Explore ‘movie star’ C-17 and more on Air Force museum app

DAYTON, Ohio — As you take a 360° tour inside the cargo area of the C-17 on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, you’ll notice typical items you’d see in many aircraft – cargo seats, a pallet, even a bumper sticker that says “I love flying.” But look closer and you’ll see something a little more unusual on this particular aircraft.

In addition to its role as a flight test aircraft, this C-17 was also a Hollywood star. It appeared in five motion pictures – “Transformers,” “Iron Man,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Iron Man 2” and “Superman: Man of Steel” – as well as country superstar Toby Keith’s Emmy Award-winning production of “American Soldier.”

Stickers from the “Transformers” and “Iron Man” movies are visible inside the aircraft, along with autographs from “Iron Man” stars Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jon Favreau.

Interior views of the C-17’s flight deck, observation and loadmaster stations and cargo area, along with inside looks at the C-130E, EC-135E and C-141C Hanoi Taxi, were recently added to the ACI Cockpit360º app available from the museum and AeroCapture Images. These four aircraft are currently on display in the museum’s Air Park.

The free app features high-definition panoramic photos of the interiors of 29 well-known aircraft on display at the museum. Several of the aircraft, including the most recent additions, include multiple “nodes,” showing various views. The app is currently available for free download from the Apple and Google Play stores.

“This adds 23 new interior views to the Cockpit360º images we already had available,” said Bryan Carnes, the museum’s lead for this project. “It’s a great way to make the inside of these historic aircraft available to millions of people without the wear and tear that would occur if they were to walk through them in person.”

The interior photos also are available on the museum’s interactive 360° virtual tour, which allows users to explore the museum at their leisure through factsheets, supplemental information and educational tools based on the museum’s collection. The tour is available here.

The museum plans to feature additional cockpit photos as time and resources allow.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about 1 million visitors from around the world come to the museum.