See INSIDE the Air Force Mid Air Refueling Plane! Watch me get into the KC-135 boom pod

Air Force One and the other white planes for the top government officials are on one side of the runway at Andrews Air Force Base. On the other side, the KC-135 Stratotanker planes line up, ready to do the amazing feat of mid-air refueling at just 10 to 30 feet away. I got to tour the inside of one of the planes.
In the video, you'll see me get into the cockpit where the pilot explains how he releases the fuel. You'll also see the boom operators let me get into the one-person space where he/she connects to the other plane and loads the fuel. I met a male and female boom operator. They are the skilled airmen who connect to the other plane and load the fuel midair- at just 10 to 30 feet away. They told me they stayed down in that lying position for an hour or two during the operation.
I was surprised to learn that the planes were made in the 1950s and 1960s and are still being used by the Air Force 459th Air Refueling Wing.
My friend invited me to her pilot boyfriend's "family day' at the base. He's a Colonel in the 459th Operations Group, known as the "Home of the Liberators", which is a reserve component of the U.S. Air Force. In the video, he explains to us what all the buttons and gears do in the cockpit so he can pilot the plane during the refueling.
I also met a nurse with the Critical Care Air Transport Teams (CCATT) which is also part of these KC135 missions. They get critically ill or severely injured service members aboard the aircraft and treat them while flying them home for full-time care. Read more about their mission here: www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/P...
Read more about the KC-135 Stratotanker www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Shee...
Thank you to the U.S. Air Force for your hospitality and for your brave and honorable service. More about the U.S. Air Force: www.airforce.com
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This video is just iPhone 13 pro and edited on Computer (old) Macbook Air Laptop (2017) and iMovie,
Please leave a comment or question!
#airforce #military #midair #aviation #airforce #aafb
#kc135 #midairrefuel #usairforce

[@dallas49m]

I was lucky enough when I was a young airman in 1979 to fly to Hawaii on a KC-135 and they lets us come back and watch them refuel some B-52 bombers on the way. That was an awesome experience.

[@Emily.Miller]

Thank you for your service and for sharing your exciting experience flying on the plane while it refuels. I would love to see if in action !

[@michaelk4422]

With a heart full of gratitude, your military service is deeply appreciate Sir. Thank you and Welcome Home !

[@MrGoodnplenty1957]

I was a KC-135 boom operator from 1979-1986 & a KC-10 boom operator from 1986-1999. Thank you for the memories of my first aircraft i flew in. Two things I noticed when you were in the Boom Pod. 1) The foot pedals didn't work back then, and 2) the chin pad is a whole lot thicker now than back when i was in. 😄 Thank you for the memories and the video.

[@Emily.Miller]

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and insights and mostly for your service to our nation!

[@jmcfarlandjr]

I got the opportunity to work on -135 55-3118 when I was in the Air Force (Fuel Systems). I understand it was the first KC-135 and now on display at McConnell AFB. Love those 135s.

[@Emily.Miller]

That’s so cool. Thank you for serving our nation!

[@ZekeMM25]

I worked on these aircraft back in the day when I was in the Air Force. Glad you had a chance to fly in one!

[@Emily.Miller]

That is so cool ! I’ve never flown in this plane. It was just a tour on the ground. Thank you for your service !

[@michaelk4422]

With a heart full of gratitude, your military service is deeply appreciate Sir. Thank you and Welcome Home !

[@karentaylor414]

What a great time and memory you have I love planes

[@Emily.Miller]

I had so much fun and so eye opening about what it takes to refuel planes in the air. It's just remarkable and the men and women were so friendly and impressive.

[@marie-fr.desjacques9975]

Thanks Emily for showing us the inside of one of these planes. I enjoyed waching your video.

[@Emily.Miller]

I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! I was in awe of the skills the airmen have to refuel while flying. I was honored to tour it.

[@serenmm]

You always have all the luck! Way cool! I bet that was a trip! Another great upload. Thanks Emily

[@Emily.Miller]

Thank you! My friend Carrie invited me and I was thrilled to go !

[@serenmm]

@@Emily.Miller well keep me in mind for when you decide to travel the country and do a peice on gun rights. We will hit the range together. I'll bring some fun stuff🙃

[@michaelk4422]

@@Emily.Miller That's what friends are all ABOUT ! Carrie if you are reading this, thank you for inviting Emily ! And....tell your boy friend: "THANK you for your service !" And if he ever flies to Colorado, lunch is on me !

[@debbiedebster5806]

This was so cool! Thanks Emily!!🤩🇺🇲✌

[@Emily.Miller]

I’m so glad you liked it!

[@knndyskful]

Wow! You’re so lucky! Love it 👏

[@Emily.Miller]

Thank you!

[@michaelk4422]

Emily is very blessed with amazing friends ! Many Air Force folks have never been given this unique tour. I would love to be on an "Angel Flight" one day !

[@Eyereole]

Hearkens back to the good ole days of “full service” at the local gas station - minus customer complaints about higher prices! 😁

[@Emily.Miller]

Ha ha !! You are hilarious!

[@michaelk4422]

Here's a thought for you: If I remember right, "Full Service" included: washing the front and rear windows, checking the oil level, windshield washer fluid and making sure ALL the tires were at the right pressure etc. If you know much about trucks and pickups and farm work, that was quite a task to accomplish in addition to filling the gas. My question to you Eyereole is: Who gets the job of doing all these things when they are at 45,000 altitude and traveling at 300+ mph ? I don't think Superman can fly that fast at that altitude ! At least they don't have mosquitos at that altitude to (bleep) the windshield ! Let me guess: they all say: "Let's get 'Mikey the monkey' to do it, he loves flying !" lol lol How do they keep our wounded warriors WARM as they are being flown for Medical Treatment ? I love how the US military is getting better and better at transporting our wounded warriors for Med Treatment !

[@michaelk4422]

This so AWESOME Emily ! This is your BEST video yet !

[@Emily.Miller]

Wow - Thank you! I did it fast and glad it worked!

[@michaelk4422]

@@Emily.Miller I hope you don't mind but while waiting for my tires to get rotated on my car, I couldn't help but share this video with other customers who were also getting tire work done. The comments from both women and men were GREAT ! "WoW - I am so jealous !" "Who is this woman Emily Miller ? She makes AWESOME videos !" "I am so impressed with this Video - it makes me want to re-enlist, but the Air Force this time." "I can't wait to get home and pull this Video up and show my husband, he served in Vietnam. I know he'll love this." Everyone who saw it was so impressed with your video and told them they needed to watch your other video's you posted here on KZbin as well. Why do I love this Video ? It flowed smoothly and transitioned from scene to scene like a good book that you read chapter 1 and then you can't put the book down because it gets better and better ! It's amazing how your audio levels were PERFECT.

[@solarmicronovae]

Thank you for the tour. I have seen the in flight fuel transfer videos here on KZbin. I am not surprised with the amount of systems within systems and cycles within cycles. I've done many things in life and learned that systematically you can do anything you want. I kind of lost interest in doing things for myself and I volunteer most of my time. Even here.🖖🏻🧔👍🏻

[@Emily.Miller]

I’m glad you liked seeing inside the plane as much as I did.

[@michaelk4422]

I think it was you Emily who said in the video: "How do they remember what all of the buttons do ?" I would like to know that too. I would be concerned of hitting the wrong button and it "flushes" the onboard toilet over Alaska and by the time the contents of the toilet have FROZEN into the blue water and is now SOLID ICE AND it comes crashing down and rips apart the roof of some UNLUCKY Canadians' home at 0300 AM. How does the home owner explain this huge hole to their insurance company on Monday morning ? (cue the music to your favorite home owners insurance company's TV commercial !) lol

[@Nate4445]

Thanks for sharing this. Very interesting!

[@Emily.Miller]

You’re welcome. I’m glad you can see the plane too !

[@izregistered]

Nice video Emily, looks like you had a great time.

[@Emily.Miller]

It was a thrill !

[@williamwarren9362]

Very cool look at the inside of that "flying gas station" Ha ha ha I am kidding of course. Thank you for sharing that.

