Very very cool....

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-pil ... hoImj9tSgS



Warren

That's great. I didn't realize they used F/A-18's as tankers.

Won't play on my iPad.

They call it "mission tanker"; they'll go up with the launch and pass a few thou to the blue air players then sit on top of the recovery stack in case someone bolters one too many times or gets below ladder for recovery. Then they land last on the recovery cycle. Is about a 20 min sortie FWIWT.

If they are going far, they need a real tanker (135/10/130).

[youtube]http://youtu.be/nw0gjw1XIIk[/youtube]

this should work..

This makes me hyperventilate.

They have to. They retired the KA-6Ds and the S-3s. The K was an A-6 without the radar/arnament control panel, INS, etc. Just 5 hard points and an integral drogue and hose. On the ship we'd fly one tanker hop for every bomber hop. I think they used the S-3s for a while after they retired the A-6s in '97 or so. Now there's no choice but to use a fighter with a 'Buddy Store' for tanking duties.

so....is the tanker just to top off from take off?....if so, how much fuel are they taking on?

F-18s, I don't think so. I flew off the Coral Sea with F-4s. There were no-wind times in the Indian Ocean where the Phantoms couldn't take off with a full fuel load. They'd take off half loaded, we'd top them off, and they'd go do their thing.
Most of the time, though, tankers are airborne to pass fuel to low state aircraft on their return. Carrier aircraft have maximum landing weights. The A-6 could only have 7000 lbs of fuel remaining. Any more and you'd have to dump to get down to weight. You'd risk driving your own landing gear up through the wings otherwise. However, if you had to wait for the deck to clear, or for your turn, or came back low, or boltered (missed the wire and had to take it around again), then you'd need fuel. No where else to get it except for the airborne tanker.

For a while my pilot and I were the 'Bolter Kings'. One memorable day or night (the details dim with time) Conk went around SEVEN times before finally catching a wire. My wife was touring Pri-Fly (the onboard control tower) when she saw the duty board. At the top there was a crown with 'Conklin/Steed' written inside it. And the number '7'. She said, "Oh, look! Did you win a prize?" Everyone was suddenly busy elsewhere as I had to explain that we'd had some extra flight time that day.

while we're on the subject....these two series are riveting....well worth the time to watch. I guarantee you will like it.

Pitching Deck - a PBS special

pt1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gGMI8d3vLs

pt2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0yj70QbBzg

Another good one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAfmaz726hU

Oh man, talk about feeling like the King of the world.............

I like those O2 masks. Looks much more comfortable clearing six under G than the nose biters of the 60s-70s. Phantoms had to get 1000# from the previous cycle's mission tanker (A-6 or A-7) right after every launch just to make it to the end of our 1.5 hr cycle with max trap fuel on the ball. Then I think they launched another tanker for the recovery, that tanker would take any extra fuel from the prior mission tanker, stay up for the next cycle and hawk the pattern for the next recovery. 'Course it's been awhile, the memory fades. But it's all a very impressive work of choreography. Your Navy at work.