"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
04/06/2014 at 12:13 • Filed to: Planeopnik
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"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
04/06/2014 at 12:13 • Filed to: Planeopnik | 2
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The Royal Air Force retired the last of their L-1011 TriStar aerial refueling tankers two weeks ago or so, so seeing one tank up a Typhoon fighter isn't going to be a recurring event anymore. The RAF picked them up on the cheap from British Airways and PanAm to help bolster their aerial refueling capability after the Falklands War (though likely an influential factor in the selection of the type was its waning popularity with airlines as production wound down, much like what helped influence the RAF to select the Comet-based Nimrod in the 60s). As the newest TriStar flew off the line in 1984, the planes are pretty old and have been replaced by the Voyager, brand-new A330s so heavily redesigned on the drawing board (just like the USAF's 767-based KC-46) they're truly purpose-built for the role. After this particular tank-up, the last two TriStars did a celebatory fly-by then flew straight to the scrappers.
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Svend
> No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
04/06/2014 at 13:07 |
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Such a shame. I've been on many R.A.F. Tristars in my time and they will be sadly missed along with the VC10 and other aircraft that have been retired in the last few years.
You mentioned the Falklands War. Check out the short video below of how they managed to get a Vulcan (Operation Black Buck) to the Falklands from the Ascension Islands with the help of 11 Handley Page Victors refueling not just the Vulcan but other Victors before returning to base.
Some info on Black Buck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation…