‘Good Signal’ Seen From Tests of C-17

The initial 10 flights of the McDonnell Douglas C-17 cargo jet, a program long troubled by delays, have provided a “good signal” about the capabilities of the aircraft and its ability to complete its test program on schedule, the company said Friday.

“It is enough flights to give us a reasonable sampling of how the aircraft is doing,” said David O. Swain, McDonnell’s C-17 program manager. “It is really a good signal for us.”

The jet made its 10th flight Thursday, 25 days after the first--a comparatively rapid pace that shows the aircraft did not have many loose ends when it was delivered to the Air Force. Swain said the Lockheed C-5A cargo jet required 100 days to make its first 10 flights in the 1960s.

The C-17 will be tested for the next two years before entering service.

Swain said there have been only a few, minor problems. One flight was cut short when cockpit electronics showed an anomaly. Another was cut short by a malfunction. And three or four flights were curtailed by thunderstorms at Edwards Air Force Base.