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Posted on 05/28/2004 12:00:09 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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 Aerial refueling allows aircraft engines to receive fuel while in flight and today is common for many large air forces. It is the equivalent of refueling your car by connecting it to a tanker truck while driving down the highway at high speed. In 1917, a pilot in the Imperial Russian Navy, Alexander P. de Seversky, proposed increasing the range of combat aircraft by refueling them in flight. De Seversky soon emigrated to the United States and became an engineer in the War Department. He applied for and received the first patent for air-to-air refueling in 1921.  Seversky The first actual transfer of fuel from one aircraft to another was little more than a stunt. On November 12, 1921, wingwalker Wesley May climbed from a Lincoln Standard to a Curtiss JN-4 airplane with a can of fuel strapped to his back. When he reached the JN-4, he poured the fuel into its gas tank. Needless to say, this was not the most practical way of refueling an airplane in flight. In 1923, the U.S. Army undertook tests at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, to test a more practical way to lower a hose from one airplane to refuel another in flight. In its tests, a DH-4B biplane outfitted as a tanker and equipped with a 50-foot (15-meter) length of hose and a quick-acting shutoff valve would fly above the receiver and lower the hose. The person in the rear seat of the receiver aircraft would grab the hose and connect it to the aircraft. If the hose became detached, the valve would immediately cut off the flow, preventing it from spraying fuel over the receiving aircraft and its pilot.  The first flight was made on April 20, 1923. The aircraft remained attached for 40 minutes but intentionally passed no fuel. The equipment was tested over the next several months with numerous fuel transfers. On June 27, the pilots made an attempt on the aircraft flying endurance record. By August 27, using this technique, one of the DH-4Bs established 14 world records with a flight lasting more than 37 hours. This achievement prompted many private pilots to attempt aerial (or in-flight) refueling, primarily to establish long duration flying records. By June 1930, the record surpassed 553 hours in flight (requiring 223 refueling contacts). In July, the record was 647.5 hours in the Curtiss Robin monoplane Greater St. Louis—nearly 27 days in the air. Pilots lived in the noisy, cramped, smelly confines of their airplanes for weeks at a time without ever touching the ground, occasionally climbing out on special scaffolding to service the engines in flight. Despite all this activity, the technology for aerial refueling had not advanced significantly and pilots still used the clumsy and dangerous dangling-hose method. In 1930, a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron leader, Richard L.R. Atcherly, developed a safer and simpler method, called the looped hose method. In this method, the receiving aircraft trailed a long horizontal line with a grapnel at the end. The tanker trailed a weighted line and approached the receiver from behind and to one side. It then crossed to the other side, causing the two lines to cross and touch. The receiver aircraft then hauled in the lines and the hose from the tanker. The RAF continued to refine this system, including adding a drogue to the hose that created drag and assisted in unwheeling the hose in flight. (A drogue is a special type of parachute that, in this instance, was used to ensure that the hose trailed behind the airplane and did not flop around.) By 1934, Alan Cobham of Britain had established the firm Flight Refueling Limited (FRL) to develop the small but important fittings and hose connections that enabled aerial refueling to be performed routinely. Cobham thought that aerial refueling would have great advantages for commercial aviation. He was wrong though, for commercial aircraft never did use his techniques, but he was later knighted for his contributions to this field. World War II brought about a hiatus in aerial refueling technology development as combatants sought to develop extremely long-range aircraft with large internal fuel capacity. In 1942, representatives of FRL visited the United States to fit their equipment to a B-24 Liberator tanker and a B-17 Flying Fortress receiver. The Army Air Forces planned to develop fleets of tanker and receiver aircraft. However, aircraft with large internal fuel capacity, such as the B-29 Superfortress, alleviated the need for aerial refueling. In 1948, U.S. Air Force General Curtis LeMay became head of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and made aerial refueling a major goal for his new command. LeMay realized that the jet-powered bombers then entering service consumed far more fuel than piston-engine planes and also needed to fly farther—from the United States to targets deep in the Soviet Union and back.  