I was tanker pilot for 16 years. Just so you all know, when the refueling boom is connected to the receiver, they are talking to the F-16 through a hardwired interphone system through the boom (that was the one reference to "boom interphone" that you heard). It's allows the tanker crew to talk to the receiver while maintaining radio silence. We used it all the time in Irag and Afgahnistan and war games. Worked really well.
Thanks for explaining that. ^__^ How does the boom actually connect to the aircraft? Is there just a pump that sucks it into place and holds it there? How is the alignment made for the fuel line connection and the interphone link? I guess I should go find a video that explains it all. It's pretty fascinating.
America has never won a war on its own. The Red Army defeated the Nazis. America ran away from both Korea and Vietnam, and they only made things worse in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ronan Rogers America didn’t run away from Korea hell the Korean War is technically still on there is only a cease fire because North Korea was getting backed up by China and the Soviet Union so don’t try acting like America just loss to North Korea by itself when there was millions of Chinese troops in Korea and Vietnam was a political defeat not one of a decisive victory Americans just didn’t care or want Vietnam and didn’t want US soldiers to die in a closed part of Asia one thing for sure is if America kept the war going they would’ve won eventually because of the industrial and economic wealth of the US and since the Soviets were only partially supporting Vietnam with weapons and advisors America could’ve won and WW2 its not like the US wiped out the Empire of Japan or helped resupply both the British and Soviets with tanks, weapons, and planes but since they didn’t reach Berlin in order to witness the Soviet unions atrocities we didn’t defeat the nazis and it’s not like we invaded and helped liberate France, Italy, Norway and other European countries pffft nah and you are acting like the red army “liberating” Berlin was a good thing its not like they split up Europe for half a century and caused widespread famines during the Cold War while the West was rebuilding with the help of America and more specifically aid like the Marshall plan
@@ronanrogers4127In WWII The Red Army was attacked by Germany and got the job done. America joined in and helped out where they could. As for Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam America tried to lay down the law without destroying the place and eventually went home.
Me if I were a pilot: **Docks** I’ll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda.
35 years in the Navy but must say how impressed I am with the sincere sense of duty and teamwork these fly boys and boom operators have for the mission. Dedicated professionals.
I thought he was kind of boring to me. He could have asked questions about home life, sports, likes, etc. To make the conversation a little bit more interesting.
We weren’t allowed to use the word “man” when speaking to an officer while performing our duties back in my USAF days. It was all about keeping your military bearing.
My son is a tanker pilot with the ANG. I'm so proud of him. He stays busy and has been on trips to England, Ireland, Kosovo, Germany as well as many east coast trips to drag guys home or over. Served in the Air Force for ten years and had the best time of my life. Posts like this bring back great memories and really make me proud. Thanks!
They do, until they get tired of it, and want a normal life. I know fighter pilot, flew A-10, F-15, F-16. Became a salesman, now flies part-time for airlines.
@@ranger2083 Every 10 year, until they get married and have to come home to their kids and realize, hey, gotta get back home to the family. I've done enough sorties. And my body aches, and the hours, and smell, and the sleeplessness. Great job, heavy toll for an older pilot. Great for young guys.
Deffinatly Yes that has always been a dream to be as highly trained as these amazing pilots there more preditor then prey u. Theres no doubt its a dangerous occupation and to make it worse there separated from there familys thats why i respect them so much. Thank you to every man and women who has taken to the skys for are country . Just one more reason to head kick the idiots that dont stand during the national Anthem.
@Arma Lol I spent 3 years in a Viper Squadron, witnessed 2 Captains use a Major's oxygen mask to cup their balls....they are worse than gamers (Work hard, play hard).
Videos like these are what really make me so proud to be an American. This is the type of video that we can all watch every single day to make our day much better all of the time. Keep making videos like this and putting them on RU-vid please.
As former USAF - kudos to the boomer! Hell of a job Mr. Hell of a job. Nerves of steel and a Patriot for sure. Bless you. Bless all my brothers and sisters in every branch of the services - including Guard and Reserve units. I am totally appreciative of this video. Thank you.
That amazingly UN-obstructed F-16 canopy never ceases to amaze, plus the way the pilot is reclined 30 degrees must equal thee best ride in da woild, da whole woild!... Wonder why no other fighter designs went with that? Awesome feat of polymer engineering creating that canopy in a single piece.
@Bobby Brady F-35 is so sensor based along with heads up displays that allow you to literally look through the airplane, the need for a such a cockpit design is no longer present. One of the few good things about the F-35, but for the sake for time I shall not go into all the pros and cons ;)
The casual precision these guys and gals do this with always amazes me. You're looking at hundreds if not thousands of hours of training, and it all started for every one of them by signing up as a completely untrained civilian (in most cases, at least). Isn't that amazing?
