Posted on 03/28/2010 4:10:35 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
man who walked on wings.
Two daredevil pilots.
A five-gallon can of fuel.
Aerial refueling began as a stunt, rather than a key defense capability that today keeps America's military going. A maneuver that then probably earned the participants a few bucks has transformed into a multibillion-dollar industry with thousands of workers.
From a man leaping from one aircraft to another, to what amounts to a fireman's hose connecting two planes, to today's high-tech boom system, aerial refueling has evolved dramatically over the last 89 years. Here's a look at Boeing's role.
Early efforts
The first refueling in the air took place in 1921 and essentially was a barnstorming stunt, involving a wing walker jumping from one aircraft to another with a five-gallon can of fuel strapped to his back. In 1923, the Army Air Service conducted an aerial refueling using two de Havilland DH-4B aircraft and a hose.
In 1929, Bill Boeing recognized the business potential for aerial refueling as a means of speeding up the delivery of mail. Boeing worked with the Army Air Corps for the nonstop transcontinental flight of the Boeing Model-95 named “Boeing Hornet Shuttle.” Boeing used two modified Model-40 aircraft and the Air Corps provided two Douglas C-1 aircraft for refueling.
KB-29 tankers
With the Cold War came the need to fly bombers long distances without stopping for fuel. Boeing converted its B-29 bombers to tankers that could fly from U.S. military bases to targets inside the Soviet Union. The initial 92 B-29 converted tankers used a refueling technique — a system of looped hoses — developed by two British men in the 1930s.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.combataircraft.com ...
Need pictures of all these planes.
No mention of drogue and probe.
I did not see that either.
I spent my Air Force years, 1966-1969 working on B-52s and KC-135Qs.
Saw lots of aerial refeuling of fighters, B-52s, almost got to see a SR-71 but wasn’t cleared for it. The boom operator said later he would have let me watch it anyway but it was too late then.
Yup - "No fuel for you".
thanx for the video - haven't seen that in awhile.
I had the time of my life spending 6 years as a Boom Operator in the KC-135A/Q (steam jets) and 5 years in the KC-10A. That was until the Medical Hobby Shop grounded me on a medical (1979-1990). My favorite part of it was the 3 ½ years I spent at Beale AFB refueling the SR-71. Most fun I ever had with my clothes on, but it could get pretty scary when you had a cowboy behind you. Kind of like the B-52 air refueling scene at the beginning of the movie Dr. Strangelove that Buff was all over the place.
Boomer’s wearing a Beaver hat.
≤}B^)
That is a correct statement he would always sweat fuel when getting full due to not having any fuel bladders. When he climbed up to altitude and went super-sonic the aircraft would seal itself. The SR-71 would leak about 1,000 lbs an hour on the deck (so the rumor goes).
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