AWACS Refueling Close Call

[ozrocker]

Neither does Redbull, he just copied and pasted someone else's comment from the YouTube comments section.

ack-ack

Bet somebody had pants full after that
                                                                                                                                                  Oz

[Devil 505]

I just watched it . The 135 never changes vector till the boom operator yells gogogo

If you look in the upper left corner of the screen, you'll see the horizon change become more visable. The 135 pitched down first.

[RedBull1]

Neither does Redbull, he just copied and pasted someone else's comment from the YouTube comments section.

ack-ack

It was a good point though 
Just trying to get more opinions on that point since there's like 5 comments total 

[flight17]

Earlier this year, a C-130 from the 9-11th airwing collided with a boom off of a KC-135R from the 171st refueling wing near my local field. The outer portion of the boom was crushed and bent and had to be replaced.

Both planes are based out of Pittsburgh and were on training flights at the time.

[Puma44]

The 135 appears to be starting a turn as an apparent brute force disconnect occurred.  Looks like the AWACS driver over reacted a bit.

[Shuffler]

Yes looks like the tanker went slightly down then up[ and then way down and then level. The fueling plane went into dive to clear. I did not notice that at first.

The horizon on the top left is a dead giveaway.

[Puma44]

It may appear that the tanker was changing position, but it's job is to maintain a stable platform for the receiver, even in a turn.  In this case, it appears whoever was flying the AWACS was over controlling, started a PIO, and then either over reacted or a more experienced set of hands took control and escaped a bad situation.  It must have been Mr. Toads Wild Ride for the back enders in the AWACS, accompanied by much screaming and nashing of teeth.  

[Shuffler]

It may appear that the tanker was changing position, but it's job is to maintain a stable platform for the receiver, even in a turn.  In this case, it appears whoever was flying the AWACS was over controlling, started a PIO, and then either over reacted or a more experienced set of hands took control and escaped a bad situation.  It must have been Mr. Toads Wild Ride for the back enders in the AWACS, accompanied by much screaming and nashing of teeth.  

It is obvious from the video evidence that the situation went awry when the tanker failed to provide that stable platform.

[Puma44]

That's the point. The tanker was providing the stable platform.  The AWACS was providing the airshow.

[Shuffler]

That's the point. The tanker was providing the stable platform.  The AWACS was providing the airshow.

You have it backwards..... the tanker was the one not stable. AWAC dove away to keep from being hit.

[Puma44]

You simply don't understand what you are looking at or understand the basics of what is going on in the video.

Do you have any real world experience as either a tanker or a receiver? 

[Shuffler]

You simply don't understand what you are looking at or understand the basics of what is going on in the video.

Do you have any real world experience as either a tanker or a receiver?  

I have eyes and can see the changes in the top left corner. The tanker noses down... the AWACS seems to rise but it is actually not. Then the tanker rises and noses back down. That makes the AWACS seem to oscillate when actually it is the tanker. The AWACS then noses down to clear the tanker.

Or may the sky was oscillating with the AWACS.

[Bodhi]

I just watched it . The 135 never changes vector till the boom operator yells gogogo

Looked to me that they were in a turn and the tanker did change attitude several times before the disconnect.

[Puma44]

I have eyes and can see the changes in the top left corner. The tanker noses down... the AWACS seems to rise but it is actually not. Then the tanker rises and noses back down. That makes the AWACS seem to oscillate when actually it is the tanker. The AWACS then noses down to clear the tanker.

Or may the sky was oscillating with the AWACS.

You are seeing what you want to see.  There's a bit of optical illusion going on with the rearward view and the hazy sky.  When you hear the "go,go,go" that's the boomer telling the tanker pilots to push it up and accelerate, i.e. an escape maneuver.  The tanker pilots obviously can't see the receiver and therefore can't safely pitch up or down to avoid a collision.  The only real option they have is to accelerate and run away.  The AWACS got slightly out of postion during hookup, appears to have caused a brute force disconnect because of the lateral offset, over corrected, got high into the tanker's jet wash (not a pleasant experience in itself), and then rapidly pitched down to escape.  

The tanker is typically on auto pilot during refueling in order to further enhance the stable platform during aerial refueling.  The receiver, on the other hand, is being hand flown and thus provides the "airshow" sometimes seen during refueling.

Here's how that should have gone:
 
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ytpmbAgJw

In this one, note the the stable tanker platform is in a right hand turn while the AWACS joins and hooks up.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G5LvmmHJ0XQ

The movement you see is the AWACS making small, controlled adjustments to maintain position as it flys formation with the tanker.  The tanker is in level flight, at a constant airspeed, in a predetermined refueling pattern, i.e. a stable platform.  The receiver is doing all the flight path adjusting.

[Shuffler]

The sky I am talking about is not hazy. It is clear blue when you can it. Of course you can't contiunually see it because the camera platform is moving.


When I first watched it I thought the AWACS was poorly flown.

After another poster noted the sky..... well that changed everything.

In any event none of us were there and felt any G forces at work. Close call.