Inflight refueling

[sandman2122]

The most fun (and work) you'll have!

Ahhhh yes, AR!

So there I was, just finished "First Pilot" school for the C-141 at Altus AFB, OK with @ 5 flights under my belt and they send me (and my buddy Brian W.) immediately to Air Refueling school.

It was probably one of the most demanding "stick & rudder" checkrides for me in the AF. Brand new to the Lizard, doing a night, IMC, heavy-weight rendezvous (sp) to a KC-135 - also from Altus. Talk about bull***t, we closed in on this guy to 1 mile, didn't see anything because it's night and we're IMC. Then my checkpilot tells the -135 to "turn on your strobes". We see a flash above and ahead of us and my EP says, "go get 'em". WTF! So there I go after his freakin strobes in the weather, until he materilized at the pre-contact position........pretty cool though. After getting my time on the boom autopilot on we got to do some autopilot off - which turned out to be vertical S alpha's +/- 500 fpm - niiiiiice. Left my seat pretty wet from sweat!

Awesome flying to get to do AR.

 

[MooseTrax]

I can assure you there is not a scarier job in the heavy training business than schoolhouse AR instructor.......well maybe assault landings too! And I completely understand what Swede is talking about being spatial D trying to get the gas in the weather, in the turn........It was fun (or should I say a challenge), but I don't miss it!

 

[dtfl]

Refueling - both of you blacked out and you on NVGs.

 

[MooseTrax]

WOW---even more fun! Take the field of view down to 40 degrees, no peripheral vision........can I get some weather and some turns please? No thanks!

 

[Swede]

I'm curious, those of you who have gassed via both boom (Af) and basket (Navy/Marines) which was more challenging?

The difference between the KC10 and the KC135 was striking. Besides having lighting like the Mother Ship from Close Encounters, the 10 had a very powerful boom. In other words, once contact was made, at least for a fighter, it felt like a giant had you in some kung-fu grip. The 135 had a puny boom, and if position wasn't maintained, you'd fall off pretty easily.

The guy operating the boom had a LOT to do with the tanking. Experienced boom operators would weild the boom like a big Zulu spear... you get within range and he stabs you. Other guys, well, we've all heard stuff like this:


BOOMER
"Forward 2..."
"Forward 2..."
"Forward 1..."
"Up 1..."
"Forward 1..."
"Down 1..."
"Back 1..."

RECIPIENT
"G.D. it, plug me NOW!!!!!!"

(THUNK) "Err, contact"

"Thanks A-hole"

 

[FastCargo]

My refueling story...

Back about a decade ago...

Doing a night refueling in the B-1B over South Dakota. The weather was lots of high thin cirrus, some stratus...you know...lots of ice crystals. Vis was about a mile to 1/2 mile in the stuff (which of course we have to refuel right in the middle of).

The B-1B's receptacle is just in front of the windscreen, no more than about 6 feet from your face. As we get closer to the tanker, we can hear some very slight crackling in the headset from the static building of flying through the WX.

You can guess what happens next. As he goes to plug us, at about 3 feet, the air between the receptacle and the boom lights up with HUNDREDS of electric discharges! It looks like something out of a bad scifi movie. We can actually hear the powerline-like 'hum' through the airframe of the aircraft.

I pause for a second to let my instructor make the call (hey, I was still a wet behind the ears copilot). He doesn't say anything, so we continue and plug up. We take on a token onload, and then stay on for a bit for training. Finally, we disconnect, getting the discharge again on separation.

We continue the mission, come back and land. During the debrief, the instructor comments that maybe we shouldn't have continued the refueling with the electric light show. Of course, my next thought was "Why the hell didn't you say that during the A/R!?!" What i said was "Uh, yes sir."

**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** instructors!

Fly Safe!
FastCargo

 

[MooseTrax]

Right On Swede

My favorite call from the boomer while I was the IP with a student learning to AR was "forward 1". I have actually said, "so forward 1 means I am at 13', just plug us because the envelope is 6'-18'" right....it is an envelope not a single position. I can't stand those calls!---forward 1 or 2 before they will even plug you. Now once in position a forward 3 or 4 call is nice.

 

[Mongoose69]

Best call by a boomer

Heh, best call I ever heard by a boomer:

I was #4 of a 6-ship of Strike Eagles on our way to Vegas (baby!). One of my good friends was #6. Right after takeoff, we all hook up for squirt checks just to make sure everything is working as advertised. The -135 crew was ANG, so the boomer just basically stabbed me when I got somewhere in his envelope and didn't say another word till he disconnected. So my buddy gets plugged, and shortly after, we hear this over the radio:

"Right 8"

silence...

"That's better"

Many beverages were purchased...

-Mongoose

 

[MooseTrax]

Hey Sandman.....

There is no learning experience quite like when you are learning as the reciever and you have a boomer who is learning too. Some days at Altus it was just bad training all the way around and downright scary. I remember going thru the course and thinking "I don't know quite what the hell I'm doing and neither does that boom student.....this ought to be good".

 

[sandman2122]

Moose,

I can only imagine what the -135 boomers were thinking seeing a C-141 or C-5 A/R "student" weaving his way in for their first plug.....pucker factor must be through the ceiling......

 

[dtfl]

Well...in AFSOC we never talked and there were no lights, usually. We chatted through the boom, of course. Now, take a crew of 15 on a gunship - we hook up - you can guess what the 135 crew hears...until I yell on hot mic...GET OFF INTERPHONE!!!

Yeah....I had to be an AC and a Dad at times.

The best - we tobogganed in a gunship and the tanker started a level off - the PD lights started ticking backward like those moving Xmas lights...the AC got in a quick "..BYE!!" before we got kicked off - this was at TO power also. So the big joke was - .."When the tanker levels off you have to get in a word before you get kciked off"

 

[414Flyer]

I saw a photo of F-104s tanking from a KC-97. Now that would have been interesting.

 

[The Saint]

Ok no jokes about going both ways..... I have refued via boom (A-10) and taken and given gas via drogue (Tornado we could carry a buddy buddy pod) as well as get gas from a tanker. I got to say i though the drogue was easier and more fun but also easier to fall off of. The boom has something like 4000 lbs of grip the drogue like 100. Also with the tornado heavy and high we would plug one engine in min afterburner and then use the other throttle to stay in. Had to stay on the tanker alot longer though to fill up

 

[ch47d]

Try doing it in a Chinook where the drogue comes 6' under the rotor disk. That can get very interesting on a dark bumpy night.

 

[TGR]

I never liked the KC-10. That center engine really beat-up our T-tail in the C-5! 135s were easy. Just stay between # 2 + 3 and your good. Though, if you got spit outside of them you were gone. (And trying to do the reverse control thing to get back in.)

Either way, always happy for the gas.