Non-Skiing TR: Flying Aboard a KC-135

[GoldMember]

Please excuse the non-skiing trip report but this was a pretty unique experience that I'd like to share.

I have the privilege to serve as an Honorary Commander at our nearby Air Force base (Fairchild) which is a refueling tanker base. Yesterday I was part of a group of twelve who were fortunate enough to take flight and be part of a training mission over the Pacific Northwest. We left Spokane at 7:45 and went southwest to Central Oregon where we met up with four F-15's and refueled them. We then headed north toward Joint Base Lewis-McChord in southern Puget Sound and met with three C-17 cargo planes and headed east to central Montana, then back to Fairchild. All this was over a 5 1/2 hour trip. Here are some shots of the flight:


First class cabin on a KC-135; lots of leg room, doughnuts for the morning and Jimmy John's for lunch and plenty of room to walk around.



Beautiful day over Oregon with the Three Sisters to gaze at.


One of our first customers, an F-15 pulling alongside to take a look. It's not everyday you see this out of the window while in flight.



Settled in at the gas station.



Our pilots taking us over to Montana for a little fun with the C-17's.



One of our last customers for the day, a C-17 pulls in and mates up with the KC-135. What was interesting is that the C-17 is a very large plane and puts out a large bow-wave. When it got close, the tail end of the KC-135 would raise and the wave would feel like it rippled from the back of the plane to the front. If the auto-pilot kicks out, the 135 pilot would pull up and hit the throttle while the C-17 dipped under us. It was a little nerve-wracking for us who hadn't been there before but just another move that all parties involved were repeatedly trained for. Fascinating process.



I want to thank all of our service folks and veterans for what they do for us and the Fairchild air crew for giving us a joy ride. Having the opportunity to see this up close was really cool and educational. When you consider that there were several million dollars worth of equipment weighing around 200 tons, including 100 tons of jet fuel, traveling at 265 mph at 20,000 feet, thirty feet apart and connected with a 4" diameter tube full of streaming jet fuel, you have to ask: What could go wrong? Well, lots of things. It's the dedicated training of these folks that make it seem so seamless and inconsequential that we just kind of take it all for granted. This truly was seeing art in motion. A really fun day!

[ticketchecker]

Awesome

[babybear]

neato experience
thanks for sharing

[oftpiste]

wow!

[AK47bp]

Dam. Pretty cool

[MTT]

Very cool.

Brings back fond memories'.

[STLHD]

I'm pretty sure we saw that c17 refill when we were floating the smith. cool to see from the ground. Must have been very cool in person.

[GoldMember]

I'm pretty sure we saw that c17 refill when we were floating the smith. cool to see from the ground. Must have been very cool in person.

Pretty good chance you did. We were somewhere in that general vicinity, sky-floating around that entire area. We were there around 1:00-2:00 or so, MDT. Yeah, it was very cool.

[Fred Pabst]

That's pretty cool. Living in Maine, we see them all the time doing mid-air refueling missions as there is still an active squadron that flies out of Bangor. For a while I lived in Bangor. They were constantly doing touch and go laps, as you mentioned practicing their craft. Fun stuff.

[NW_SKIER]

Sweet!!

[Norseman]

Nice, man. Bet that was fun.

A few years ago when camping in the Henry mtns in Utah​, I saw a pair of B1-Bs fly overhead at maybe 15k AGL. One was refueling from a KC-135. A couple hours later, just at dusk, both bombers came hauling ass back the other direction, wings swept back and engines roaring.

[PNWbrit]

Cool.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I saw a 135 refueling a c17 above Snowbowl (so basically above Missoula) one sunny day. My understanding is that that is where baby planes come from.
How'd you get on a trip like that?

[Supermoon]

Awesome! Great TR

[Game Over]

Man I bet that was fun

[Kopi_Red]

Very kewl

[splat]

Killer share. Thanks!

[GoldMember]

I saw a 135 refueling a c17 above Snowbowl (so basically above Missoula) one sunny day. My understanding is that that is where baby planes come from.
How'd you get on a trip like that?

As I mentioned in the post, I'm an Honorary Commander at Fairchild.

[hutash]

!

Do you have to enter your zip code to pay at the pump?

Sweet TR. Never flown in anything like that, but did get to wonder around in one set up for medivac. Pretty amazing.

[Supermoon]

As I mentioned in the post, I'm an Honorary Commander at Fairchild.

How does one get a gig like that?

[TBS]

When you consider that there were several million dollars worth of equipment weighing around 200 tons, including 100 tons of jet fuel, traveling at 265 mph at 20,000 feet, thirty feet apart and connected with a 4" diameter tube full of streaming jet fuel, you have to ask: What could go wrong? !

Used to work with a guy who served on flight crew of an aerial tanker. Told me that nothing gets your attention like St Elmo's Fire rolling thru the cockpit and fuselage of your giant gas can

Thanks for the TR

[stuckathuntermtn]

As I mentioned in the post, I'm an Honorary Commander at Fairchild.

So are you retired, or is that like an honorary PhD?

[GoldMember]

How does one get a gig like that?

So are you retired, or is that like an honorary PhD?

I've been involved for the past twelve years with a community advocacy group that advocates on behalf of the base. It goes back to the last Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in 2005. In essence, we lobbied on behalf of Fairchild for taking on additional missions that may have needed to move due to other base closures. Also to assure Fairchild didn't close. With that, I've been part of this effort over the years and was nominated to assume the HC role when the last guy's term expired. It requires a background check and security review as we travel to various command headquarters and the Pentagon for a variety of reasons. We also work with local governments around issues like zoning restrictions in flight paths and noise contours where residents would be in noisy locations surrounding the base. Having occasional flights like this is one way the AF thanks us for what we do.

Yes, kind of like an honorary PhD but there are activities associated with it that are ongoing.

[summit]

very cool

as far as the what can go wrong