the crew size will increase to enable
longer operational working days to be
completed, sometimes up to 24 hours. In
this situation, additional team members
will use the on-board bunks and galley to
rest up and recharge before returning to
their seat.
The KC-10 and Boeing KC-135
Stratotanker are the workhorses of Air
Mobility Command. Budde gave his
view on the advantages of the Extender
compared with the Stratotanker.
‘Sometimes you just need a bigger
hammer! The KC-10 does have a
signi cantly larger fuel load [roughly twice
that of the KC-135 when both are fully
loaded]. While the KC-10 is not only larger
and able to carry 156,000lb [70,760kg]
more fuel than the KC-135, it is equipped
with an aerial refueling boom and a hose
and drogue centerline refueling system.
This enables us to refuel aircraft from
any branch of the US military and those
of our allied nations, too — potentially
during the same ight. The KC-135, in
comparison, can only [have] either one
system or the other on any given ight
[on its centerline ying boom]. Having
both systems provides more optionswhen matching tankers versus receiver
aircraft, whether this takes place over the
battle eld, moving aircraft around the
globe or during local training ights.’
Budde highlighted one memorable
Extender mission where the type excelled.
‘Soon after I started ying the KC-10, the
incredible exibility and capability of
the aircraft was evident when we were
called upon to support a ghter squadron
during a ight from their home base in
Florida to a training exercise in Nevada, a
journey of over 2,000 miles [3,200km]. The
intention was to complete this in one day,
non-stop. Our aircraft was able to hold
enough fuel and cargo to get not only
itself there, but four fully loaded ghters,
60 of their maintenance personnel and
many pounds of support equipment and
spare parts. With a few KC-10s, you have
the ability to pick up an entire ghter
squadron and move it across the country
or even an ocean — a feat I continue to
nd extremely impressive.’Maintenance and upgrades
The high operational tempo throughout
the air force places great strain on the
KC-10s at Travis. The 6th ARS’ engineeringcontrols in the [Raytheon] T-1A Jayhawk
advanced trainer, which we y during
our undergraduate pilot training as
preparation for ying larger aircraft like
the Extender, require rm and deliberate
input. However, the hydraulically powered
ight controls aboard the KC-10 provide
instant and crisp feedback. It often feels
like you’re ying a much smaller aircraft.
This is useful when maneuvering close
to other aircraft as the KC-10 not only
provides fuel but can receive it from other
tankers as well. Having two large aircraft
connected in ight requires both steady
hands and a great degree of con dence in
your aircraft. The KC-10 de nitely provides
that con dence.’
The basic Extender crew consists of two
pilots, an aircraft commander and a rst
pilot, plus a ight engineer and boom
operator. Due to the 6th’s incredibly
busy training and operational mission
requirements, a crew complement
often exceeds the basic number for
good reason. Having a larger team on
board enables personnel to focus on
and participate in speci c aspects of an
assignment, ensuring the maximum is
achieved during each ight. Occasionally,KC-10A serial
83-0078, callsign
‘Quest 65’, on
short fi nals to
land at Travis AFB
while performing
some local
pattern work for
crew training.http://www.combataircraft.net // June 2018 85
84-87 Tanker series C.indd 85 19/04/2018 15:36