Team Altus Airlift Demo - C-17 KC-135 KC-46 - Sun 'n Fun 2026

And that's in length. Wingspan 169 feet 10 inches to be precise. And the height of that tail 55 feet one inch. And it has a cargo compartment 88 feet long. It is a big airplane as you're about to see and hear and feel. And I love every piece of it, every part of it because it's so big. Listen to that, it even feels heavy. The C-17. Being a hospital, it can carry cargo and it can carry troopers, our squadrons, everywhere across the world. And let's take a listen in and feel the power of the C-17. This is the pass where it's all dirtied up. The flaps are down, the gear is down. And you really, with the powerful engines, get a sense of how heavy it is as it flies by, slowly this time in the dirty configuration. Listen to the power, sense the weight of the mighty C-17 Globemaster III. To start with that cockpit Brittany, because you've been in the simulator, what are you looking at when you're sitting in the seat? A lot of buttons, knobs, throttles. No, obviously it's pretty comfortable going in but what's unique and we'll have the opportunity to see part of because of the weight. Look at this, now you're going to see how agile it is too. It's almost got like, well it's got a fighter pilot stick and it's the hands-up display and watch it turn on a dime. They're going to set up here and they're going to turn right around in front of you. This is a great video. Do this within a time-lapse thing and it's pretty cool. But something that's massive, very American, celebrating in our 250 years and certainly our 52 red, white, and blue, here at Sun and the Moon. Look at this thing, consider its maximum takeoff weight 585,000 tons. And we're talking about innovation. The engines you see out there are 757 engines and the throttle, one of the things that I didn't do well is your hand has to go across all four of the engine throttles and when I first started spooling up, the instructor said, do you want to use all four because you're only using three. See, piano players can cover that. Look at this though and it turned around in pretty short order. And again, you would hear the size of the KC-135 and up to your right, what it looks like in the refueling configuration. Now you mentioned, Brittany, to tip the seats back a bit. You can't do that this low, that's just something that has to be done at a higher altitude. But that's the brand new Pegasus that will eventually replace the KC-135. For you to talk about a success story and design, that airplane's been around a long time, since the 50s. They've upgraded engines on it, they've kept it flying, it's been a great workhorse for the military and global reach, but this is the new C-46 Pegasus. Look at that. Wow. In the refueling configuration, so we mentioned there is verbal communication, there's also light indicators, and that's the pilot direction indicators, or PDIs, so they can, they call out contact from both parties, and then what happens is, there's, below the tree line, this great big jet is going to disappear here in a second and just be slightly above the runway all the way down. So impressive. That looks like it's going to land. Watch this. It's going to level off right now, toes down, nice and steady, all the way down the runway, rock steady. Next, as we get a look at the folks from Altus and these big jets. Why don't you go ahead and crank it up now on the second aircraft, got one more path. System where the boom operator sits in the cockpit using cameras and sensors to guide fuel precisely into waiting aircraft. So again, innovation that we're seeing with our refueling aircraft. Unlike the KC-135, where the boom operator is prone, lying down, face down, comfortably flying the boom. As you said, Brittany, this big foam come up in the cockpit, and look at that, steady out there. They have a drink here that's a full, they serve it to you in a watermelon, and I have, I have got to have one of those before I'm out of here today, after we're done working, of course. Yes. It's a watermelon with a straw in it, it looked very much like it. The folks that operate the booms, some of them really. All like influencers, they were massively shared across the internet. Some of the jets that they refueled, and the little hand signs that go on between the pilot and the refueler, the boom operator. There is the KC-135 Stratotanker from Altus. Up goes the boom, and again, as they upgraded the engines with the newer, more modern, quiet. They're not staying, but they're having a great time, all the way from Alabama, I'm sure Oklahoma, the KC-135 from Altus, and the new Snowpacks.