Fantastic video & audio. I was a Director of the F-16 European Coproduction program for 3 years. I never go to fly in a two seat F-16 fighter because some diplomat we were trying to keep motivated in regards to our program would show up.
Funny... You read "F-16 Pilot Communications During Aerial Refueling" and you watch the video and give a dislike??? WTF the guy expect more than this? Turkey recipe? Thumbs up all the way. Thanks for keeping the world free guys!
The military needs to invest in developing a boom that will deliver coffee to the cockpit. They re-fuel the plane so they ought to refuel the pilot too.
Boom Operators are Enlisted, in fact it's the only career field where two officers (pilot/co-pilot of a KC-135, KC-10, or KC-46) 'drive' the enlisted man/woman to work!
FIGHTER PILOT: "LA SAGNA!" : Al's A NAG!" REFUELING OFFICER: "BI SAGNA!" "B. As GAIN!" FIGHTER PILOT: GAS An AL!" P.S. Anagrams of LAS SAGNA and BI SAGNA! In Italian: BISAGNA means It Is NECESSARY (to REFUEL!) etc.
What cool to me about this vid is that these are the guys that play war games above my cabin in the U.P of Michigan. I have spent hours watching them ripping around. You are welcome above Sandy Lake anytime.
I just don't see how those pilots can sit so relaxed with those balls of steel they have. Great boom OP. So cool to see how easy they make that refining look.
@LeTang Nah. CIA armed ISIS and rebels in Syria. Destabilize the region and then use government to argue to send troops in to "stabilize" countries. Basically, install Western-friendly dictators through farcical democratic elections and then American capital swoops in to rob those nations of resources.
@Bobby Brady lol you have brain worms. The US used NATO as a backdoor to keep troops in western europe as a wedge against communism, but also to exert influence in regional capital and stimy Europe's domestic military arms production. Until more recently the appeal of buying American arms and warplanes, which always come packaged with American technical support (something that, as a European member of NATO, would likely already be present and available with a US base in your backyard), was more sensible than spending on domestic product. Think of all the warplanes and other equipment sold to NATO members during the Cold War. The F-35 would have set up Lockheed for another decade if a number of NATO allies hadn't backed out due to the ludicrous price.
Can you imagine how hard flying this fucking thing is, and they're just casually chatting about nothing. That's a level of skill and coordination most of us will never experience in our lifetimes.
Yes, it is called the Boom 'Interphone', and is used when the boom nozzle is in the receiver's receptacle (aka in contact). Once the contact is made, an electrical signal carries the communication (similar to plugging an old phone cord into the wall) between the two aircraft. Communication using the Interphone is not broadcast out over the radio. However, we are using the radio when we speak to the receiver aircraft while not in contact. Source: I am a current USAF Boom Operator.
I know it's their job. But it looks so damn professional to get contact and hold speed, altitude and direction. Especially when the tanker turns. Thumbs up !!!!
Part of the challenge is that during refueling the tanker is getting lighter, which tends to make it go up, while the receiving airplane gets heavier, which tends to make it go down. This makes constant adjustments necessary to keep the boom from telescoping too far and possibly having a forced disconnect.
i'm a old guy and remember the movies of the early attempts at refueling. it looked tricky and dangerous back then.now i'm sure it's no easy job but almost routine.
Part of the challenge is that during refueling the tanker is getting lighter, which tends to make it go up, while the receiving airplane gets heavier, which tends to make it go down. This makes constant adjustments necessary to keep the boom from telescoping too far and possibly having a forced disconnect.
@@81bird61 So explain to me how the hell you could transfer thousands of pounds of fuel from one plane to the other without having one wanting to go up while the other wants to goes down. When a bomber drops its bomb load what does it do? It suddenly goes up once relieved of all that extra weight. On the other hand when a plane accumulates ice it tends to go down partly because it now has to carry the extra weight of the ice. When an airplane is properly trimmed there is delicate balance between lift and weight. Changing the weight upsets that balance, which will make the airplane want to go upward or downward.
