Military Aviation > Air Power
Are aerial refuelling tankers peace time aircraft?
AVIATOR:
Haven't seen the movie gripe, but I wonder how long it will be before they refuel airliners. They say it takes 20% of the aircraft's fuel load to land and take off to re fuel.
By the way, they actually re fuel the Boeing 747 Air Force 1.
Gripen:
I know that, but its not exactly a civilian plane.
AVIATOR:
Yes but it means that Boeing can convert all other 747s anytime it's bought up.
shawn a:
Remember, iran has a 747 tanker.
This is what the -22 will be used for in a real war, Protecting aerial assets. Invisible "Little Buddies".
Swarm tactics will be used against AWACS, J-STARS, Rivet Joint, and any other "force multiplier"
RecceJet:
--- Quote from: Gripen on July 21, 2009, 12:14:47 AM ---Have you guys seen the movie stealth?
In it they have a refuelling..thing flying around in circles continuosly giving fuel to the planes that plug into it.
Is making on of those things possible and could it be used to refuel like a 747 or A380? A big civilian aircraft?
--- End quote ---
I haven't seen Stealth either. Refuelling an airliner is possible as far as technology goes. As mentioned, Air Force One has it, and so do KC-135 and EC-135 variants of the Boeing 707. I would imagine it's not something that regular airline pilots get trained for, though, and that would be an expensive exercise in itself. Military pilots train for it on a regular basis, and accept the risks involved.
Airlines have a duty of care to passengers and, also, are ultimately interested in securing profits. I think the amount of investment required to train pilots and reconfigure airliners is in itself too high to be economically viable. There's also the aspect of the dreaded Occupational Health and Safety. You can make a plane fly around the world, but what about the pilot and the passengers?
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