Another name for a reciprocating engine is an internal-combustion engine. It has this name because the fuel burns inside the engine. It is also often called a piston engine because it has pistons as one of its parts. The major parts of an internal combustion engine are (1) the cylinders, (2) the pistons, (3) the connecting rods, (4) the crankshaft, (5), intake and exhaust valves, (6), the spark plugs, and (7) a valve operating mechanism-also called a cam. Reciprocating engines require fuel, air, compression, and a source of combustion to function. In a modern airplane engine, air mixed with gasoline is drawn into a cylinder, then compressed by a piston moving up and down inside a chamber called a cylinder. A spark from a spark plug ignites the mixture of fuel and air. This causes an explosion that drives the piston downward, creating power. Then the exhaust valve opens and the burned-up gases are pushed past the valve into an exhaust pipe by the piston. Then the process starts over again. This happens hundreds of times a minute. This process is called a four-stroke operating cycle.  Existing aerial refueling systems had severe drawbacks. In particular, the hoses could not transfer large amounts of fuel and could not operate at higher speeds. Around the same time that LeMay began pushing for better aerial refueling methods, the Boeing Company began testing the "Boeing boom" system, consisting of a large-diameter pipe connected to the rear of a B-29 and fitted with small wings at the end. The boom was lowered and "flown" to a connector on the receiver aircraft. This allowed fuel transfers to take place at higher speeds and, more importantly, allowed more than six times as much fuel to flow per minute. Another important development was the "single-point refueling system" on receiver aircraft, which allowed all of an airplane's several fuel tanks to be refilled from a single spot instead of from multiple nozzles around the airplane. While the Air Force and Boeing were developing the flying boom, FRL was continuing its work in Britain, trying to develop a system that would enable a single-seat aircraft to refuel from a tanker. FRL engineers developed the "probe and drogue" system whereby a small plane was equipped with a probe that could be plugged into a drogue at the end of a refueling hose trailing behind a tanker. FRL conducted its first test on April 4, 1949, and soon the U.S. Air Force expressed interest in this technology. Over the next several years the U.S. Air Force began converting existing bomber and transport designs, resulting in the KB-29 and KC-97 tankers. But the increasing demands of SAC led to the procurement of the Boeing KC-135, a dedicated tanker aircraft that was similar (but not identical) to the commercial Boeing 707 airliner. During the 1950s, under LeMay's strong advocacy, SAC built up a large KC-135 tanker fleet to support its B-52 bombers, which could not attack targets inside the Soviet Union without refueling.  During the late 1940s and early 1950s the Soviet Union also experimented with aerial refueling. Three Soviet Tupolev Tu-4 bombers (a virtual copy of the American B-29 Superfortress) were equipped as tankers and three were equipped as receivers. The Soviets experimented with a strange wingtip-to-wingtip system as well as a more conventional probe and drogue system. But the Soviets abandoned the technology until the early 1960s. Even then, they never became as enthusiastic about aerial refueling as the U.S. Air Force, preferring to operate smaller aircraft closer to their bases. The U.S. Air Force operated for many years using both the flying boom and probe and drogue systems. It finally phased out the latter in favor of the boom, which could operate at significantly higher speeds and deliver fuel much faster. The Navy preferred the probe and drogue system, which could be mounted on smaller carrier-based aircraft. Navy engineers also developed a "buddy stores" system. This consisted of a fuel tank with a hose and drogue and enabled one aircraft to refuel an identical aircraft and did not require dedicated tanker aircraft.  The search and rescue mission in Vietnam increasingly required helicopters to fly great distances to rescue downed airmen. As a result, in 1965 the Air Force equipped a CH-3 Jolly Green Giant helicopter with a refueling probe at the end of a long boom extending from the helicopter's nose and conducted experiments on refueling it from a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft (a variant of the C-130 Hercules) equipped with a hose and drogue system. The tests were successful and soon helicopters were regularly making flights deep into North Vietnam to rescue pilots, using aerial refueling to extend their range. With the introduction of the KC-10 Extender aircraft in the early 1980s, the Air Force incorporated a number of new features, including both a boom and two hose and drogue systems, allowing it to refuel both Navy and Marine aircraft in flight. Despite all the technological advances, commercial aircraft designers never adopted aerial refueling. They preferred to build aircraft with large internal fuel tanks because this was cheaper than operating a dedicated fleet of aircraft that simply served as flying gas tanks. Aerial refueling is now exclusively a military operation, despite Sir Alan Cobham's vision of using it for commercial aircraft. --Dwayne A. Day      |
First time I've seen a picture of a B-2 refueling.
