March 2016 | 13 Boom By Kym Vandlac ate Lowry, one of the Boeing Test & Evaluation team’s newest members, is not one K to take things lying down. However, she did just that before joining Boeing as a KC-46A air refueling operator. Last month, when the Boeing tanker program conducted a series of refueling flights on the KC-46A, Lowry witnessed firsthand the new capabilities built into the aircraft—and a new way of being an air refueling operator. Serving in the U.S Air Force, Lowry operated the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft refueling boom. The job required her to look out a small glass window while in a prone position in the tail section of the plane and guide the boom into a receiver aircraft’s refueling receptacle. Today, in the next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tanker Boeing is building for the Air Force, Lowry and fellow operators can sit comfortably as they fly the boom and operate the hose and drogue systems to refuel aircraft. A state-of-the-art air refueling operator station, or AROS, is located behind the flight deck at the front of the aircraft and includes 24-inch displays with a 3-D refueling picture. “The AROS console brings much greater situational awareness,” Lowry said. “And it’s much easier on the body, too. Lying down throughout a refueling mission definitely caused some aches and pains. Still, I do sometimes miss the view through the KC-135 window.” Great views … but in an aging aircraft. The KC-46A tankers will eventually replace the Air Force’s fleet of KC-135s, many of which were built when Dwight Eisenhower was the U.S. president, back in the 1950s. Boeing is scheduled to deliver the first 18 of 179 KC-46A tankers to the Air Force by August 2017. The ongoing refueling tests are critical to meeting that schedule. On Jan. 24, Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Alix, flying an F-16 fighter, pulled up behind the KC-46A to take on fuel. It was the first time Boeing’s new tanker delivered fuel to another aircraft. “I would describe the refueling as rock solid,” Alix said later. “It was very easy to connect to the KC-46 boom, stay connected and take fuel from the tanker.” Sean Martin, Boeing Test & Evaluation KC-46 chief air refueling operator, who was on the other end of the boom, said the KC-46 aerial refueling boom handled extremely well during flight. “The performance was
Frontiers March 2016 Issue
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