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The History of Boeing ' s Air Tanker:
Air-to-air refueling provided strength in war and generated the flight efficiencies of today
By Jennifer Ferrero
Jennifer Ferrero on behalf of Northwest Aerospace News
Watch U. S. Fly www. watchusfly. com
Boeing air refueling tankers started with a need to create endurance flights— to keep a plane in the air for 120 hours. This was envisioned by the Army Air Corps, which later became the U. S. Air Force( USAF). Their idea was to stretch a hose between two Army Air Corps airplanes to pass fuel from one to another. Seeking funding from Congress, they partnered with Boeing to conduct an air refueling experiment to demonstrate the need for long-haul flights.
Bill Boeing was operating Boeing Air Transport, the original mail service, at the time. He realized that they could be more efficient if they could fly cross-country faster and with fewer stops. He worked with the Army Air Corps to test passing fuel between aircraft. The solution was using what they called the Boeing Hornet Shuttle to receive fuel and fly non-stop across the country, which Boeing Senior Corporate Historian Michael Lombardi said:“ was the first practical mission of refueling aircraft.”
That 1929 flight flew from Oakland, California, to New York, circled New York, and flew back again. Aviators used the technique of passing hoses between aircraft for a while until Lombardi said,“ It got too hard, too cold, and too dangerous” at higher elevations.
18 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS