More Ass to Mouth (with visuals!)

Question 1

DAY KC-135 100 Foot Reference

Answer 1

• Fueselage body is co-planar with the AR-Ready light
• Tip of the Vertical Stab barely touching top of windscreen
• All 4 engines are visible
• Right Wingtip nearly touching upper-right corner of windscreen

Question 2

NIGHT KC-135 100 Foot Reference

Answer 2

• A straight row of lights formed by the underbody lights and the position lights
• An equilateral triangle formed by the two underbody lights and the stinger light on the tail cone.
• Another reference is an equilateral triangle formed by the wingtip lights and the light on the top of the tail.

Question 3

100 Foot DAY KC-10 Visual References

Answer 3

• Lower edges of #1 and #3 engines co-plananar with the ready light
• Only left horizontal stab visible in the upper windscreen
• Boom nozzle on front (furthest from us) edge of the PDIs

Question 4

NIGHT KC-10 Visual References

Answer 4

Same references as the KC-135 at night, recognising that the KC-10 at 300 feet will appear to be the same size as the 135 at 100 feet due to its larger size….

Continue to the 100-foot position until until the KC-10 wings fill the entire windscreen edge-to-edge

Question 5

KC-135 Astern References

Answer 5

• Rudder vadors cradling the boom pod
• Aft tip of fuselage touching top of windscreen
• Both left and right wingtips just out of sight

Question 6

KC-10 Astern References

Answer 6

• Azimuth (Left or Right): Simply align the aircraft with the corresponding row of PDIs.
• Elevation (Up or Down): VHF antenna on or slightly below the nose of the aircraft
• Extension (In or Out): Some KC-10s have parallel black lines painted across the aft belly section, helping forward and aft references. Additionally, the boom will be pointed at the pilot/copilot’s feet when extended normally

Question 7

Define what the Astern position is

Answer 7

• The Astern position can best be described as “the boom pointing at my feet.” While at the proper elevation and extension, one is at approximately 50 feet when an imaginary straight-line drawn through the boom points to the PF’s feet.
• This technique is applicable for the KC-135, KC-10, and KC-46.
• While not required, the boom operator will usually say “Cleared Astern,” and this is the directive to establish a stable precontact position before moving to the contact position.

Question 8

Tanker Pilot Responsibilities

Answer 8

The tanker pilot should provide a smooth, stable platform during the receiver’s closure from astern to contact.

Question 9

Receiver Pilot Responsibilities

Answer 9

Provide a smooth, constant rate of closure from astern to contact while maintaining centerline azimuth and the 30-degree line.

Rushing the closure makes it difficult for the tanker pilot to keep up with the changing trim requirements. Stagnated closures also present pitch trim problems to the tanker.

Closing into contact when off centerline causes wing rock on both aircraft. Closing above or below the 30-degree line causes tanker trim difficulties.

Question 10

A steady red light on the PDIs means what?

Answer 10

will indicate a large correction is necessary

Question 11

A flashing red light on the PDIs means what?

Answer 11

will indicate a small correction.

Question 12

When will the boom operator begin flashing the Fly FWD light?

Answer 12

As the aircraft moves into approximately 10 feet aft of center…..it extinguishes when the boom operator is about to make contact.

Question 13

When is the rush of the boom audible?

Answer 13

At approximately 3 feet from contact

Question 14

What is Closure Overrun?

Answer 14

The closure overrun is very common due to the bow wave effect at approximately 15 feet. If the closure is too slow, the receiver’s closure will stagnate and a significant power increase is required to get through the bow wave which results in an overrun.

Question 15

What does it mean to push your fist through the cellophane?

Answer 15

This refers to maintaining a smooth constant 1-foot-per-second closure all the way to the contact position.

Question 16

Danger of operating in tanker manual operation (TMO)

Answer 16

• Limit switches connected to the boom normally define the boom envelope and can auto-disconnect if the limits are exceeded….
• The limit switches are not functional in TMO, so auto-disconnect will not occur, and increased vigilance is required by the boom operator and receiver pilot, not to exceed the limits of the boom envelope.

Question 17

KC-135 PDIs: The PDIs will not display any corrective action in elevation until the receiver is at least

Answer 17

4 degrees from center

Question 18

KC-135 Day Contact References

Answer 18

The number 3 (pilot reference) or number 2 (copilot reference) engine exhaust cone tip will rest on the outermost engine cowling.

Number 4 engine tucked into the windscreen corner

Block 40 antenna pericing the grape

Question 19

Photo of Piercing the Grape

Answer 19

UHF antenna is the small black one….

The Block 40 antenna is the grey needle…

Question 20

How to Paint the tanker w/ weather radar….

Answer 20

Use of Radar. The first step toward a successful rendezvous is to identify the tanker. Accurate tanker position determination is important, especially during low-visibility conditions. Attempt to identify the tanker using the radar skin paint mode as soon as practical to ensure accurate range monitoring of the tanker.

Radar skin paint will begin to be effective when the tanker is approximately 20 to 30 NM from the receiver. Select L, R, or C (left, right, or center respectively) on the weather radar control panel. This focuses the skin paint direction and enables the TILT function of the TILT/ELEV knob. As the beamwidth is 3 degrees, no calibration technique should be required, however, setting the antenna tilt to 10 divided by tanker DME will ensure the greatest return throughout the rendezvous. An initial setting of 0.5 degrees up is a good starting point during the rendezvous.

Question 21

Describe Point Parallel Procedures

Answer 21

Turn Range/Offset Adjustments. The C-17 mission computer air-air refueling software has not been modified since all KC-135s converted to the Pacer CRAG model.

Question 22

Adding or Subtracting the Drift in the MC pages

Answer 22

To get the most accurate data, update the tanker true airspeed (TAS) and the track drift once proceeding on track to the CP and on RV airspeed.

Right drift on the ND Map equates to minus (both are five letters), and left drift equates to plus (both are four letters). For example, a 3R drift on the ND Map will result in -3 for LSK 3R.

Question 23

KC-46 Astern Position

Answer 23

Elevation (Up or Down): the tip of the white lower antenna on the top of the black or gray rectangle

Extension (In or Out): ruddervators will be the width of all three NEXGEN LAIRCM sensors.

Azimuth (Left or Right): align the white lower antenna in the middle of the yellow boom alignment stripe.

Question 24

KC-46 100 Foot Reference

Answer 24

Ruddervadors on the outer-most LAIRCM sensor

Vertical stab at the top of the windscreen

Right wing tip on corner of windscreen