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.

FMI: www.navy.mil, www.wylelabs.com