{{Expansion}} Since I used to work on the hydraulics of the KC-135_Stratotanker, including the refueling boom, I would imagine that probably makes me the Wikipedia expert on the subject, so I'll be adding a lot more to this article, in my Copious_free_time (is there an article on that yet?). -- John Owens 08:19 2 Jun 2003 (UTC) : OK, lots more added now. Guess it was copious enough. I don't know so much about the drogue and probe method, so any help there would be much appreciated. :) -- John Owens 21:39 5 Jun 2003 (UTC) : The NATO term is air-to-air refuelling; acronym AAR - IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules - recommend to change. -80.133.101.30 : The USAF IFR acronymn can be either, especially if you used to work on Tankers. Thank heavens I was Guidance & Control. My roomate was a hydraulic troop, I think he wore a couple gallons of fluid home from work everyday. ;P --LedHed430 04:29, 10 December 2005 (UTC) ---- List of good refueling pictures (there seem to be quite a few of them, and I'll be scanning in some good up-close ones soon, including the boom-to-drogue adapter in use!): * Image:Usaf.kc135.750pix.jpg Media:Usaf.kc135.750pix.jpg Larger image * Image:Usaf.f15.f16.kc135.750pix.jpg Media:Usaf.f15.f16.kc135.750pix.jpg Larger image * Image:Blackhawk.750pix.jpg Media:Blackhawk.750pix.jpg Larger image ** Got one with a helicopter refueling probe nicely shown! * Image:Caf.f5.750pix.jpg Media:Caf.f5.750pix.jpg Larger image * Image:Pavehawk.750pix.jpg Media:Pavehawk.750pix.jpg Larger image == history == Aerial refueling was used in the 20's to make some very long endurance flight records. There may be some definitive dates in the record books of the record keeping organizations. A question for the experts: During WW2 US bombers over Germany suffered severe losses early because the fighters did not have enough range to stay with the bombers all the way to the targets leaving them exposed to German fighters for part of the trip. There was a period in late '43 and early '44 when US bomber crews had only a 30% chance of surviving the required 30 missions before they could go home. It wasn't until the P51 with its longer range became available that the problem was solved. Why didn't they use aerial refueling to extend the range of the earlier fighters? :Just a guess... I would say that by the time the fighters needed fuel they were in hostile airspace. Air-refueling just about anywhere in the European theater would be subject to enemy fighters. In-flight refueling is tricky enough without someone trying to shoot you AND the tanker down. --LedHed430 05:52, 10 December 2005 (UTC) According to the USAF Museum the first air to air refueling was October 5, 1922 during a world endurance record. See http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/postwwi/far.htm Unless someone has evidence to the contrary, the Avro_Vulcan was never used as a tanker. The Handley_Page_Victor was, and was used to refuel Vulcans during the Falklands War. DJ Clayworth 16:10, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC) ---- ==Advantage/disadvantage== Any advantages or disadvantages? Why are there two methods? ⇒ whkoh [talk]> 06:28, Mar 17, 2004 (UTC) *Well, the drogue/probe system is better for use in pods carried by aircraft not always used as tanker. - 80.133.101.30 05:06, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC) *The boom method is better for higher speed aircraft, and only require a small receiver, which usually does not interfere with the aerodynamics of the aircraft. It is not practical for refueling helicopters, and some slower aircraft. (Rogerd 03:06, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)) == Probe and drogue picture. == We seem to be missing a good probe and drogue picture. What happened to the old one? If it's gone for copyright reasons, can we get another one up there instead of that F-15 picture? Anyone have any pictures of Navy probes left in USAF drogues? The Naval Aviators seem to have a bad habit of snapping off the probes during quick-disconnects. --LedHed430 04:14, 10 December 2005 (UTC) == Cold War Tanker Mission == Alright, what was the tanker mission during the cold war? The story I always heard for the birds on the alert pad was: Take-off, rendezvous with the bombers, transfer ALL your fuel to said bombers, find a nice comfy patch of snow to ditch the aircraft on, then watch the inbound Russian ICBM's. Any other "stories" out there? --LedHed430 06:09, 10 December 2005 (UTC)