Initial Aerial Refueling Using "Probe-And-Drogue" System
In another first for the STOVL variant of the F-35 JSF, a Navy
KC-130 has successfully performed the first in-flight refueling
using a probe-and-drogue refueling system during a recent mission
at Lockheed Martin's Ft. Worth, TX manufacturing facility.
File Photo
These first aerial refueling missions were performed by a Wyle
aircrew flying the tanker aircraft assigned to the U.S. Navy's Air
Test and Evaluation Squadron Twenty (VX-20) at Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, MD. The refueled aircraft, designated the F-35BF-2,
represents one of three variants of this fifth generation strike
fighter, developed for the U.S. military and eight allied
nations.
Two of the first five F-35B aircraft slated for flight testing
arrived at Patuxent River in the last quarter of 2009 and Wyle's
KC-130 aircrew team will continue to assist with refueling missions
as testing progresses.
For the refueling mission, the crew included Steve Angay, Craig
Homer, Josh Izenour, Jeff Kosich, Chris Loftis, and Bill Smith who
support VX-20.
The probe-and-drogue system is used by the U.S. Navy, Marine
Corps and many NATO nations to refuel aircraft in flight. The
system uses a flexible hose that terminates in a cone shaped basket
extending from an aircraft carrying fuel. The cone shaped basket,
or drogue, connects to the probe of an aircraft needing fuel. The
fuel is then transferred through the hose from the tanker to the
receiving aircraft.
In preparing to go to Fort Worth, the Wyle KC-130 aircrew worked
with the JSF team to develop test plans, determine aircraft
configurations representative of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
fleet, and make modifications to the tanker.
"A lot of the initial planning was done by our crew," said
Izenour, the mission commander. "These guys did an excellent job of
mission planning and interfacing with the JSF team which made the
actual mission itself ... the flying part ... go seamlessly. The
amount of planning that everyone did on the front side made the
execution very, very easy."
The team planned for variables inherent in the initial test
evolutions, where fuel was uploaded into the aircraft at 10,000,
15,000 and 20,000 feet, at speeds ranging from 200 to 250 knots.
"Since it was the first refuel, we didn't know exactly how the
aircraft [JSF] might behave, so we were limited as to how much
pressure we could provide to the fuel lines," said Homer. "From an
engineering point of view, we had to keep very close track of the
[refueling] panel during the tests."
Wyle is a contractor for high tech aerospace engineering and
information technology services to the federal government on
long-term outsourcing contracts.
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