tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post2708420918991466768..comments2024-01-26T01:49:56.783-06:00Comments on Lagniappe's Lair: The flying gas stations.Murphy's Lawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-31751470070122034382014-02-09T13:42:04.333-06:002014-02-09T13:42:04.333-06:00Spent three years of my youth as a dependent at Ei...Spent three years of my youth as a dependent at Eielson 61-63. The Cuban missile crisis happened while we were there. One winter night a KC-135 crashed on takeoff, killing the crew and the guard at the base gate. The biggest piece of it left was one main landing gear. We were guarded by F-102's on alert and a Nike missile site out in the hills. Interesting times. TwoDogshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06400034283241205713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-14700227083577720502014-02-09T08:50:59.014-06:002014-02-09T08:50:59.014-06:00Google Accounts dorks-up my login. It is I, Wander...Google Accounts dorks-up my login. It is I, Wandering Neurons...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04752881642891254978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-31974911976196319172014-02-08T20:03:53.901-06:002014-02-08T20:03:53.901-06:00Oh I do loves me some C-5 and C-130s. And flying o...Oh I do loves me some C-5 and C-130s. And flying out of Martinsburg, WV, I see plenty of both. Glad to have your input and experience here.Murphy's Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-53973143488133801782014-02-08T19:49:32.112-06:002014-02-08T19:49:32.112-06:00Heh. Nothing like receiving fuel from an airplane ...Heh. Nothing like receiving fuel from an airplane that when empty weighs less than half what your maximum fuel load could be (C-5 Galaxy could carry 332,500 lbs of fuel, all in the wings). And when we nuzzled into position, if we came in too fast, it could throw the KC's autopilot off with the bow-wave).<br />Or even scarier, come hauling up behind the tanker with four giant props slinging around. Pulling the throttle on a C-130 slows the plane quickly, and I had several tankers call "Breakaway" when we came screaming up underneath/behind, just before we slowed down. And yes, some C-130s have in-flight refueling receptacles (EC/MC/AC/HC-130s)<br />Great pics and story! Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04752881642891254978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-34956022461619623192014-02-08T06:37:31.934-06:002014-02-08T06:37:31.934-06:00Very cool post. I remember the first time I saw a ...Very cool post. I remember the first time I saw a plane hook up to another place for mid air refueling (in a movie, not in real life) and being in absolute awe at what a genius idea that was and what skill it took to be so steady to line up like that. Some things are just plain cool. This still amazes me any time I see it. Oh and I guess the plane is neat too. ;-)MTLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17436836221874403841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-90707403773479393872014-02-07T18:21:47.266-06:002014-02-07T18:21:47.266-06:00Well, if that sign reflects the actual tail number...Well, if that sign reflects the actual tail number of the aircraft you saw, it's a 51 year old airframe for starters, rebuilt to be sure, but not new.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-14300502932649788092014-02-07T14:53:40.387-06:002014-02-07T14:53:40.387-06:00Some people will look back on their life and regre...Some people will look back on their life and regret never having done anything exciting or worthwhile. I'm not thinking you'll ever have that problem.Murphy's Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-23270677389715400242014-02-07T14:52:18.430-06:002014-02-07T14:52:18.430-06:00Like what?Like what?Murphy's Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-78030648134516248612014-02-07T13:58:24.544-06:002014-02-07T13:58:24.544-06:00Great birds, but they DO have their own set of pro...Great birds, but they DO have their own set of problems...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-61992598909034882002014-02-07T13:33:35.519-06:002014-02-07T13:33:35.519-06:00Fortunately, I never got to see that view. (It'...Fortunately, I never got to see that view. (It's a little high and the boomer might get a bit edgy). Refueling in the F-4 took a bit of getting used to. The fuel was primarily loaded in the fuselage, and so your center of gravity changed as you took on gas. So, you were constantly trimming. Additionally, depending on the altitude, you might run out of power as you started to fill up. It was always considered poor form to ask the tanker driver to give you a couple, so the technique was to slip on throttle into min burner and after it lit (which could take a bit) pull the other throttle back. Depending on a lot of factors, you could very quickly get to the forward edge of the envelope which makes everybody nervous. Additionally, the canopy bow in the Phantom was huge and for most guys it covered most of the tanker when in the contact position. Makes it difficult to fly formation when you can't see the other aircraft. So the technique was to either run your seat up so you could see the tank from above the canopy bow or run it down and maintain position from below. Which meant either you were reaching waaay down for the stick and flying it that way or the top of the stick seemed to be right below your throat. Either way making small control corrections took a bit of skill. Night time made this even more fun, throw in weather and the refuel was frequently one of the more challenging parts of the mission.<br />Fortunately, the Eagle was much more simple. First the fuel was loaded in the wings primarily, so center of gravity was much easier to maintain. Second the jet had an auto trim function, you just held the stick where you wanted it for a short period (I don't recall the spec) and the computer would trim out all control pressure. Finally, the refueling receptacle was off the left intake, so all you had to do was line with the right wing root of the tanker, then drive forward until the canopy bow had the tanker engines just above it and you were in position. At the time I was in the jet, the 135s had the old engines, so the Eagle had WAY more thrust and maintaining position was never a problem. Don't know if that's a factor with the re-engined tankers.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-705383273102654812014-02-07T10:56:48.619-06:002014-02-07T10:56:48.619-06:00Sweet! Great pics and a fine story.
(And thanks f...Sweet! Great pics and a fine story.<br /><br />(And thanks for the link!)OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-85780668564479874662014-02-07T10:12:26.964-06:002014-02-07T10:12:26.964-06:00Nice report on a grand old bird.Nice report on a grand old bird.Rev. Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04588179227576383679noreply@blogger.com