McDonnell Douglas YC-15

McDonnell Douglas · United States · first flew 1975 · transport aircraft

The McDonnell Douglas YC-15 was a four-engine prototype short take-off and landing tactical transport. It was McDonnell Douglas's entry in the USAF Advanced Medium STOL Transport competition to replace the C-130 Hercules.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	4 × turbofan, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	T-tail on a tactical-transport fuselage with a DC-10-derived nose
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

High-mounted supercritical wing that is not swept, with four turbofans
Externally blown double-slotted flaps behind the engines
T-tail on a tactical-transport fuselage with a DC-10-derived nose

Look for a high wing with four JT8D-type turbofans that blow over big double-slotted flaps, and a T-tail with a nose and cockpit taken from the DC-10.

Specifications

The McDonnell Douglas YC-15 has a length of 37.9 m (124 ft).
It has a wingspan of 33.6 m (110 ft).
Its maximum speed is 950 km/h (590 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

McDonnell Douglas and Boeing were chosen on 10 November 1972 to build two prototypes each. The YC-15 first flew on 26 August 1975, and it was the first jet-powered aircraft to use externally blown flaps.

Variants

Two YC-15s were built, one with a wingspan of 110 ft (34 m) and one of 132 ft (40 m), and a new wing of greater chord and span was later flown on one of them.

Where you'll see it

Neither the YC-15 nor the Boeing YC-14 was ordered into production. The YC-15 design was used as the basis of the C-17 Globemaster III.

Related aircraft

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