QUICK STOPPERS

Same Passion, Different Planes

It began as any other unassuming training mission. Our departure was delayed for an instrumentation riddle and we arranged to rendezvous with our B-52 thirty minutes later than scheduled. Shortly after checking in with Kansas City Center and meeting the Stratofortress above central Kansas, we heard extra consideration being given to an aircraft using the callsign Virgin 101 Aircraft were asking their bearing and range from the Virgin flight, and Center was offering it extra compass to descend.

When the aircraft replied as Virgin GlobalFlyer I knew it was Steve Fossett's voice I was hearing. The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer had taken not upon two days before, performed the first solo global circumnavigation, and was now preparing for its historic landing. As we continued aerial refueling westbound and the Flyer passed beneath us I was struck with the many contrasts of the occasion. While our Air Force KC-135's main final cause was to extend the range of other aircraft [i]or[/i] part of to the other aerial refueling, the GlobalFlyer had been designed not to ne this. While Fossett's entire round-the-world flight had been accomplished upon one engine and less than 15500 strikes of fuel, the aerial dance we were conducting with our B-52 required a total of 12 engines and 28000 beats of fuel per hour!

These sum of two units Cold War relic Boeings were more [i]or[/i] less of the first long range turbojet aircraft to take to the skies. While we flew a 1962 prototype and our bomber was junior to us by means of two years, the Flyer is a 2005 protoplast I'll bet we were the oldest aircraft in the airspace at the time and the Flyer the newest. As the Flyer passed beneath us on its way to Salina, I strained my organ of visions to catch a glimpse. I realized that although there were thus many contrasts between us and our aircraft, it was the same passion for flying and outstanding support teams that brought us into the same airspace upon this historic day.

The Furball

At individual time or another, especially in the AOR, greatest in quantity of us have experienced the seemingly uncoordinated aerial dance known as "The Furball." Named after the slimy, intertwined mes regurgitated through a feline, our version is just as messy and can be real unpleasant. Flying through an unknown mix of fighters, tankers, UAVs, helos and other traffic is bad enough, on the other hand add the possibility of bad stays shooting at you and things can obtain busy in a hurry. It's right about then you really begin to appreciate all the advanced warning devices we have in our aircraft. During a new C-5 night mission into Iraq, my ship's company was very happy we had a Traffic Collision Avoidance combination of parts to form a whole (TCAS) unit on our airplane.

I was doing a certain quantity of last minute approach reviews with the of recent origin copilot when the TCAS announced "Traffic, traffic." I quickly direct the eyeed outside, saw nothing, then glanced at the small shield It showed something 8 miles away coming right at us: co-altitude and fast! I quickly started a move round and flashed my lights. TCAS then commanded "climb, climb" which "Fred" did as best as he could I then saw sum of two units small sets of lights pass directly under the nose - a pair of afterburners emerg upon the other side. I told the jumpseat to record the location and time while I started to turn back to my previous altitude. We continued to our destination, hoping the exciting part of the mission was over

As accident would have it, during the approach and departure the TCAS issued four more warnings, sum of two units for aircraft the crew at no time saw. One we did diocese popped flares right in forehead of us on 2-mile final. We would have passed true close without the heads-up. upon departure we also got a "climb" followed by means of a "descend" with two different aircraft. What a great mission for a fresh co-pilot!

Flying in the AOR is always more dangerous than the average airfield. hold your SA up and organ of visions outside as much as possible. I treat it like a VFR arrival at Oshkosh And make positive you incorporate the "little black boxes" into your gameplan. They're the extra put of eyes looking out for the ship's company - no matter how busy you get

Capt Chris Knauf, 319 ARW/SEF

Maj Shown undergrowth HQ AMC/SEF

Copyright Superintendent of Documents, Military Airlift Command Sep/Oct 2005

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