Hard to beleive they were trying in-flight refueling in the 20's.
Good thread.
Good night Sam.
In the Navy the Communication Technicians make tens of thousands of radio intercepts a day. Liberty was full of CTs. A terribly responsible job. There is no Navy job, enlisted or officer, sailor or Marine, that is not just as responsible. Not that there are not plenty of incompetents! I remember some lulus! Amazingly enough, these incompetents are thoroughly outnumbered by skilled and conscientious men. This is hard to imagine for me, although I was there, since I have been in civilian life for so long! Son of a gun, what an experience!
Although I'm a civilian and have never been in the military, I have ridden in the back seat of an F-15D when it refuelled from a tanker; and two months ago I was lying beside the boom operator when our KC-135 refuelled a succession of F-15Cs. When we weren't refuelling, the boom operator allowed me to "fly" the boom, which is done with a control stick similar to a fighter. The boom is fairly responsive, but not exact, so a good degree of skill is required. The boom operator told me that in periods of intense efuelling activity, he's worked as long as four hours, nonstop, without relief. That's dedication.
Good morninig all....Air Force 1's are all equipped for in flight refueling...anyone know if it's every been practiced?
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.
That's Classified.
And the answer is "Yes."
Retreat
SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Senior Master Sgt. Barry Luttrell (foreground) salutes as Chief Master Sgt. Vance Clarke lowers the American flag at an undisclosed location. Sergeant Luttrell and Chief Clarke are assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman James C. Dillard
I figured they'd have had to try it..be a waaay kwel pic, dontcha think?
Line 'em up
SOUTHWEST ASIA -- An F-15E Strike Eagle supporting operations here prepares to be refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron on Dec. 29. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins)
My apologies in advance.
Here comes a "whole lotta airpower"
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Air Power KC-10A Extender  KC-130  KC-135 StratoTanker  |
KC-10A Extender
The United States Air Force/McDonnell Douglas KC-10A advanced tanker/cargo aircraft is a version of the intercontinental-range DC-10 Series 30CF (convertible freighter), modified to provide increased mobility for U.S. forces in contingency operations by: refueling fighters and simultaneously carrying the fighters' support equipment and support people on overseas deployments: refueling strategic airlifters (such as the USAF C-5 and C-l4l) during overseas deployments and resupply missions; and augmenting the U.S. airlift capability.
In most instances, the KC-10A performs these missions without dependence on overseas bases and without depleting critical fuel supplies in the theater of operations. Equipped with its own refueling receptacle, the KC-10A can support deployment of fighters, fighter support aircraft and airlifters from U.S. bases to any area in the world, with considerable savings in both cost and fuel compared to pre-KC-l0A capabilities.
The aerial refueling capability of the KC-10A nearly doubles the nonstop range of a fully-loaded C-5 strategic transport. In addition, its cargo capability enables the U.S. to deploy some fighter squadrons and their unit support people and equipment with a single airplane type, instead of requiring both tanker and cargo aircraft. The Air Force is calling the KC-10A the "Extender" because of its ability to carry out aerial refueling and cargo mission without forward basing, thus extending the mobility of U.S. forces.
Although the KC-10A's primary mission is aerial refueling, it can combine the tasks of tanker and cargo aircraft by refueling fighters while carrying the fighters' support people and equipment during overseas deployments. The KC-10A can transport up to 75 people and about 170,000 pounds (76,560 kilograms) of cargo a distance of about 4,400 miles (7,040 kilometers). Without cargo, the KC-10A's unrefueled range is more than 11,500 miles.
Specifications:
Primary Function: Aerial refueling/transport.
Contractor: Douglas Aircraft Co.
