Unique POV of KC-10 Aerial Refueling

Reddit / u/cjmerkle

Friends In The Right Places

Working with a former KC-10 tanker pilot can be pretty cool. Just ask this lucky guy who was able to sit at the tanker’s boom operator station. 

(His coworker’s rank as Colonel in the Air Force Reserves might have also helped him score that invite.)

There were apparently two seats on either side of the operator, unlike some aircraft with none (most notably the KC-135).

According to him, the tanker and the C-17 were on a training flight and were practicing connecting and disconnecting the boom, so they were only connected for a few minutes at a time. 

Still, one of the most amazing parts of his experience was watching the wings and engines flex on the C-17 as they hit turbulence.

Now that would have been something to see!