the planning to the assault landings, taxiing, aircraft loading and take-offs, the SPRO experience afforded via this mission was invaluable," said Lt. Col. Mike Baker, 89th Airlift Squadron, pilot.

Colonel Baker said Schoonover operations differ in many ways from those used at conventional airports. In addition to the extensive long and short-range planning factors associated with the runway's dirt composition, assault landings are required due to the runway's relatively short length.

"We have to fly a steeper than normal approach, followed by a minimal flare to ensure that the aircraft will touchdown within a 500 foot zone and then stop in the remaining runway available. Also after landing, caution is required to ensure that deep ruts are not created during taxi operations," Colonel Baker said.

The crew had to take several factors into consideration before departing for Schoonover's semi-prepared runway. One was the California Bearing Ration, which measures an unpaved runway's strength and is expressed as a percentage of the weight bearing capacity of crushed rock. Another area of focus was the Rolling Friction Factor, which is a real-time assessment made by an on-site combat control team to determine a runway's acceleration degradation vulnerability due to soil type, loose soil, and whether the runway is currently wet or dry. Colonel Baker said these factors play a critical role in determining whether the runway available will be sufficient not only for landing but also for the subsequent takeoff.

For the loadmasters, there was no real adjustment in their job than what they usually do.

"This was a pretty basic mission for us, loading and unloading cargo. However, it was cool too because landing on a dirt strip instead of concrete is something we don't do every day," Tech. Sgt. Craig Essert, loadmaster, said. "You could really feel the power this aircraft has."

According to its Air Force fact sheet, the design of the C-17 allows it to operate through small, austere airfields. The C-17 can take off and land on runways as short as 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.

"We did have an intense planning session to calculate the right amount of fuel, cargo weight, etc., to take off and land on the dirt strip. But it was an amazing training experience for us and I hope we can do something like this again in the near future," said Maj. Brett Manger, 89th AS pilot.

Lt. Col. Rich Klarich, 445th Operations Group and the mission's aircraft commander, summed it up well.

"Very few aircraft could take two full-sized fire trucks weighing more than 60,000 pounds half-way across the country after departing from a dirt strip seemingly more suitable for a Cessna 172."