MAG-31 COMMENT

Comments following the flight were entirely positive both from the tankers and the receivers.  All procedures were reported to be standard, in accordance with the brief.  The MAG-31 pilots like the position of the hose on the centerline, as it reduced turbulent airflow off the tanker.  They also praised the refueling basket, which they described as slightly larger and softer than the standard basket.   The general feeling was that the softer basket would result in less damage to the F/A-18 nose cone, pitot tube, AOA probe, etc.  The hose itself was praised as it was about 20 feet longer than a typical hose.  Perhaps the most striking benefit of tanking behind the Omega 707 was its offload rate.  The average rate observed by MAG-31 aircraft was 320 gallons per minute, or approximately 2000 pounds per minute.  This greatly exceeds the rate of flow of standard Air Force or Marine Corps tankers, which varies from 500 to 1000 pounds per minute.  Accordingly, receivers could cycle aircraft through the tanker in half the time.  The benefit of this is evident when you consider the case of flying from California to Hawaii.  At the mid-point of the leg there is approximately an hour where you must continually maintain a full load of gas to be able to reach land in the event of an emergency.