The Society Day Out

by Graham Ford

I had a phone call early one Friday evening from the events organiser in the aviation society,

“Can you get next Wednesday off, Graham”?

“I am not sure. Why?”

“Do you want to go and fly in a VC10, and refuel some fighters?”

When the question is put like that you cannot refuse such an opportunity.

So one phone call later to OK the day off and my name was on the list.

We had to report to the main gate at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at 08.00 ready for a 09.20 take off.
Wednesday came and I was up at 05.15 ready to leave Southampton at 05.45. There was no way I was going to be late!!
We duly arrived outside the gate to RAF Brize Norton at 07.15 (almost the last to arrive!), where we were welcomed by Kate Zasada, who had arranged the visit for us.

The RAF bus arrived and took us over to the other side of the base, past two German tornado’s, where 101 squadron is located. 101 RAF squadron operates VC10 aircraft in the role of air-to-air refuelling, supporting the RAF in operations all over the world. The bus pulled up outside our transport for the day, ZA102.

Once on board we all took our seats and belted up. One of our group was able to sit in the jump seat in the cockpit for take off. (When you get on board there are 5 rows of seats facing backwards and a bulkhead that separates the passengers from the extra fuel tanks and pumps).

The Sergeant looking after us then gave us the normal routine of the exits and the life jackets.Once this bit of officialdom was completed, he proceeded to give us details of the day’s events.

The schedule was to take off at 09.20. Once airborne, we would climb when instructed by air traffic control to FL160 (16,000 ft), routing over the midlands and out over the Lincolnshire coast to ARA8 (Air to Air Refuelling Area). At 10.00 – 10.40, refuel 2 Tornado F3’s from No 11 squadron, based at RAF Leeming. Between 10.40 and 11.00, refuel 2 Harriers from 899 Squadron, based at Yeovil.
Then proceed north to ARA5, off the Yorkshire coast, and between 11.00 and 11.20, refuel a further 4 Tornado’s from 13 squadron, based at RAF Marham. After this the pilot will then put out a general call to see if anybody else needs fuel.

The aircraft will take off with 78 tons of fuel on board (approx. 16,500 gallons). Our airspeed when refuelling will be between 280 – 290 Knots (320 – 330 mph), depending on conditions. Our expected return time is 12.20.

Engines start and we taxi out for take off. Once we take off, we climb steadily through the clouds turning north and eventually east, past Birmingham to the north, and out over the Lincolnshire coast at 09.50. We level out at 16,000 ft and start flying a large oval in ARA8 waiting for the first aircraft to appear. At 10.05 the Sergeant notified us that 4 off Tornadoes are approaching from the rear. We proceeded to make our way down to the rear of the aircraft, with the fuel tanks and pumps located down the centre. As soon as we went through the bulkhead door into the rear of the aircraft, it was noted how cold it was and also the level of noise there was. This was because there was no insulation and we were right next to the fuel pumps!! (Coats and ear plugs were a must).

Soon there were many pairs of eyes scanning the skies for their first glimpse of a Tornado. The procedure they use is to form up on the starboard side and a pair at a time line up to refuel.Two pairs of tornado’s were soon seen coming along side and waiting for clearance from the pilot to connect up. The first pair moved in closer with one going underneath and appearing to the rear on the port side. They raised their refuelling probes and began their approach. The refuelling hose is fed out to a length of approximately 10 meters, then the aircraft approach and connect up. Once
connected they then push the hose in until a green light appears on the rear of the refuelling pod. The distance is then about 8 meters from the underwing pod to the nozzle of the aircraft. The Tornado's take on about 3.5 tons of fuel in about 15 minutes.

As can be seen from the pictures, the Tornado F3s are close enough to get some good images. What surprised me was when we turned at the top of the oval circuit the Tornado’s stayed attached and turned with us.
After 15 minutes the Tornado F3’s finished refuelling and detached from the hose by pushing the hose further in. This locks the hose in position, allowing the tornado pilot to detach by slowing down and breaking the joint. They then reform on the port side of the aircraft, say their goodbyes, pose for the photographers, switch on the afterburners and dive back to sea level. The same happened with the next pair.

Once the Sea Harriers had completed their refuelling we turned north and headed for ARA5, off the Yorkshire coast.
At about 11.05 we were flying the race track circuit again and the Sergeant told us there were 4 more Tornados just approaching from the rear on the starboard side. This time they were GR4s from 13 Squadron, based at RAF Marham in Suffolk. They followed the same procedure as all the previous aircraft, taking on about 3.5 tons of fuel and departing from the port side with afterburners ablaze (you can hear and feel the afterburners from inside the aircraft!).

According to the schedule that was our quota of aircraft for the day but that soon changed when 2 more Tornadoes turned up. This time they were F3s again from 11 squadron.
Once they had refuelled we were told that we would practice refuelling with another VC10.  This time the hose from the rear of the fuselage is let out and the big aircraft refuel from that. Firstly, he refuelled from us, and then we refuelled from him. When it was our turn to take fuel from him the best place to see this was the cockpit. Firstly the co-pilot attempted to connect to the fuel hose, but as you get closer to the aircraft in front you start to get affected by the jet wash from the engines and the disturbed air from the wings. It was surprising how bumpy and loud it got. The use of ear plugs was a definite advantage. On this occasion the co-pilot was unsuccessful. The pilot took over after a couple of failed attempts, and connected straight away. As can be seen from the photographs we were pretty close!!

On completion of the refuelling with the VC10, we turned for home. Our initial landing time was due to be 12.20 but we were still out over the North Sea at 13.00. As we crossed the coastline, we could clearly see the seaside town of Whitby down below and the Yorkshire moors, a lovely view on a clear day. As we flew southwards, the cloud built up and our view became obscured. We broke through cloud over Wiltshire and turned, ready for our approach back into RAF Brize Norton. As we
were about 1.5 miles from touchdown the pilot opened up the throttles and aborted the landing. This was not for our enjoyment, but because there was another plane (a Boeing C17) on the runway ready for takeoff. We went round again, and again aborted the landing. This time as we went overhead we saw the C17 take off below us leaving it clear for us to land successfully the third time. We landed at 13.45, one hour and twenty minutes later than scheduled.

The tally for the day was ten Tornadoes, two Sea Harriers and one VC10, with 40 tons of fuel dispensed. Not bad for a first timer.

Thanks go to the RAF for providing this opportunity, Wayne for letting me have the day off at short notice and Ben for letting me use his digital camera.




Graham Ford © 2004