McDonnell Douglas KC-10
| McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender | |
|---|---|
.jpg) KC-10A "Extender" of the US Air Force |
|
| Type: | Tanker and transport aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
July 12, 1980 |
| Commissioning: |
1981 |
| Production time: |
1979 to 1990 |
| Number of pieces: |
60 |
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is a three- engine tanker and transport aircraft that is in service with the US Air Force . The KC-10 is the largest tanker aircraft used by NATO countries and is derived from the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 used as a passenger and cargo aircraft . The Dutch Air Force is using two converted, formerly civilian DC-10s as tankers.
history
requirement
In the mid- 1970s , the USAF reported an increased need for advanced tanker aircraft in the near future and launched the ATCA (Advanced Tanker / Cargo Aircraft) project . During the Vietnam War , even the large fleet (over 700) of the Boeing KC-135 was barely enough to support the many bombers and reconnaissance planes in Southeast Asia on the one hand and the long-range bombers and transporters at home on the other. So the American Air Force wanted a bigger, more flexible aircraft for this purpose. The machines should be available as quickly and inexpensively as possible, so the tender was limited to large-capacity aircraft that were already being built in series, such as B. Boeing 747 , Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 . In December 1977 the competition was decided in favor of McDonnell Douglas.
From the DC-10 to the KC-10
The DC-10-30CF was chosen as the starting model for the new KC-10 tanker . The main differences compared to the civil version include:
- Windowless hull and no cargo hatches to the lower deck
- Installation of three rubber tanks in the lower deck
- Tank boom with a maximum length of 17.8 m
- Station for the boom operator under the aft hull accessible from the main deck
- Air refueling system to be able to refuel yourself
- Rooms for the second crew behind the cockpit
The variable main deck was taken over from the DC-10-30CF : It can either hold up to 76.8 t of cargo or - after conversion - 75 soldiers in the front part and cargo behind it.
Services
The KC-10 can carry cargo, troops, and fuel for air refueling at the same time , which is a huge advantage when deploying units. The maximum fuel load is 161.5 t (66.7 t in the wing tanks plus 94.8 t in the lower deck), which is 75% more than on the KC-135 . With large receivers like the C-5 Galaxy , up to 4,200 liters per minute are pumped through the rigid boom - an increase of 23% compared to the KC-135. Aircraft with a refueling probe (such as those from the United States Navy ) can receive fuel from the extender through a hose and drogue ; You can switch between both types of refueling during the flight. Finally, the KC-10 can be refueled itself, which significantly increases the range. The maintenance costs are relatively low for a military aircraft, because due to the great technical correspondence with the civil DC-10, the spare parts are inexpensive and readily available.
Production and use
The first flight of a KC-10 Extender took place on July 12, 1980, the delivery of 60 ordered aircraft to the USAF began on March 17, 1981. The first air refueling followed on October 30, 1980 with a C-5A Galaxy. McDonnell Douglas delivered the last aircraft on April 4, 1990. One copy (serial number: 82-0190) was destroyed in a fire on September 17, 1987 at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana , so that today 59 KC-10A are still in service with the USAF . They are subordinate to the Air Mobility Command (AMC) and are spread across the bases at Travis Air Force Base , California (27 machines) and McGuire Air Force Base , New Jersey (32 machines).
future
With the planned cuts in the US defense budget from 2014 onwards, it was planned to decommission the KC-10 fleet in the 2015 fiscal year, which was submitted in a corresponding application in the US House of Representatives. In a vote on June 19, 2014, however, the application was passed in such a way that the KC-10 fleet will remain in service beyond 2015.
Military users
- Dutch Air Force : 1. From 1995 the Koninklijke Luchtmacht had two such tankers. The KDC-10 machines mentioned are different than the KC-10 is not rebuilt the USAF, but upgraded DC 10-30CF responsible for since 1976 and 1978 respectively Martinair flew. They received a new type of refueling station in which the operator works in a compartment in the front main deck without direct visual contact. The tank boom is operated and controlled remotely via cameras at the rear, which provide good images even at night and in poor visibility. The operator station is mounted on a pallet so that it can even be removed completely if the entire main deck is to accommodate cargo. One of the originally two KDC-10 ( T-264 "Prins Bernhard") was sold to the civil tanker operator Omega Aerial Refueling Services in the USA at the beginning of November 2019 ; the remaining machine ( T-235 "Jan Scheffer") will be delivered in 2021 given to the same operator.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | KC-10A Extender specifications |
|---|---|
| Length: | 55.65 m |
| Span: | 50.40 m |
| Height: | 17.70 m |
| Wing area: | 367.7 m² |
| Maximum payload: | 77,110 kg (or 165,565 kg of fuel) |
| Maximum take-off weight: | 267,620 kg |
| Top speed: | 978 km / h (at 7600 m altitude) |
| Cruising speed: | 890 km / h |
| Range: |
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| Engines: | Three General Electric CF6-50C2 - turbofan engines , each with 233.31 kN thrust |
| Crew: | Four (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, tank boom operator) |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stephen Trimble: US House approves defense spending bill, blocks A-10 retirement . In: Flightglobal.com. June 20, 2014, accessed on June 22, 2014 (English): “The US House of Representatives voted on June 19 to block a US Air Force proposal to retire the Fairchild Republic A-10 attack fighter next year. By approving the A-10 amendment filed by Representative Candice Miller by a 300-114 vote, the full membership of the House also thwarted a previous vote by the defense appropriations committee to retire the close air support specialist. "
- ↑ Sebastian Steinke: Dutch KDC-10 will fly in the USA in the future: Omega takes over first civil boom tanker. November 26, 2019, accessed November 28, 2019 .