@@joevignolor4u949 becasue those planes weight thousands of pounds alone. Plus being armed up with bombs and missiles and external tanks and the tanker plane alone weighs like 250,000 completely empty transferring a few thousand pounds of gas doesnt do anything. Now one thing that actually does happen is when a plane is light and takes a heavy load of fuel it will slow them down a little bit because it takes more thrust to push the plane forward and when they are burning/ losing fuel they will move a tiny bit faster. But their is absolutely no moving up and down because of the weight of a plane. If the weight matters tell me why a 40,000lb f22 and a 1 million pound C-5 can both fly in a perfectly level straight line? Because they have thrust and wings keeping them in the air. And yes this is my job i see it quite often and no planes dont move down when im refueling them
@@81bird61 I never said the receiver will move up and down relative to the tanker. What I said was the pilot in the receiving airplane has to make constant adjustments to stay in position as the fuel transfers. That's what the index marks on the refueling boom are for. And if the receiver's pilot is really good at station keeping during refueling the boom operator won't notice hardly any change in the distance between the tanker and the receiver. Next, any amount of extra weight will affect an airplane's trim. You proved it yourself. You talked about how loading up the airplane will cause it to want to slow down. Why do you think that is? The extra weight will make the airplane tend to sink. To adjust for that the trim has to be adjusted up. That will cause more induced drag making the plane want to slow down. To compensate for that more engine power will be necessary, which is why loading more weight onto the plane will cause it to burn fuel at a higher rate. But that whole process begins because of extra weight. This is why airplanes often fly without full fuel tanks. Its to cut down on fuel usage. Finally no airplane will fly in a straight line all by itself without some sort of feedback mechanism. So how does an F-22 and a C-5 do it? The answer is they both have autopilot that has an altitude hold function. As long as its turned on they will fly in a straight line. This is because as the airplane's trim changes, which can happen because of many variables including changes in the fuel load due to fuel consumption, the autopilot continuously makes the necessary adjustment to the trim and the throttles to keep the plane at a constant altitude. Then if the autopilot is turned off the pilot has to make the constant adjustments or the altitude will start to drift up or down.
@@joevignolor4u949 yeah i agree lol. And the receiver moves up and down while on the boom cuz they cant use auto pilot while in contact so they are always making tiny movements kinda like if u take ur hands off ur wheel while driving. The weight of the plane doesnt matter its just the fact that its flying. And yes i agree with ur whole auto pilot thing but u were saying the weight of the plane makes it go up and down. But if u have auto pilot on or are just a good pilot ur plane isnt gonna do anything. Idek what im trying to say anymore dude
Damn man, seeing a flight of fully loaded F-16s flying in formation like that is just menacing, if I was an enemy pilot and saw that I'd probably nope right the fuck outta that situation with a quickness
It's just insane, the amount of experience and confidence to fly up to a tanker at hundreds of miles an hour, connect, and carry on a calm, cool collected conversation.
"My other aircraft is a Toyota Corolla." "Ha, ha, you crack me up, sir.........................ass." :What was THAT?!" "Gas, I'm giving you gas, sir...............................schmuck." "Wha-?!" "Gotta go sir!" Is how that conversation should've gone.
I actually learned a lot from this one. My only story is with the F-16 you make eye contact with the pilot that just got mooned by a trail crew member. Know we gave him a story to take back to his friends. Got fuel plane story too as I was told by a pilot, they all called it the bad guy, because no one has a key to fuel planes that get them in that one.
My wife's cousin married Andrew Lewis, the son of the late president of General Dynamics, the builder of the F-16. Andrew was one of the designers of the plane.
Awsome proof of Air Superiority!!! in the high speed shot, am I the only one that saw a resemblance to humming birds?? May GOD continue to Bless the USA!!!!
Can I get a Big Mac, fries and a large Dr Pepper with that? Thanks so much. On the more serious side, I’m sure it takes a steady hand from both the pilot and boom operator and of course the tanker pilot to pull of this “ballet in the sky”.
Amazing to see how routine this has all become. Chatting about coffee and donuts. You can bet that wasn't the discussion the very first time this was accomplished. ;-)
@@bradfallin2698 Yes, I've seen vids of ones gone wrong...broken hoses (both ends), one where the "fuelie" almost pranged the "fueler" with a horrendous porpoising "maneuver" and worse. I'll bet it gets exciting at times. Being there during one..seriously 40 gauge butts everywhere, I'm sure.
Hope I don’t get torn apart for askin this, but how exactly are they able to establish that connection? Boom to aircraft? I feel like there’s so many factors that would make it very hard to do
Eye-hand coordination by the boomer mostly. Those fins on the boom move and the boomer “flys” the boom into position on F-16’s back. F-16 pilot knows exactly where to hold position until contact. In the fast motion parts you can see the boom moving left and right, up and down slightly. Boomer’s doing that. Boom also telescopes once contact is made, allowing contact and fuel flow to be maintained even in turbulence to a degree. The other system of air refueling is a probe extending from the plane to be refueled to a drogue basket at the end of a hose that extends from the tanker. Less fuel transferred per minute but allows for smaller tankers, even other fighters equipped with a refueling pod and multiple drop tanks like the old KA-6. There the pilot of the plane to be refueled does all the work, putting the probe in the basket. I think the new USAF tankers have booms as well as probe-and-drogue systems mounted on the wings, allowing them to refuel any allied aircraft.
The Audacity....the egoand self confidence that fighter pilots have....this is one of the , if not the ONLY place that ego and self confidence plays a HUGE part.....(there is NO WAY you can beat me*triggermode/but collected-mode) *pushes 13G for several seconds and doesnt black out* Good luck fellas! Be safe