Bengaluru: For nine and half hours, two F-16 fighter jets flew nonstop from the Japanese base in Kadena to the Yelahanka Air Base in Bengaluru.
The aircraft endured that long flight for one solid reason: The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. This giant refuelled the two jets four times en route and landed at Aero India 2015 to tell a story that is over 50 years old!
Commissioned in 1962, the mid-air refueller had taken part in all the major global conflicts involving American forces. Young co-pilot, Capt Alex Trana had come into the KC-135 barely three years ago. But in that short tenure, she had already endured hours of dramatic, often scary refuelling moments.
“It gets scary when the fighter jets come in close for the refuel. The distance could get as close as four to five metres!” she recalled to Deccan Herald aboard the aircraft.
So, how does the refuelling actually happen. “When the receiver aircraft comes up, the boomer is pulled up and inserted into the receiver’s fuel hole. Fuel is then injected at 6,000 pounds per minute. It takes about five to eight minutes for smaller aircraft such as F-15 or F-16. Larger planes can take up to 10-15 minutes,” explained a maintenance engineer onboard.
21/02/15 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald
The aircraft endured that long flight for one solid reason: The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. This giant refuelled the two jets four times en route and landed at Aero India 2015 to tell a story that is over 50 years old!
Commissioned in 1962, the mid-air refueller had taken part in all the major global conflicts involving American forces. Young co-pilot, Capt Alex Trana had come into the KC-135 barely three years ago. But in that short tenure, she had already endured hours of dramatic, often scary refuelling moments.
“It gets scary when the fighter jets come in close for the refuel. The distance could get as close as four to five metres!” she recalled to Deccan Herald aboard the aircraft.
So, how does the refuelling actually happen. “When the receiver aircraft comes up, the boomer is pulled up and inserted into the receiver’s fuel hole. Fuel is then injected at 6,000 pounds per minute. It takes about five to eight minutes for smaller aircraft such as F-15 or F-16. Larger planes can take up to 10-15 minutes,” explained a maintenance engineer onboard.
21/02/15 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald
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