zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
This Is What It Looks Like When An F-35 Refuels Right In Front Of Your Face
This Is What It Looks Like When An F-35 Refuels Right In Front Of Your Face-December 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:14:08

Most aerial refueling videos are shot through the tiny little window that the use to steer a little fuel nozzle towards a thirsty aircraft. But the KC-130 is not just a flying gas station, it’s also a fully functional cargo plane. Which means you could throw down the ramp, and hang out the back.

The F-35 actually uses two different methods of re-fueling, depending on the variant. The U.S. Air Force version, the F-35A, uses a big metal boom to pump fuel directly into the fighter jet’s tanks, and which looks pretty much like every other What basically happens in that setup is that the fighter pilot flies the jet into place, and then a boom operator uses a little joystick to make sure the nozzle gets to the right spot.

But the F-35B and C variants, used by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, respectively, use a system known as “probe-and-drogue.” Instead of a big metal pole hanging out the back of the refueling plane, a flexible hose with a receptacle that looks like a basket hangs out the back – or from the wings – instead. In that case, there’s no one boom operator to steer the hose. In the F-35's case, the tanker pilot holds the plane steady, while the fighter jet pilot deploys a probe from their own aircraft’s nose, and uses their light and nimble jet to steer the probe into the basket.

In the case of the video up top, a Marine Corps F-35B was being refueled by a KC-130J during an exercise last summer over Arizona. And even for, it still looks neat.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Dec 21, 2025
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Dec 21, 2025
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Dec 21, 2025
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Dec 21, 2025
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Dec 21, 2025
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Dec 21, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved