The air-to-air refueling process has always fascinated me.
Having flown a lot, especially in turbulent weather, it always amazes me how these unbelievably skilled, steady-hand, nerves-of-steel pilots and “boom operators” (In-Flight Refueling Specialists) are able to hook up to each other at 35,000 feet, while flying several hundred miles per hour and pump thousands of gallons of very dangerous “liquid” from one aircraft to another.
I never get tired of watching the cool videos of such operations.
Below is one of a KC 135 from 151st Air Refueling Wing refueling F16s out the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, Utah. The caption reads, “This mission was a routine training mission for both — just another day on the job.” Yeah!
However, there are a number of things to keep in mind while doing this tricky task and there are a number of things that can go wrong.
Below is a video that illustrates some of them
Lead photo: An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons refuels behind a KC-135 Stratotanker during Red Flag-Alaska 15-2 while flying over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, May 11, 2015. The exercise allows participating units to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures as well as improve interoperability. The F-16 is assigned to the 18th Aggressor Squadron on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The Stratotanker is assigned to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing. (Photo: DOD)
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.