Power Plant: Three General Electric CF-6-50C2 turbofans
Thrust: 52,500 pounds (23,625 kilograms), each engine
Length: 181 feet, 7 inches (54.4 meters)
Height: 58 feet, 1 inch (17.4 meters)
Wingspan: 165 feet, 4 1/2 inches (50 meters)
Speed: 619 mph (Mach 0.825)
Ceiling: 42,000 feet (12,727 meters)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 590,000 pounds (265,500 kilograms)
Maximum Useable Fuel: 342,000 Pounds
All fuel is usable or transferable via either boom or probe and drogue refueling
Fifteen aircraft are modified with two wing-mounted air refueling pods which allow for simultaneous operations with probe equipped aircraft.
Range: 4,400 miles (3,800 nautical miles) with cargo; / 11,500 miles (10,000 nautical miles) without cargo
Unit Cost: $86.3 million (1992 dollars)
Crew: Four (aircraft commander, pilot, flight engineer and boom operator)
Date Deployed: March 1981
Inventory: Active force, 59; ANG, 0; Reserve, 0
KC-130
The KC-130 is a multi-role, multi-mission tactical tanker/transport which provides the support required by Marine Air Ground Task Forces. This versatile asset provides in-flight refueling to both tactical aircraft and helicopters as well as rapid ground refueling when required. Additional tasks performed are aerial delivery of troops and cargo, emergency resupply into unimproved landing zones within the objective or battle area, airborne Direct Air Support Center, emergency medevac, tactical insertion of combat troops and equipment, evacuation missions, and support as required of special operations capable Marine Air Ground Task Forces.
The Marine Corps’ inventory of KC-130s contains primarily F-variants, which are approaching 40 years of age, and there were concerns that plans to replace the aircraft with KC-130Js might result in a shortfall of 15 aircraft as early as 2001.
The active KC-130F/R fleet comprises 45% of DoD rotary wing aerial refuelers. However, the fleet will probably be unable to support the increased missions warranted by the MV-22 when fielded. Further, the fleet is deteriorating faster than the replacement aireraft, KC-130J, is scheduled to be fielded. The inventory requirement for the aircraft was previously established at (79) airframes, however as of March 2001 there were only (77) airframes, with availability continuing to decrease due to fatigue, corrosion, and obsolescence. Between 1994 and 2001 five airframes were stricken for corrosion, with one additional airframe pending a decision as of early 2001. At the current rate of airframe attrition, the Marine Corps will need at least four KC-130J’s per year to maintain the Inventory.
The current fleet has some Congressionally mandated programs, to include: GPS, GPWS and TCAS. There are several pending Safety / Enhancement programs, however, the required modifications will lead to excessive out of service time and reduced availability. The average fleet squadron has only five “up” aircraft on any given day (PAA 12). Studies have found that squadron cannibalization rates have increased 57% in order to support current readiness figures.
The KC-130 is a multi-role, multimission tactical tanker and transport aircraft, well-suited to the mission needs of the forward-deployed Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The Hercules is the only long-range assault support capability organic to the Marine Corps. This aircraft provides both fixed-wing and rotary-wing tactical in-flight refueling; rapid ground refueling of aircraft or tactical vehicles; assault air transport of air-landed or air-delivered personnel, supplies, and equipment; command-and-control augmentation; pathfinder and battlefield illumination; tactical aeromedical evacuation; and search and rescue support.
The KC-130 is equipped with a removable 3,600 gallon (136.26 hectoliter) stainless steel fuel tank that is carried inside the cargo compartment providing additional fuel when required. The two wing-mounted hose and drogue refueling pods each transfer up to 300 gallons per minute (1135.5 liters per minute) to two aircraft simultaneously allowing for rapid cycle times of multiple-receiver aircraft formations (a typical tanker formation of four aircraft in less than 30 minutes). Some KC-130s are also equipped with defensive electronic and infrared countermeasures systems. Development is currently under way for the incorporation of interior/exterior night vision lighting, night vision goggle heads-up displays, global positioning system, and jam-resistant radios.
The KC-130 has 2 drogue equipped refuelling stations, one mounted on each wing outboard of the engines. Each refuelling station consists of a Sargent Fletcher 48-000 refuelling pod, 26 m (85 ft) of hose, MA-2 coupling and a 1.2 m (27 in) diameter high speed fixed-wing or 2.4 m (54 in) diameter low speed helicopter paradrogue. Helicopters may not refuel from a high speed drogue. Fuel flows when the hose is pushed in 1.5 m (5 ft); flow continues provided the hose is maintained in the refuelling position, between 6 - 24 m (20 - 80 ft) of hose extension. Hydraulic pressure provides 90% of the force required to rewind the hose during refuelling to reduce hose slack and whip. The hoses are marked each 3 m (10 ft). The MA-2 coupling requires 140 ft lb of pressure to make contact (2 - 5 kt closure) and 420 ft lb to disconnect.
