I remember working on the Corps of Engineer's airdrop requirements for this aricraft when I was in the service back in the early 1980s.
Great aircraft. Terrific replacement for the beloved HerkyBird (C-130).
Sorry, but the C-130 isn't going anywhere. The J model is just rolling off the assembly lines as we speak.
Never meant as a replacement. A C-130 has functionality far surpassing the C-17 in many areas. For one thing, it can use the smallest and roughest of airfields, including; aircraft carriers, dirt roads, assault strips, and on the ice and snow strips at polar research stations.
The C-130 also has several primary missions other than cargo transport, including; use as gunships, aerial refuelers, troop drops, flare drops, Search and Rescue and polar deployments.
It's a very versatile aircraft with a well earned reputation for being able to operate in the harshest of operating conditions in states of extreme disrepair.
A friend landed one in a corn field on a tiny island (Minami Diato (sp?)- just east of Okinawa) under power of a single engine (contaminated fuel). We flew in another 130, gassed him up, and flew both back to Fatima, Okinawa. Try that with C-17's.
YC-14 or 15 were C-130 replacements.
C-17 takes some points from the 15 but is different class....except that it'll land on a dime and take off from your driveway.
Thank you for your service, and welcome home.