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Nearly all internal fuel can be pumped through the tanker's flying boom, the KC-135's primary fuel transfer method. A boom operator stationed in the rear of the aircraft controls the boom while lying prone, viewing through a window at the bottom of the tail. Both the flying boom and operator's station are similar to those of the previous KC-97.
A KC-135 Stratotanker refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon using a flying boom. Aerial refueling (), or aerial refuelling (), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft are in flight.
On February 6, 1991, a USAF Boeing KC-135 military aircraft, operating as U.S. Air Force Flight WHALE 05, took off from Prince Abdullah Air Base, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while en route on a Gulf War refueling mission. the aircraft lost engines 1 and 2 while flying over the Saudi Arabian desert and to counteract the plane's descent, the pilots began to dump fuel from the aircraft.
A single-engine piston aircraft has a simple fuel system; a tanker (such as the KC-135), in addition to managing its own fuel, can also provide fuel to other aircraft. [1] Fuel is piped through fuel lines to a fuel control valve (usually known as the fuel selector). This valve serves several functions.
A USAF KC-135 boom operator refuels a USAF F-16 during a mission over Iraq. A USAF KC-10 boom operator refuels a Dutch F-16 during a mission over Afghanistan.. In the U.S. Air Force (USAF), a boom operator is an aircrew member aboard tanker aircraft who is responsible for safely and effectively transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft to another during flight (known as aerial ...
The Creek Party deployment rotations lasted until 1976, and over the decade the 151st saw millions of pounds of jet fuel off-loaded and millions of miles flown, all accident free. In July 1976 the KC-97s were retired and the parent 134th was transferred to Strategic Air Command, receiving jet KC-135A Stratotankers. Once again the 134th achieved ...
The Palomares incident occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The KC-135 was destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all four crew members.
In July 1976, the squadron received KC-135 Stratotankers; a newer and faster jet tanker. On 4 October 1976, the 126th completed its first mission with the new aircraft. After a year and a half of preparation, the conversion to KC-135s had begun. The first functional KC-135 arrived at Mitchell Field on 2 December 1977.