Modesto-area residents spot military planes overhead. Here’s why aircraft will return
Stanislaus County residents may have spotted three Air Force planes flying above their homes late last week, a public affairs office confirmed.
Three C-17 Globemaster III aircraft flew over the Modesto and Turlock areas during a routine training that will occur monthly, per a statement from the 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs Office.
About 20 personnel flew in the aircraft coming from Travis Air Force Base near Fairfield, the office said in a statement emailed to The Bee on Tuesday.
“Travis AFB’s flight path extends across the state of California,” the office said. “We use the airspace to conduct training and support our rapid global mobility mission.”
Readers reported seeing and hearing military planes Thursday and Friday. In a voicemail, a reader living off Floyd Avenue and Coffee Road in Modesto said the loud aircraft shook houses and caused dogs to bark.
The military primarily uses C-17 aircraft to transport cargo and troops, per the Air Force website. The model is 53 meters long with a wingspan of about 52 meters. Its cruising speed is about 450 knots, or 518 miles per hour.
Travis Air Force Base lies about 70 miles northwest of Modesto. Roughly 7,400 active duty personnel are stationed there.