The aerial refuelling system is comprised of two independent Sargent Fletcher SF300 refuelling systems. These systems currently are used on the wings of KC-130F/R/T aircraft. Each system includes a 93-ft long hose. In full trail position, the hose extends 80 ft from the point at which it exits the aircraft to the drogue tip. The white refuelling hoses have black markings that designate the refuelling range and provide hose movement cues. The two reels are installed side-by-side and cannot be used simultaneously. The reels are hydraulically powered and operate independently, allowing for a redundant capability.
The air-to-air refueling [AAR] height band is from 500 ft to 23,000 ft; speed range for the high speed fixed-wing drogue is 200 to 250 KIAS and for the low speed helicopter drogue is 105 to 130 KIAS. Maximum hose extension/extraction speed is 120 KIAS. Total fuel loads are normally up to 32,660 kg (72,000 lb), with an overload weight of 39,460 kg (87,000 lb). Transferable fuel is dependent on sortie duration; around 18,140 kg (40,000 lb) is available for transfer during a 4 hr flight, assuming a fuel burn rate of 2720 kg/hr (6000 lb/hr). With the removable fuselage fuel tank fitted, transfer rate is about 1850 kg/min (4080 lb/min) with the 2 AAR pump configuration or 925 kg/min (2040 lb/min) with the single AAR pump configuration. Without the fuselage tank, the transfer rate is about 460 kg/min (1020 lb/min). The lower transfer rate can be selected on request.
Red, green and amber lights are located on the trailing edge of each AAR pod; these are AAR pod status lights. The light signal commanding a breakaway is the tanker’s lower rotating beacon being switched on. Before a receiver is cleared for contact, the beacon is turned off to indicate the tanker’s AAR checklist has been completed. AAR during EMCON constraint requires additional light signals from the tanker; these are provided by hand held ALDIS lamps. These lights will be seen in the paratroop door windows located at the rear of the fuselage on both sides of the aircraft. A steady light signals clear for contact; while in contact, a steady light signals disconnect. A flashing ALDIS means no more fuel available or the tanker is experiencing difficulties. Receivers should disengage and move to a position outboard of the hose. Drogue illumination is provided by refuelling lights located on the outboard leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. There are 6 equally spaced luminescent paint spots are on the drogue to assist during night operations.
The C-130 is 80% employed in the air-to-air refueling mission and 20% in the logistics mission. The air-to-air refueling capability enables a theater based day/night in-flight refueling capability for both tactical fixed wing (i.e., F/A 18's, A/V-8's, etc.) and rotary wing (i.e., CH-53's, CH-47's, MV-22's, etc.) aircraft through a pod mounted hose and drogue system located on each outboard wing station. A removable cargo bay fuel tank provides an additional 3,600 gallons of fuel. Ground refueling capabilities enables a mobile tactical aircraft pressure refueling capability at unimproved landing sites. The logistic mission enables the transport and delivery of equipment (i.e., light amphibious assault vehicles, Hummers, trucks, etc.), people (i.e., combat troops, parachute troops, Medevac, support troops, evacuees, etc.) and supplies (i.e., ammunition, food, medical, tents and housing, etc.). Cargo can be delivered by either air drop or to unimproved landing sites.
The KC-130F and R can be configured to contain an Airborne Direct Air Support Center (DASC), but lack SINCGARS antennas. The KC130J has no DASC capability. There are different types of platforms that perform various aspects of deep battle management – the AN-UYQ-3A equipped KC-130 deep battle coordinator and the killbox manager or TAC(A) in an F/A-18D. The deep battle coordinator is a critical link between the Deep Battle Cell (DBC) that actively manages the execution of the deep battle and the killbox manager/TAC(A) aircraft for the execution of the deep battle. A deep battle coordinator in an AN-UYQ-3A equipped KC-130 (DASC(A) configuration) will have a more robust communications capability than an F/A-18D and can manage a much greater area. However, the deep battle coordinator mission is considerably different than the DASC(A) mission, which assists the DASC in the management of air support for the close fight as an airborne extension of the DASC. One aircraft probably cannot and should not do both roles due to the different missions as well as communications and personnel limitations of the AN UYQ-3A. Since there are limited numbers of KC-130 platforms and its primary mission is inflight refueling, relying on a KC-130 as a deep battle coordinator is problematic.
