1: A crowd gathers to inspect the C-17 Globemaster cargo plane highlighted during “Superday” at Camp Guernsey Saturday afternoon. 2: A C-17 Globemaster lands on the Camp Guernsey airstrip Saturday afternoon. The cargo plane is 174 feet long aircraft was the first of its kind to land at the facility.

Just 150 years ago, immigrants made their way west on the Oregon Trail, their wagons moving thousands of people, their belongings and supplies to new opportunities and new surroundings.

They could scarcely have imagined the scene on Saturday afternoon as one of the military's largest transport planes, also used to carry thousands of people, their belongings and supplies, flew just a few hundred feet above that very trail, headed for a landing on Guernsey's widened runway.

With the better part of a day set aside to acquaint the public with the airfield's latest improvements and what those mean to Camp Guernsey and the local area, several hundred people came to see the first landing of a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane at the facility.

A C-130 Hercules cargo plane and a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter arrived earlier in the day and were on display as the crowd assembled for the events.

Dubbed "Superday" by the military, the public was invited to visit the airfield, view the equipment and improvements that have been added over this summer and witness the landing of the C-17.

Col. Steve Mount welcomed the group and introduced a number of special guests, including former Governor Mike Sullivan and his wife Jane; as well as former State Senator Jim Twiford. Twiford's son, Lt. Col. James R. Twiford, who also happens to be the Sullivan's son-in-law, piloted the plane from McChord Air Force Base in Washington. Lt. Col. Twiford is the Commander of the 7th Airlift Squadron at McChord.

State AG Ed Wright spoke briefly about Camp Guernsey's role in training for units from all branches of service from across the United States. Wright told the crowd that Camp Guernsey has become one of the most important places for troops to train as they prepare for assignments overseas. Because of the similarities in local terrain to Afghanistan, Wright said, "an investment in Camp Guernsey is an investment in saving lives of our troops that are deployed." Wright also mentioned that the current improvements had been a huge dream of the late state representative Jim Hageman, who lived near Guernsey.

State Construction and Facilities Management Officer Col. Tammy Maas briefed the crowd on some of the more significant details of the improvements to the airport's runway and apron. "We used 4,000 cubic yards of concrete, 17,000 cubic yards of asphalt and 10,400 cubic yards of fill dirt in this project."

The project began in 2002 and work actually began on May 11, 2009. She lauded the town of Guernsey as a "great partner" in the renovation of the airstrip. In addition, improvements were made to the runway lighting.

Highlights of Camp Guernsey's airfield now include a 5,500-foot paved runway with new turnaround points and new width expanded to 90 feet; five low level flight routes; two precision instrument approaches; tower/pilot controlled medium intensity runway lighting system; 10 certified drop zones for personnel, cargo and high altitude parachute operations; a parking ramp that accommodates more than 20 rotary aircraft and up to three C-17 airframes; and the capability of landing a C-17 aircraft. The facility also has briefing, flight planning and flight operations rooms.

As Maas finished up at the podium, the huge C-17, scheduled to land at noon, came into view above the crowd. After circling once, the 174-foot long aircraft turned to the south and circled back to line up for its descent. As the huge tires hit the pavement, a cloud of dust obstructed the craft for just a few seconds, and then the immense, grey metal bird came into full view, braking to a quick stop before it taxied to a parked position near the C-130.

Once secured, the tail section opened and the crowd of visitors was invited to get a first-hand look, inside and out. The crew stood by as people walked up into the belly of the cargo area, dwarfed by the immensity of the aircraft.

Following a barbeque lunch at the NCO club on base, the crowd reassembled at the airfield to watch as paratroopers jumped from the C-130, landing in the field just east of the runway.

Shortly thereafter, the C-130 departed for the north range for another training jump.

The crowd then watched as the C-17 fired up and taxied to the south end of the runway. Described as a 45-degree take-off, the plane was in the air in just a matter of seconds, powered by four fully reversible FAA certified F11-PW-100 engines, similar to those on a commercial Boeing 757. As the crowd waved and clapped, the largest plane to land at Guernsey to date was on the way home.



For the complete article see the 10-21-2009 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 10-21-2009 paper.

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