Gas pump in the sky

  • Published
  • By Marine Cpl. Thomas A. Sloan
  • Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFPN) --  When an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot runs low on fuel, he has two choices: Radio in to the closest air base control tower for landing and refueling permission, or stay airborne and fill up from a gas station in the sky -- the KC-135 Stratotanker. You can imagine which gets him back into the fight faster.

More than 40 Airmen and their Stratotankers from the Air National Guard’s 126th Air Refueling Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., are here supporting Northern Edge ‘04, Alaska Command’s joint training exercise. More than 9,000 Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines and Coast Guardsmen from active-duty, Reserve and National Guard units are participating in this year’s exercise.

The Airmen from the 126th ARW provide refueling services to the various aircraft flying in the exercise. During a typical refueling mission, one of the tankers topped off six F-16 Fighting Falcons.

“We (distributed) roughly 72,000 pounds of jet fuel divided up (among) six aircraft,” said Chief Master Sgt. Sam Gerros, in-flight refueling manager for the 108th ARS. “It’s our mission to get the fuel up in the air to the pilots who need it. Doing so will save them from having to land.”

The refueling request came from an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning Control System aircraft.

A Stratotanker holds as much as 185,000 pounds of fuel for refueling missions, Chief Gerros said. It holds the fuel in its wings, referred to as wet wings, and underneath its belly.

On this day, a little less than an hour after the plane took off, it was met by its six thirsty customers. One by one they took turns slowly lining up with the Stratotanker, hooking up with the fuel receptacle known as a boom and filling up.

The boom is deployed from the rear of the Stratotanker by a boom operator who guides it mechanically from the rear of the aircraft. While the pilot of the jet taking on fuel edges in close, the operator keeps the boom steady and inserts it into an opening located on top of the jet. All this takes place at the high speeds of flight.

Once the jet is refueled, the flight departs the area, ready to engage the enemy, and the tanker awaits the next call for gas.