What’s the coolest job in the U.S. Air Force after fighter pilot?
Why, gas passer, of course.
That’s the nickname for boom operators, the soldiers who refuel military aircraft in midair. The gas passers do their job from a flying gas tank – actually a Boeing 707 plane minus the passenger seats – called a KC135. The day after the Chicago Air and Water Show, KidNews was invited to join the gas passers on their mission to refuel the Thunderbirds, the USAF’s air demonstration team of eight F-16 fighter jets.
After a safety briefing from our Illinois National Guard flight crew, we climbed aboard the KC135, took off from O’Hare Airport and climbed to an altitude of 28,000 feet. Then we circled a huge imaginary “track” that covered Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.
Shortly before the T’birds’ scheduled arrival, boom operator Master Sgt. Keith Wagner crawled through a small floor opening at the rear of the plane and settled on his stomach. He peered through a window in the bottom of the plane and gripped the controls of the boom, an 18-foot gas pole equipped with a nozzle that extends 28 feet.
The Thunderbirds – which left O’Hare a leisurely 20 minutes after we did – caught up in dramatic fashion. One minute the skies were empty, and the next, four F-16s appeared in formation on each side of the KC135, bobbing gently on air currents like miniature model airplanes.
Wagner pulled a lever that slowly lowered the boom. One at a time, the F-16s fell out of formation and pulled within yards of the rear of the KC135. (The jets were so close that you could see the pilots’ names – like Skip and Randy – on their helmets!)
When the F-16s’ gas receptacle – on each plane’s hood – slid open, Wagner extended the boom’s nozzle to meet it. A suction force secured the receptacle to the nozzle.
“It’s like hitting a moving target going over 400 m.p.h. backwards,” said fellow boom operator Tech. Sgt. Robert Rizzo.
As the boom hovered within inches of the multimillion-dollar, air-to-air combat jets, I realized how difficult the job of “gas passer” really is. And Wagner later said, “If you hit one and scratch it, it’s your fault every time.”
To avoid any problems, the boom operator flashes stop-and-go lights to let pilots know if they are too close or far, too high or low. If a problem arises during refueling, the boom disengages automatically.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to refuel planes on the ground? Nope. Midair refueling is quicker and cheaper, because the KC135 can carry 32,000 gallons of gas in its 12 fuel bladders.
Plus, in combat situations a fighter jet or other military aircraft flying over hostile territory can’t land to refuel. And midair refueling tends to be safer in general, because fighter jets and bombers carry dangerous munitions.
Wagner said one great part of his job is that he can get up close and personal with the world’s premier military aircraft, like the B-2 stealth bomber. (That jet, he said, is like something out of a Batman movie.) But his favorite part of the job is the travel. As Rizzo said, “We get to go around the world.”
And how many folks do you know who get to see the world and pass gas for a living?