Specifications:
Primary function: In-flight refueling; tactical transport
Manufacturer: Lockheed
Power plant: Four Allison T56-A-16 engines with 4,910 shaft horsepower per engine
Length Aircraft: 97 feet, 9 inches (22.16 meters)
Height Aircraft: 38 feet, 4 inches (11.68 meters)
Wing span: 132 feet, 7 inches (40.39 meters)
Maximum takeoff weight: 175,000 pounds (79,450 kilograms)
Ceiling: 30,000 feet (9,140 meters)
Speed: 315 knots (362.25 miles per hour)
Operating weight: 83,300 pounds (37,818 kilograms)
Total fuel capacity: KC-130T and KC-130: 13,280 gallons (50,331 liters)/86,320 pounds (32,715 liters)
KC-130F: 10,183 gallons (38,594 liters)/ 66,190 pounds (25,086 liters)
Range Tanker mission:: 1000 nautical mile (1150 mile) radius with 45,000 pounds of fuel (20,430 kilograms) (KC-130R/T)
Landing distance: Less than 2,600 feet
Crew: 2 pilots, 1 navigator/systems operator, 1 flight engineer, 1 first mechanic, 1 loadmaster (total of 6)
Introduction date: KC-130F: 1962 / KC-130R: 1976 / KC-130T: 1983
Unit Replacement Cost: $37,000,000
Inventory Active: 37 KC-130Fs and 14 KC-130Rs (51 total) / Reserve: 24 KC-130Ts [As of December 1995]
KC-135 StratoTanker
The Boeing Military Airplane Company's model 367-80 was the basic design for the commercial 707 passenger plane as well as the KC-135A Stratotanker. In 1954 the Air Force purchased the first 29 of its future fleet of 732. The first of these aircraft left the assembly line at Boeing Airplane Company, Renton, Washington, July 18, 1956, and flew for the first time August 31, 1956. The Air Force received its first KC-135s at Castle Air Force Base, Calif., Jun 28, 1957. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial-production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, Calif., in June 1957. The last KC-135A was delivered to the Air Force in 1965.
About 550 of the tankers built - all by Boeing at its Seattle facilities - remain in service. In addition, Boeing built 88 aircraft in over 30 different models for other Air Force uses, such as flying command posts, pure transports, electronic reconnaissance and photo mapping. The last of these special-purpose aircraft was delivered in late 1966. Responsibility for the KC-135 was transferred to Boeing in Wichita in 1969.
In Southeast Asia, KC-135 Stratotankers made the air war different from all previous aerial conflicts. Mid-air refueling brought far-flung bombing targets within reach. Combat aircraft, no longer limited by fuel supplies, were able to spend more time in target areas.
Structurally, the KC-135 is similar but not identical to the Boeing 707 commercial airliner. It is a swept-wing, long range, high altitude, high speed jet transport. The KC-135 can haul either 83,000 pounds of cargo, airlift up to 80 passengers or carry 202,800 pounds of JP-4 jet fuel, most of which is transferable for global refueling missions.
The primary mission of the KC-135 is the refueling of strategic long-range bombers. It also provides air refueling support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft as well as aircraft of allied nations. The KC-135 is equipped with a flying boom for fuel transfer; a special drogue can be attached to the boom on the ground so it can refuel probe-equipped aircraft. During air refueling, the large flyable boom attached to the airplane's belly can offload fuel at 6,500 pounds per minute. This is enough fuel in one minute to operate an average family car for one year.
Normally during inflight refueling the boom operator is in radio contact with the receiver aircraft. The hook-up is made by directions given to the receiver aircraft through a system of lights located on the belly of the aircraft just behind the nose gear. The KC-97 used the same system. The fuel cells in the tanker are made of nylon fabric less than one-sixteenth of an inch thick. A fuel cell weighing 80 pounds will hold seven tons of fuel.
