Happy Birthday Ghetto Tanker

[CobraKai]

http://www.507arw.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123025389

The KC-135 turns 50 this month.

 

[TankerDriver]

http://www.507arw.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123025389

The KC-135 turns 50 this month.

And another 40 years to go. At least we'll have the F-22 though. We just won't have anything to refuel it when all the 135's are falling apart.

 

[Bobo135R]

50!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Man, I love that plane. NKAWTG!

 

[dtfl]

And another 40 years to go. At least we'll have the F-22 though. We just won't have anything to refuel it when all the 135's are falling apart.

Well if you drove through Mobile, AL like I do, all the time, youd see 5 signs for Northrop Grumman/EADS advertising the new home of the new KC30 tanker......

 

[tomgoodman]

Old Birds

One of the oldest, 55-3127, is probably still flying at Edwards. It was modified years ago with large windows for missile test photography, and re-designated NKC-135A. It also carries an instrumented boom for refueling tests. Another old one (55-3135?) had a water-spray boom for icing tests.

 

[FlyingHigh262]

looking forward to 50 more!!!! she doesnt even need plastic surgery yet. still looking good....

 

[Benhuntn]

Hard to believe they are 50! I flew them when they were silver and shiny,with water for fuel and no toilets. It was a manly airplane then. Now its a metrosexual aircraft but I still love it!

 

[Scrapdog]

And another 40 years to go. At least we'll have the F-22 though. We just won't have anything to refuel it when all the 135's are falling apart.

Nah, the KC-10's will do a fine job refueling the F-22 for years to come I'm sure...oh yeah, and the great thing is since we ARE buying the F-22, we'll still have that thing called freedom and democracy because we'll then have a very capable fighter that can deal with sophisticated threats such as China, N. Korea, etc...

 

[Tanker Clown]

How about more UCAVs instead of F22s. The writings on the wall. This is the way that we are headed. Sorry to say my man, but mobility is the growth industry. 15's haven't been a player in a decade. Bring on the new tanker. Maybe we can get it into production in a shade under 20 years and only 2 times over the original budget. By then maybe we'll have more than a couple to token F22 units for it to refuel.

 

[Benhuntn]

Geez I hope we never get down to the KC-10 as the main tanker. First of all it is a morphidite...half tanker half hauler. Second, I look at the track record.
There are only 59 jets, in Desert Storm one got the nose cut off, one ran off the side of the runway (Diego), one drug the tail because of an error in calculating landing data. So 3 jets went down in just a few weeks. At the rate they were dropping a 1 yr war would have cost us half the fleet.
We need to keep the -135 around so it can refuel the -10 on its way to the boneyard.

 

[TankerDriver]

Nah, the KC-10's will do a fine job refueling the F-22 for years to come I'm sure...oh yeah, and the great thing is since we ARE buying the F-22, we'll still have that thing called freedom and democracy because we'll then have a very capable fighter that can deal with sophisticated threats such as China, N. Korea, etc...

Hate to break it to ya, but the KC-10's will probably fall apart quicker than the -135. They're reliability rates are getting as bad as C-5's. I was on a coronet a few months back with two -10's and at one point they were both broken. The two -135's were Code 1 for 12 days straight. We [-135's] wound up doing the mission without them for a few days. Of course we don't carry as much fuel as the -10, but we got the job done with two and I bet it cost the AF less money to operate two -135's than it does for one -10. The -10's are known for going on great trips and breaking. I don't know how many times I've launched off an alert in the desert because a -10 never made if out of parking. Quite a few.

 

[Otto77]

Geez I hope we never get down to the KC-10 as the main tanker. First of all it is a morphidite...half tanker half hauler. Second, I look at the track record.
There are only 59 jets, in Desert Storm one got the nose cut off, one ran off the side of the runway (Diego), one drug the tail because of an error in calculating landing data. So 3 jets went down in just a few weeks. At the rate they were dropping a 1 yr war would have cost us half the fleet.
We need to keep the -135 around so it can refuel the -10 on its way to the boneyard.

We have 89..half here at McGuire where I"m at and the other half at Travis.

 

[Gorilla]

Boeing vs. McDonnell-D? No contest, at least when it comes to transports. The 707 was built like a friggin tank.

 

[ExAF]

Tankers not transports

That may be true for tankers, not necessarily transports. The DC-9 and all of the follow on MD-XXs can hold their own in the "built like a tank" department. That being said, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the 727.

 

[CobraKai]

We have 89..half here at McGuire where I"m at and the other half at Travis.

When did we buy an extra thirty KC-10s last time I looked we started with 60, then burned one up on the ground, to bring the total down to 59. I would talk about the mission capable rate in the desert over the past year, but that may be considered rude. Let's just say many KC-135 alert birds launched to cover for the KC-10.

When an aircraft was designed to fly for SAC, not much of it has to be working perfectly to fly, which is a very good thing in war.

 

[71KILO]

Well if you drove through Mobile, AL like I do, all the time, youd see 5 signs for Northrop Grumman/EADS advertising the new home of the new KC30 tanker......

I'll quit before I fly a French tanker. If it aint Boeing, I aint going

 

[TankerDriver]

Amen. I want a yoke, thank you.

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

And another 40 years to go. At least we'll have the F-22 though. We just won't have anything to refuel it when all the 135's are falling apart.

Actually, the scuttlebutt on the Hill is that we may cut short the plans on the F-22 and funnel the money to the Army. Supposedly Gen Mosely is about to be fired because he is not capitulating.

As far as the tanker goes--God love that airplane. If we only had AC on the ground.

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

I'll quit before I fly a French tanker. If it aint Boeing, I aint going

Unless it is a MD designed and produced airplane right!!??