As some of you are aware, I am a retired Marine, I was a KC-130 Loadmaster for 20 years and I loved it! This job was a great job as it taught me how to work as part of a crew and it instilled a responsibility in me because everyday i was responsible for the safe operation of a multi-million dollar aircraft and peoples lives depended on me and the other crew members doing their job.
One of my jobs was to act as an observer during aerial refueling, which is an interesting thing to watch, of course it does involve a pucker factor when dealing with helicopters. Of course there are inherent dangers of all kinds, the helo blades could hit the basket or the hose which is bad. the jets might ingest raw fuel into their intakes and auto accelerate which is bad. You might be doing this at night on Night Vision Goggles which takes away your depth perception. The hose may fail to retract properly and then you may have to guillotine it or land with it extended, not fun ! You might have to do this Emcon, which is military speak for Emission Controlled (radio silence!) or Emcon at night on Goggles! Not a lot of fun and not to mention downright hazardous when somebody is shooting at you. There are a ton of other things that can go wrong for sure, a fire in the refueling pod, hydraulic failures of one sort or another, leaking fuselage tank ( big silver tank inside some of the planes), engine failures, and about a million other things that can and do go wrong from time to time.
But when this is done properly it is something to see. I have seen 10 KC-130's refueling a whole gaggle of fighters and it is like watching a well performed ballet or a well executed play in football, the flow of jets in and out of the hoses to all the refueling aircraft seem to be this
well choreographed and well practiced display of men/women and machine.
there are several cool videos on You Tube if you want to see what it looks like for yourself in real time. Watch some of the normal ones then watch the accidents. That will give you a real feel for what can and will go wrong at times.
13 comments:
Wicked cool, Deadcat! Wicked cool!
love those shots...and i know there is an art to aerial refueling.
have a wonderful evening.
Wow. Now that is one thing I have always wanted to do, to run a boom on a KC-10 or a KC-135. I am an airplane buff and I've always thought that would be a great job. Ever refuel any Canadian F-18's?
Have a great week
Guy
Regina In Pictures
What fabulous shots, Paul! Have to agree with Katie! Fantastic! I, too, admire your courage. Thanks so much for sharing a mind boggling part of your world! Have a great week!
this reminds me of a particular scene in the movie, airforce one (harrison ford starrer) when they were refueling airforce one in the air. how cool
Holy smoke. Much as I complained about teaching, I couldn't do that! Great shots.
OK, I watched them. I'm just glad my kids never did stuff like that.
My brother never did tell my mother and father that while he is a miner, he is also a rescue team member, but his regular work is to use dynamite underground. My son was was so impressed!
Wow! I've never had such a good look at this being done. That's quite a world you live in.
It usually took about 15 minutes or so to fill a plane up depending on how much they needed and how many transfer pumps were available.
Yes Guy, lots of time with the Canadian F-18;s and Australians and the French and the Navy, and Army Blackhawks.
Such a reponsible and dangerous occupation. I am glad you are here to blog about it.
Oh wow!! What a brilliant post! Thot only Air Force One can be refueled in midair!
Really cool !!!
Great post, very informative !!
Really cool !!!
Great post, very informative !!
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