A major program to replace lower wing surfaces on the aircraft was completed in 1988, with a total of 746 C/KC-135 aircraft -- most of them tankers -- modified over a 13-year period. The work involved replacing about 1,500 square feet of aluminum on the underside of the wings -- which carry most of the wing load in flight -- with an improved aluminum alloy.
The original wing surface consisted of a type of aluminum more susceptible to fatigue. Skin panels were milled, machined and contoured at Boeing. The wing then went into a rivet assembly jig where stiffeners and skins were joined. The bottom section of the old wing was cut away and replaced by the new sections. In addition to the skin panels, engine strut fittings were also replaced. Each unit required a total of 564 parts, 32,200 steel fasteners and 19,500 aluminum rivets.
Remaining in-service KC-135A's have been modified with new CFM-56 engines produced by CFM-International. The re-engined tanker, designated the KC-135R, can offload 50 percent more fuel, is 25 percent cheaper to operate and is 96 percent quieter than the KC-135A.
On 20 February 2000 officials from Air Mobility Command announced the stand down of 198 out of a fleet of 546 C/KC-135 “Stratotanker” air refueling aircraft. The stand down of one-third of the Stratotanker fleet was the result of a suspected defective part that was being used to repair the aircraft’s flight controls. The Stab-Actuator, roughly a large, metal, motorized nut is located on a jackscrew assembly in the aircraft tail that allows aircrew to trim the stabilizer in flight. Officials stated the stand down measure was taken as a precautionary measure to ensure flying safety and was in no way connected with the recent crash of the Alaska Airlines ME-83. The Air Force had been in the process of replacing, what was in some cases, an original factory part in this 44-year old aircraft fleet wide when this problem surfaced. However, many KC-135s had done a lot of sitting on alert with the then Strategic Air Command, and did’t have as much total flying time on them as some of the other aircraft did.
The KC-135 Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) modification provides increased accuracy in measuring the aircraft's altitude. The KC-135 System Program Office at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center administered the modification, making the fleet certified for operation in RVSM airspace. Air Mobility Command issued RVSM certification for KC-135E/R tankers in January 2002. As of early April, more than 190 KC-135 aircraft had been released to operate in RVSM designated airspace. RVSM-compliant aircraft are allowed to operate at altitudes where aircraft vertical separation has been reduced to accommodate increased aircraft traffic. The RVSM designated altitudes provide optimum aircraft cruise conditions and minimize fuel consumption. Aircraft that do not comply with RVSM requirements must fly above or, primarily, below the RVSM designated altitudes and will experience increased fuel consumption and typically slower cruise speeds.
As of May 2002, the Air Force had 545 KC-135 Tankers, 134 E Models and 411 R Models. In order to replace the aging E Models and thereby save maintenance costs, the Air Force proposed leasing 100 Boeing 767 Tanker/Transport aircraft to replace 127 E Models of KC-135. This plan would be completed by 2009, with seed money for the project first appearing in the FY05 budget
Specifications:
Primary Function: Aerial refueling
Contractor: Boeing Military Airplanes
Power Plant: Four CFM-International F108-CF-100 turbofans 22,224 pounds thrust each engine
Length: 136 feet, 3 inches (40.8 meters)
Height: 38 feet, 4 inches (11.5 meters)
Wingspan: 130 feet, 10 inches (39.2 meters)
Speed: Maximum speed at 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) 610 mph (Mach 0.93)
Ceiling: 50,000 feet (15,152 meters)
Weight: 119,231 pounds (53,654 kilograms) empty
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 322,500 pounds (145,125 kilograms)
Range: 11,192 miles (9,732 nautical miles) with 120,000 pounds (54,000 kilograms) of transfer fuel.
Crew: Four or five; up to 80 passengers.
Date Deployed: August 1965.
Unit Cost: KC-135R, $53 million; KC-135A, $26.1 million.
Inventory: 254 - Active duty / 157 - Active Reserve Component
Morning Iris7.
It's really mind-boggling when you think of the mutli-million dollar and highy sophistcated lethal equipment we hand over to young people in the military.
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