Photo: Unilad Tech/Tech. Sgt. Lynette Hoke
There are many aerial maneuvers fighter pilots can perform while on the job, but few of them are as dangerous as the one asking people to bring the machines in close proximity to other, larger airplanes and, while moving very fast through the air, allow fuel to flow into the tanks.
We call this type of activity aerial refueling. The concept has been around ever since the 1920s, when the rise of airborne machines created new and unexpected challenges, including some that had to do with keeping them in the air as much as possible, but only in the post-war era did it get perfected.
In today’s world, refueling missions are as common as flying, but that does not reduce the danger factor that comes with such operations. Pilots train long and hard to be able to pull this kind of stunt, and one would think the level of focus they experience during the fuel exchange is phenomenal.
It probably is, but as the short video at the bottom of the page reveals, it’s not all business when refueling. Once the long boom ties the two airplanes together, pilots and tanker personnel involved are free to chat about anything they like, as they would in a ground-based gas station.
We get to see a variety of planes pulling up next to the flying gas station, and hear snippets of the conversations between the people involved. We’re not given any info on location or date, but for the purposes of better understanding the pilots' world, the video (published by Unilad Tech), is more than enough.
Given how the guys and gals in the tankers and fighters do not necessarily know each other, you’ll hear a lot of exploratory conversations, with many of them coming down to food, eventually. But we also hear talk about hobbies, riddles, and stars and space, depending on the mood of the participants.
In today’s world, refueling missions are as common as flying, but that does not reduce the danger factor that comes with such operations. Pilots train long and hard to be able to pull this kind of stunt, and one would think the level of focus they experience during the fuel exchange is phenomenal.
It probably is, but as the short video at the bottom of the page reveals, it’s not all business when refueling. Once the long boom ties the two airplanes together, pilots and tanker personnel involved are free to chat about anything they like, as they would in a ground-based gas station.
We get to see a variety of planes pulling up next to the flying gas station, and hear snippets of the conversations between the people involved. We’re not given any info on location or date, but for the purposes of better understanding the pilots' world, the video (published by Unilad Tech), is more than enough.
Given how the guys and gals in the tankers and fighters do not necessarily know each other, you’ll hear a lot of exploratory conversations, with many of them coming down to food, eventually. But we also hear talk about hobbies, riddles, and stars and space, depending on the mood of the participants.
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