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| Air Force's KC-46A Refueling Tanker Makes First Flight |
| 2015-09-26 |
| The U.S. Air Force's KC-46A refueling tanker made by Boeing Co. on Friday made its first flight in a historic milestone for the program that came after repeated delays. "History in the making," Boeing employee Jerry Pham tweeted while sharing a picture showing the aircraft taking off near Seattle. "The KC-46 Pegasus, the future of aerial refueling, has made its first flight." Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, earlier this summer said the first test flight of the new refueling tanker, known as Pegasus and based on the 767 twin-engine commercial airliner, would be delayed until late September or early October. The event was previously scheduled for the spring. The plane's fuel system is being fixed after workers mistakenly loaded a mislabeled chemical WTF? into it, among other problems -- work that's expected to cost more than $800 million, according to The Oklahoman, the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, one of the first three states where the airplane will be based. |
| Posted by:Blossom Unains5562 |
| #3 I just got word yesterday from a civilian employee at Fort Benning that large force structure cuts are looming for the Infantry. Mike, is that you on the other end of the crying bench ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-09-26 07:22 |
| #2 ...How nice. The better part of twenty years to reproduce 50's technology and get it airborne, and then replace the ONE crew member who's indispensible to it with a glitchy, high-tech toy whose failure makes the entire airplane no more than a quarter-billion dollar static display. I weep for My Beloved Service. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2015-09-26 05:59 |
| #1 workers mistakenly loaded a mislabeled chemical "No, no, NO! Refueling, NOT Aerosol Dispersion!" |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2015-09-26 02:21 |