Hitching Ride-KC135

Yesterday, I got a 3.5 hour ride in a KC-135 military tanker aircraft.

~Link To Video~

Check video at about the 1:30 mark for a jaw-dropping sight (to me at least).

~Link To Photos (about 50)~

It was part of a program for college staff and it was sort of last-minute. I'm not sure why we got the short notice; maybe some politician or dignitary changed their plans. Anyway, who cares? It was great! The folks at McGuire, the NJ Air National Guard and 108th Refueling Wing were all first rate. We flew to North Carolina and refueled eight F-15s from Seymour Johnson AFB. Also, we saw some "secret stuff" that we weren't allowed to photograph. Sorry! Can't tell you what it was.....it's a secret!

Bonus: also had an excellent B-B-Q afterwards.

The pilots in this F-15 were about 25 feet below me. We're going about 425 MPH.

I'm glad these guys are on our side.

You have to lay down in the "bulge" (on your stomach) and look out the rear window. After the fighters left, the boom operator let me "fly" the boom (you can actually steer this 300,000 lbs. plane with it).

Pretty cool day.

very cool. Friend of mine does electronics warefare aboard a C130E. I once got to take a several hour flight with them doing touch and goes in a regular C130. Being a Military brat does have some advantages.

F-15Es! Sweet!

I need to take a picture of what my desk flies in one of these days.

EDIT: Ok, a friend of mine has some pictures: Hard day at the office:

The mighty T-43 Gator:

I'm not allowed to take pictures of the AT-43 Strike Gator.

That looks a lot more spacious than my office (yes that's me in the pic):

Here's what it looks like from the outside:

Back where i used to live in east texas, the air force would fly c-130's out from barksdale and do touch and goes at gregg county airport that was about two miles away across the lake. so you'd be out on the lake and the quiet would be shattered about every 15 minutes when those things popped over the trees climbing out making a 90 degree turn over the middle of the lake.

it was cool the first couple times, after that it was...less interesting

That is very cool. When I was 13 my family went from England to Pittsburg in a KC-135, my dad was in the Army and we came home for a wedding. There were 3 tankers and 6 or so F4 Phantoms flying together and I got to lay in the back of the plane and take pictures of the refueling.

We were on a C-130 from Germany to England, there is something sureal about seeing your mom with her feet up on a pallet full of 120mm mortar rounds.

We also got to see the SR71 land and take off in while we were in England, that was one of the best trips ever.

I "got to" fly in a 135 all the way down to peru a few years ago, "got to" fly back in a c17....with my feet propped up on some cargo