Nonchalant Mid-Air Conversations Between F-22 Pilots And Refueler

Did you know that there are approximately 5000 commercial airplanes in the sky at any given moment? Do you think that that’s impossible and that the sky couldn’t possibly fit that many at a time? Well, just think about the fact that beside the commercial planes carrying passengers and cargo, there are also military planes and other aircrafts crisscrossing the sky. It’s truly remarkable.

Out of all of the modes of transportation, air transport requires the most amount of fuel. This is what makes it one of the greatest air pollutants in the world. But regardless of the damage it does, it is still the fastest way of getting from point A to point B.

Sometimes the distance between these two points is greater than the fuel capacity of the aircraft and this is where tanker planes come into play. The tankers are larger aircrafts carrying fuel that can refuel smaller aircrafts mid flight either using a probe-and-drogue technique or a flying boom. The latter requires a boom operator, an aircrew member which is tasked with operating a long expandable metal arm that attaches to the receiving aircraft. The tanker’s flight duration depends on the crew fatigue and the fuel capacity in the tanker. The aerial refueling allows for longer flights as well as carrying bigger loads of cargo and personnel.

This footage shows us some insight of the day-to-day adventures of the people on board of the tanker planes. Watch the refueling of F-22's and listen to some of the casual conversations between the In-Flight Refueler; Senior Airman Jordan Smith, deployed from Travis Air Force Base, and the F-22 pilots. Credit to 'The Joint Forces Channel'.