Tanker crews fly night ops mission

Published Dec. 2, 2010
By Airman 1st Class Natasha E. Stannard
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Just because the sun goes away doesn't mean the Fairchild refueling mission does.

On Nov. 18, a Fairchild KC-135 Stratotanker took off as the sun set to refuel two F-15C Eagles from the Oregon Air National Guard and one KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The mission occurred over the coast of Oregon and went through the night into the early hours of the next day.

"While we're deployed it's 24-hour operations, so training at night here helps over there," said Staff Sgt. Brendan Balko, 92nd Air Refueling Squadron boom operator instructor. "We support troops on the ground and we need to refuel the fighters out there so they can continue their missions."

Their support for this home station mission began with preflight planning inspections to ensure a smooth ride the whole way through.

Once planes are ready and in position, the boom operators take their position in the tail of the Stratotanker. In order to move much-needed fuel from one plane to another, the aircraft and boom must be perfectly aligned, which means everyone needs to work together.

Because the pilots of the KC-135 are not back with the boom operators, they must rely on the operators to be their eyes, so they can fly the tanker into position and keep it there. This means the operators must use exact coordinates and the pilots must make precise movements.

"Everything we say, they have to rely on, so we have to make sure we're communicating so they know exactly where the receiver is," Sergeant Balko explained. "We paint them a picture in one short sentence."

In this case, operators and pilots had to do these precise movements at the dead of night with nothing, but a small light at the end of the boom to illuminate the aircraft being refueled.

"Refueling at night can be more difficult because it's dark so your depth perception can be off," said Airman 1st Class Caleb Sieben, a boom operator in training.

Visibility wasn't the only obstacle for this crew to work through. As altitude rose, temperatures plummeted, and then spiked and white noise filled the body of the aircraft. But, all that was worked through as a light in the distance pulsed its way closer and closer to the tanker. The pulsating light was an F-15 that made its way directly beneath the tanker.

The booms spotlighted the F-15 communicated with the pilots on both aircraft and maneuvered the boom into the tank to begin the first refuel of the mission. Once the fighter crew completed their refueling, they were off to complete their own night-flying mission.

A few hours later, the tanker made its way over the Northern California Coast to refuel the KC-10 Extender. This part of the mission was challenging for both crews because the KC-10 has a larger air frame, which creates air displacement. For training purposes, the crew also chose to practice connecting the boom several times. This practice helped both the pilot of the KC-10 and Airman Sieben get qualifications for their jobs so they can support the mission overseas.

The boom operators practiced connecting with the plane below several times.

The night mission was put into full effect. The tanker and the receiver all put their skills to the test as the night went on their refueling mission - the mission that makes all other missions possible.

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