Aerial refueling improvement ideas and resources

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Revision as of 23:29, 22 December 2014 by Johan G (talk | contribs) (Adding resources, mainly from the forum topics)
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Air-to-Air Refueling seen from an F-16 cockpit.

These are some aerial refueling improvement ideas as well as links to various related resources. Currently (December 2014) FlightGear both have several aircraft that can be refueled and several tankers. However there is room for improvement.

Current situation

(December 2014)

  • At least the MRTT AI tanker have parts that are "hot"/possible to collide with.

Boom refueling

  • None of the tankers have lights indicating the aircraft position in the boom envelope or refueling status.
  • Few, if any of the tankers have a moving boom.

Drogue and probe refueling

  • None of the tankers have lights indicating the aircraft position or refueling status.
  • The hose is fixed length and rigid.

Ideas on improvements

  • Adding refueling status lights to all tankers (red, amber and green)

Drogue and probe refueling

  • Borrowing code etc. used for towing gliders
    • Visualize the hose using parts or the entire towing code
    • Have the hose attached to the nacelle and the probe (with a small braking force, 320 pounds (MA-2) or 550 pounds (MA-3 and MA-4))
    • Visualize the drogue at the end of the hose

Common terminology

Terms commonly used in relevant marketing material and technical references.

Aerial refueling itself

  • Air-to-air refueling (AAR) (Standard NATO term and abbreviation)
  • In flight refueling (IFR)
  • (fr) Ravitaillement en vol

Technical terms

Boom drogue adapter (BDA)
A short hose with a drogue that can be fitted to a boom.
Boom envelope
The space the boom nozzle can move around in limited by the boom extension and the boom traverse.
Coupling
The part that is attached to the hose and to which the drogue is attached and the probe connects to
Common types are the MA-2 (unregulated flow), MA-2 (regulated flow) and MA-4 (dual redundantly regulated flow). MA probably stands for Marshall Aerospace.
Nozzle
(1) The nozzle at the end of the boom.
(2) Confusingly also the probe.
Receiver
The receiving aircraft.

Compatibility between western and other aircraft

Russian smaller receiver aircraft

In among others the MiG-9E, MiG-29MST, MiG-29K/KUB, Su-24, Su-30 MKI and Su-35 uses NPP Zvezda ATG-2E series nozzles that are compliant to both Russian, US and NATO standards for probe and drogue refueling (in essence the MA-2 nozzle and MA-2, MA-3 and MA-4 couplings).[1]

Russian larger receiver aircraft

The larger Russian aircraft like Tu-95MSb Tu-142, Tu-160, A-50 and IL-86SH uses NPP Zvezda ATG-2MS series nozzles that may be compatible with the western probe and drogue refueling systems.[2][3]

Russian tankers

The Russian tankers all uses refueling pods. The pods are the NPP Zvezda UAPZ in variants for buddy refueling, and refueling lighter and heavier aircraft from tankers.

Chinese aircraft

Chinese tankers and receivers seem to use a mix of equipment originating from Russia and Britain.

Other

There is also some equipment from South African and Israeli companies that seems to be compatible to western systems.

Related content

Wiki articles

Forum topics

Developer mailing list threads

Source code

Links point to the 3.2 release.

External links

NATO handbook

US military standards

Drawings

Manufacturers of refueling equipment

Other

  • Mike Gaines; Sergei Skrynnikov (photographer) (19 - 25 February 1992). Buddy-buddy Fencer (pdf). Published by Flight International. Retrieved 22 December 2014. Russian Su-24 Fencer air to air buddy refueling and Il-78 Midas refueling and techniques.
  • Dr Carlo Kopp (27 Jan 2014). The PLA-AF's Aerial Refuelling Programs. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  • Photo of the F-35 being boom refueled Illustrating the lights under the forward tanker fuselage indicating to the receiver where he is in the boom envelope.