Boeing YC-14
The Boeing entry in the Advanced Medium STOL Transport (AMST) competition of the 1970s, the YC-14 was a rival of the McDonnell Douglas YC-15 for the job of replacing the C-130 Hercules. With a T-tail and powered by a pair of General Electric CF6 turbofans, the YC-14 design relied on upper-surface blowing to produce the required performance parameters, such as being able to operate from austere 2,000-foot airstrips with a payload of some fourteen tons.
The first of two YC-14 prototypes flew in August 1976, but by that time priorities had already begun to shift towards strategic airlift, and once the evaluation was completed, both competitors were relegated to storage. One YC-14 remains mothballed at Davis-Monthan nearly forty years after it arrived, while the other prototype is preserved at the Pima Air & Space Museum.
Bibliography:
Benjamin M. Elson “USAF YC-14 Prototypes Begin New Flight test Phase” Aviation Week & Space Technology November 29, 1976 p.64-65 6 photos
“Details of YC-14 Engines, Flaps Shown” Aviation Week & Space Technology July 19, 1976 3 photos
Photo: “Boeing YC-14 entry in AMST Competition” Aviation Week & Space Technology August 16, 1976 front cover
Richard G. O’Lone “First Flight Launches YC-14 Testing” Aviation Week & Space Technology August 16, 1976 p.22-23 1 photo
Donald E. Fink “YC-14 Nearing Joint Test Force Trials” Aviation Week & Space Technology October 11, 1976 p.41-43 1 photo
Donald E. Fink “Air Force Studies AMST Procurement” Aviation Week & Space Technology May 9, 1977 p.60-61
Boeing ad showing self propelled howitzers being unloaded from a YC-14 Aviation Week & Space Technology March 28, 1977 p.36-37
Donald E. Fink “YC-14 Flight test program Accelerating” Aviation Week & Space Technology May 16, 1977 Includes a photo sequence showing rough field tests.
Photos: “YC-14 and YC-15 Put in Storage at Monthan AFB” Aviation Week & Space Technology May 12, 1980 p.45
Keith Pickover “Ground-Breaking Hauler” Airfix Model World January 2014 Building the 1/72 Anigrand YC-14 kit.