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Typhoons being tanked through lichfield corridor

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Typhoons being tanked through lichfield corridor

Old 8th Nov 2017, 18:51
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Typhoons being tanked through lichfield corridor

Pictures online of 2 Typhoons being TANKED by a Voyager at 14k in the LICHFIELD RVC I thought there was a restriction on Tanking in certain areas.
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Old 8th Nov 2017, 19:02
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If there's a slot, why not? Were they in formation, or actually tanking?

Do you have information that says they were ACTUALLY refuelling? Source, please
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Old 8th Nov 2017, 19:07
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Picture on Fighter Control on FB clearly shows 2 Typhoons attached to a Voyager . No problem with it but I seem to remember from my controlling days about where you could tank.
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Old 8th Nov 2017, 19:16
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We had Towlines for sure, but across the LIC corridor wasn't one of them!

Interesting ... I'm a few decades out of date, but I would suspect the picture being reality.

Picture link, please.
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Old 8th Nov 2017, 20:55
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I believe there was QRA over Wales today, which may have had something to do with it.
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Old 8th Nov 2017, 21:05
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Image at following Twitter link

RAF Voyager ZZ337 tanking two Typhoons in the Lichfield Corridor following a practice QRA in Wales this afternoon
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOHyOgFWkAAMDhz.jpg

https://twitter.com/jamyt123/status/928289809369624577

Playback of flight at following link.

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/a.../zz337#f7712e8
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 07:32
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Overland AAR in the UK is an unusual activity. Some years ago, even use of the AARAs over SW England became restricted unless approved for specific purposes. There are a couple of 'Refueler' routes used by the USAF, but neither route through the Lichfield Corridor.

Hence conducting AAR in the Lichfield Corridor must have been required as the result of an operational imperative. If that was the case, you are unlikely to know why on an open Internet website.

Good photo though.
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 09:13
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Who says they were actually transferring fuel and not just using an opportunity to practice hooking up ?

Nice picture.
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 09:20
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Who says they were actually transferring fuel and not just using an opportunity to practice hooking up ?
Hooking up or not, fuel flowing or not, certainly as I recall it back in the olden days most towlines ( but not all, as Beags mentioned there was one over the southwest UK) ) were over water, working on the principal that if at all possible you wanted to avoid the chances that if things went wrong the, err, , bits, didn't fall on the general population...I'm not talking big airplane size big bits....I'm talking about spokes, or on occasions whole baskets and bits of hose..in fact thinking about it hasn't there been at least one case where the basket and hose departed company with no assistance from a receiver...

Not that I ever had it happen to me of course ( I generally was a slowly slowly..slowly...missed! merchant) but I know one or two individuals that did manage to remove one or two components from drogue... .....
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 10:28
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I was joining from the right when I witnessed the centreline hose depart the VC10.

An interesting day to say the least.

I don’t know the established cause but at the time there was talk of an inadvertent jettison caused by the engineer’s seat.
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 10:33
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in fact thinking about it hasn't there been at least one case where the basket and hose departed company with no assistance from a receiver...
wiggy I can confirm that. In 6 years on tankers I can recall only one incident when a complete hose parted company with the tanker and as sod's law would have it it was over land.

It happened at night when our squadron's only 2 point Victor tanker was practising AAR with Gutersloh Lightnings on the RAFG towline, which was completely over land. The 2 pointers didnt have a rear view periscope, so when the nav radar trailed the hose he was unable to do the normal visual check. One of the Lightning guys reported that there was no hose trailed on his side. The sortie was abandoned and when they got back to Marham the crew chief immediately confirmed that the hose wasn't still in the pod.

A couple of nervous days ensued, as visions of a 60 foot hose scything through the streets of a German town weren't comforting, but eventually a report came in that it had turned up in some allotments on the outskirts of Bremen. There were no casualties other than perhaps a few squashed cabbages, and I dont remember there being any comeback after the incident.

As Beagle said there was an overland towline down over Devon and Cornwall (Towline 7 I think) but it was rarely used in my time.
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 11:47
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Originally Posted by BEagle
Overland AAR in the UK is an unusual activity. Some years ago, even use of the AARAs over SW England became restricted unless approved for specific purposes. There are a couple of 'Refueler' routes used by the USAF, but neither route through the Lichfield Corridor.

Hence conducting AAR in the Lichfield Corridor must have been required as the result of an operational imperative. If that was the case, you are unlikely to know why on an open Internet website.
This is correct.

OAP
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 12:29
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Interesting to hear all the concern about the dangers of over-land refuelling.
About two weeks ago I enjoyed watching a 5-10 min ‘nose-pointing, contest between two F15s. BUT, they were at about 12000ft directly over the centre of Norwich!! They were going at it full on; and at times were very slow. I didn’t see it start, but eventually one (who looked to be winning) bugged out to the East.
I would rather have a hose fall on me than a whole F15!
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 12:37
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Apparently, according to who I don't know but it's what we get told, boom AAR'ing is considered safer than probe and drogue which is why UK and US boom equipped aircraft are allowed to regularly do it over the UK through the Flamborough track. If the QRA boys are allowed to go supersonic over the mainland then I can't imagine the risks of getting a bit of fuel will worry anyone.
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 14:03
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Can’t remember the number but there was a towline overland in the Highlands. There were also occasions, when the sea state precluded oversea AAR because of the survival risk after ejection, that we moved TTL8 inland and handed control over to Eastern.
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 14:08
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http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/vie...cks/MLIny9ziyY
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 14:47
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ORAC, there are quite a few errors on the map in that link...
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 16:39
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boom AAR'ing is considered safer than probe and drogue which is why UK and US boom equipped aircraft are allowed to regularly do it over the UK through the Flamborough track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C03086aWB5c
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 17:04
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I would rather have a hose fall on me than a whole F15!
I rather think the end result would be the same - just more of you left to pick up if it had been a hose that hit you!
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Old 9th Nov 2017, 17:55
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Originally Posted by Tankertrashnav
wiggy

A couple of nervous days ensued, as visions of a 60 foot hose scything through the streets of a German town weren't comforting, but eventually a report came in that it had turned up in some allotments on the outskirts of Bremen. There were no casualties other than perhaps a few squashed cabbages, and I dont remember there being any comeback after.
Squashed cabbages, was the owner a sauerkraut.

Sorry hat coat.
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