SeaShadowVQ5
Registered User
Hey all,
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to fly up in a contracted 707 for a 4 hour refueling hop. We took off out of Port Hueneme and flew out over Catalina Island, then flew a circular pattern refueling F-18's at around 20,000 ft. There were the two pilots and a flight engineer and me. It was an awesome experience. Those guys really knew how to work as a team. The F-18's would join up on the left wing, step behind and refuel, then form up the right side or the aircraft and wait to be cleared by the flight engineer. Anyway it was an amazing sight to see F-18's fifteen feet away. I sat behind the pilot for most of the flight, but got up to take some photos. At one point we had an F-18 cut in front of our flight path (not very close to us but still), which made the pilots a tad upset. "Hey whats this guy doing?!?!?" (Apparently we were the only one's to cleared for this altitude in this area for safety). Anyway the pilot started banking the aircraft hard right all while an F-18 was being refueled. The landing into Port Hueneme was very impressive too. Because of the air traffic out of LAX, our 707 had to come in at a higher altitude and then descend quickly and make a hard left hand turn for its final approach. I was very much impressed by the professionalism and teamwork by the pilots and flight engineer. It has furthered my desire to become a Pilot and an officer in the greatest Navy on earth.
Alex
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to fly up in a contracted 707 for a 4 hour refueling hop. We took off out of Port Hueneme and flew out over Catalina Island, then flew a circular pattern refueling F-18's at around 20,000 ft. There were the two pilots and a flight engineer and me. It was an awesome experience. Those guys really knew how to work as a team. The F-18's would join up on the left wing, step behind and refuel, then form up the right side or the aircraft and wait to be cleared by the flight engineer. Anyway it was an amazing sight to see F-18's fifteen feet away. I sat behind the pilot for most of the flight, but got up to take some photos. At one point we had an F-18 cut in front of our flight path (not very close to us but still), which made the pilots a tad upset. "Hey whats this guy doing?!?!?" (Apparently we were the only one's to cleared for this altitude in this area for safety). Anyway the pilot started banking the aircraft hard right all while an F-18 was being refueled. The landing into Port Hueneme was very impressive too. Because of the air traffic out of LAX, our 707 had to come in at a higher altitude and then descend quickly and make a hard left hand turn for its final approach. I was very much impressed by the professionalism and teamwork by the pilots and flight engineer. It has furthered my desire to become a Pilot and an officer in the greatest Navy on earth.
Alex
