Coming to a TV Near You

A film crew from the Discovery Channel’s “Mighty Planes” series visited JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, for a week in late September to shoot footage of C-17 transport operations for an upcoming episode. That episode is tentatively slated to run in the spring of 2013, according to an Oct. 3 base release. The film crew worked with members of Elmendorf’s parent 3rd Wing, but interacted most closely with airmen of the 517th Airlift Squadron, the base’s C-17 unit. “The thing that blew me away is a plane that big can be that nimble in the air,” said Stephen Grant, director of the “Mighty Planes” C-17 episode, in the release. The film crew flew on a C-17 with 75 paratroopers aboard. Despite that load, the airplane seemed like “it could turn on a dime,” said Grant. “When that thing accelerated over the mountains, you could feel it and it was awesome,” he added. (Elmendorf report by SSgt. Zachary Wolf)