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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: NATO Air Refueling Methods (KC-10)
Message-ID: <11432@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 14 Nov 89 23:27:06 GMT
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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From: marco@ncsc.navy.mil (Barbarisi)
>KC-10 is the airframe of a McDonnell DC-10 commercial airliner, converted
>to aereal refueling duty.  I presume it will eventually replace the KC-135
>(a Boeing 707 look-alike)...

No, actually, the KC-10 production run -- 60 -- finished last year, and as
far as I know there are no plans for more.  The KC-10s are intended as a
long-range big-payload supplement to the KC-135 force, not as a replacement
for it.  The fact is that it would be horrendously expensive to replace the
KC-135s, as nearly 1000 of them were bought and most are still in service.
The bulk of the KC-135 force is being re-engined with modern turbofans, and
will be in service for another 20-30 years.

>The KC-10 is fitted with the old reliable flying 
>boom refueling probe, which is needed to refuel large aircraft ...

Large USAF aircraft.  Other countries refuel large aircraft with probe-and-
drogue without problems.

>However, if you look to the starboard side of the boom operator's cage, 
>you'll see a small recess ("small" compared to everything else on a KC-10)
>that holds one of them thar drogue (p-and-d) refueleing probes.  I
>presume it is reeled in and out as needed.

That's right.  (I went and looked it up the other night to be sure.)  Pity
they aren't going to retrofit the KC-135s with a similar rig.

The KC-10s are also being fitted with the necessary controls and plumbing
to put a probe-and-drogue pod under each wingtip, to make them capable
of the standard p-and-d trick of refuelling three aircraft simultaneously.
The last ones off the production line had the pod hookups built in, and
the others are being retrofitted with them gradually.  The USAF isn't
buying enough pods to equip the entire KC-10 fleet, however.

                                     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
                                 uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu