# Aerial Refueling Gone Wrong



## tomahawk6 (4 Jun 2006)

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/articles/military_photos_20066402853.asp  :


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## Jantor (4 Jun 2006)

Looks like he got away with it   I'll bet the pilot will have a hard time living that one down later on. :blotto:


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## Kendrick (4 Jun 2006)

Wow good thing it didn't take out a rotor blade.  Could've been pretty bad.  I foresee dirty underwear.


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## geo (4 Jun 2006)

whoopsie!
hope that his base was nearby.


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## Bert (4 Jun 2006)

Thats an engineering problem. Too much flex in the nozzle/airframe.... stupid rotor 
blades.  

Could tie the aerospace engineer to the fuel nozzle interface then do the 
bouncy bouncy and see what solution he'll come up with.


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## Cloud Cover (5 Jun 2006)

They actually seem to be moving at a pretty good clip as well. Would that be a factor?


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## Bert (5 Jun 2006)

Seems to be excessive vertical rocking motion of the helicopter.  The fuel nozzle boom flexs 
up as the heli pilot moves forward and up, tilting the rotor blades down.  The extreme movement
puts the boom up within orientation of the main rotors.  Perhaps the pilot 
overacted causing the situation that requires move level flight, but the boom flex is interesting
relative to the rest of the aircraft.


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## Jantor (5 Jun 2006)

Here is another short clip of an aircraft having some trouble getting gas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWCGRlcZC1I&search=


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## Kirkhill (5 Jun 2006)

I'm not seeing much flex in the boom but what I am seeing is the helo pilot having trouble getting the boom into the basket.  The basket then seems to bounce up towards the helo's rotors which causes the pilot to try to lift out of the way of the basket and save his rotors.  However the lifting motion results in the rotors moving from being parallel to the fuselage and the boom to being pitched forward so that they intersect the line of the extended boom.  And as to the speed, I seem to remember reading that for this manoeuver to work the CH-53s have to be flying flat out while the KC-130s are just above stall speed.


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## 1feral1 (5 Jun 2006)

Kendrick said:
			
		

> I foresee dirty underwear.



I agree, my heart nearly skipped a beat watching that!

Cheers,

Wes


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## Haletown (11 Sep 2012)

in related news . .  . the second time they have lost a boom in flight.  They need better quality velcro or 100mph tape.


EADS Tanker Loses Boom Over Spain
Aviation Week & Space Technology, by Amy Butler

Original Article

Posted By:GOPJihad, 9/11/2012 12:25:51 PM

An Airbus Military A330-based Multirole Tanker Transport bound this month for delivery to the United Arab Emirates lost its refueling boom during a checkout flight over Spain. The incident occurred Sept. 10 at about 7:30 pm local time. No one on the ground or in the flight crew was injured and an Airbus Military spokesman says that the boom separated cleanly at a mechanical joint, leaving minimal damage to the actual aircraft. 

http://www.silobreaker.com/eads-tanker-loses-boom-over-spain-5_2265969240433492044


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## dimsum (11 Sep 2012)

Weird.  I think RAAF's 33 Sqn (flying the A330 MRTT) also lost one a while back, in the same circumstances?


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## FoverF (27 Sep 2012)

Kirkhill said:
			
		

> And as to the speed, I seem to remember reading that for this manoeuver to work the CH-53s have to be flying flat out while the KC-130s are just above stall speed.



I seem to recall thinking the same thing, but then I stumbled across this a while ago...









Cool, huh?


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## eurowing (27 Sep 2012)

Cool?  Understatement much!  I'm for WOW! Perhaps with a pre WOW colourful metaphor.


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## Kirkhill (27 Sep 2012)

Yes, but did they scratch the paint?


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## Pat in Halifax (28 Sep 2012)

That is amazing! The only thing missing is an AOR refuelling a couple frigates/destroyers on the sea surface below!
(Maybe one of the IT weenies on here can 'paint' that in!?)


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