[@Emily.Miller]

Thank you! They told us they keep the fuel all through the plane and wings.

[@michaelk4422]

If they re-fuel B-52's, I wonder if they also re-fuel B-1s and the stealth B-2 ? Years ago, I was outside and the sky darkened pretty fast. I looked up and around and it was the Steath B-2. I didn't even hear it until AFTER it had passed over us ! How did they get that HUGE of a plane to be so silent ? American military technology is incredible !

[@Emily.Miller]

@@michaelk4422 They refuel everything-- jets and big B-52s. I didn't ask for specifics but that's how they explained it to me.

[@tyleraltman-ApexTJ2]

This was pretty cool. Never seen the inside of one of these before.

[@Emily.Miller]

I’m so glad! It was so cool to me too!

[@tyleraltman-ApexTJ2]

@@Emily.Miller Yeah I shared it right away, think I might have even beat you to it. Lol. 😀

[@Emily.Miller]

@@tyleraltman-ApexTJ2 shared where? I want to thank you over on the right platform!

[@tyleraltman-ApexTJ2]

Hmm I just can't figure out why my comment isn't showing up. I tried twice but the browser version isn't showing it either. Maybe it's because I tried to put my Twitter handle. Not sure.

[@Emily.Miller]

@@tyleraltman-ApexTJ2 that’s so weird. Tag me next time so I can retweet you !

[@NerdJared]

Hell yeah!

[@jetjock871]

Pretty cool. I refueled many times behind those guys, including trips across the Atlantic to and from Europe and the Pacific to and from Korea. Picture yourself sitting in your fighter for over 9 hours. At least the tanker guys can get up and walk around!

[@Emily.Miller]

Wow that’s fascinating to hear your side of how the refuels work! How do the two planes go the same speed while it’s happening ? And thank you for your service!

[@michaelk4422]

With a heart full of gratitude, your military service is deeply appreciate Sir. Thank you and Welcome Home !

[@jetjock871]

We would be in formation, four to six fighters, two or three on one side and the same on the other. We would match speeds, but you had to pay close attention to maintain proper spacing in three dimensions. If the skies were clear it wasn’t too bad, but in the clouds it was a challenge. On our flight to Korea, we were in the weather for the last two hours and were exhausted by the time we landed. The throttles are in your left hand and the control stick is in your right, and your hands are constantly moving to maintain formation. The tanker guys use autopilot!

[@Emily.Miller]

@@jetjock871 Thank you so much for telling me all about what it takes to fly in formation like that for all those hours. The training must be intense to learn how to stay alert and the various factors in play at all times. You described it so well that I can really see in my mind what it took to fly overseas like that. Thank you for your service to our nation!

[@jetjock871]

@@Emily.Miller Thank you. It was an honor. I’ll have to tell you my ejection story sometime!

[@tharpetigger]

When I was in USAF at Loring afb Maine I got to refuel a fighter from a tanker. I was actually a ground equipment mechanic. But the crew members were my friends and bet me I could not do it on the first try. It was like a 🕹️ controller most men are so tall they must lay down but I was short and could sit up and see just fine. First try was a bingo. Two days later the commander of base asked if I wanted to cross train. Lol nope but it was fun. I got to do it every time I took a kc35 hop home to Texas. It was fun

[@Emily.Miller]

That’s an awesome story !! How did you get it right the first time with no training ? And what happens if you miss?

[@tharpetigger]

@@Emily.Miller you keep trying and pray you don't damage the fighter. I got it the first try because I played a lot of Atari old school system. I actually had my Atari system with me at Loring afb Maine. The guys would come to the dorm day room and we would play many targeting type games. So to me all I had to do was breathe and hit that tiny target way in the back.

[@vettnetkramer1233]

Cool 😎 a flying gas station. Gotta love it.

[@Emily.Miller]

These you go !

[@barbl8801]

Interesting, sounds like Gov. Desantis narrating.... INteresting that he has his hands in everything.... i'll leave it there.

[@Emily.Miller]

Ha! Which part sounds like DeSantis?