"The TriStar is not thought of badly," says Wing Cmdr. R.A.D. Greene. "It's just not thought of at all." Greene commands 216 Squadron of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, the only group in the world flying the Lockheed L-1011 airliners converted to cargo/tanker aircraft. "We are just expected to be wherever we are needed whenever we are needed." Operations with the TriStar tankers began in 1984. Since then, 216 Squadron has frequently been sent from its base at RAF Brize Norton, near Oxford, England, to at least three of the four corners of the world, most recently to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
"We have no typical mission," says Master Engineer Phil Chappell, a TriStar flight engineer. "In one five-day period, I have flown to Germany and to Canada, flown a local mission, and then flown to the Middle East. That pattern is not unusual."
The squadron's nine TriStars are rarely gathered together at Brize Norton, the RAF's largest base. The unit flies daily passenger and cargo missions to Kuwait and Qatar. "Over the last two decades, we have made at least two or three trips to the Falklands," Greene adds.
Need Born In War
The RAF traces its TriStar need to the Falklands War in 1982. This war between Britain and Argentina, with more than 7,000 miles between them, pointedly demonstrated the need for a long-range, large capacity tanker. "The RAF needed nine Victor tankers spaced out across the Atlantic to get one Vulcan bomber or one C-130 Hercules all the way down to the Falklands and back," notes Greene. The requirement to resupply the British garrison on the islands after the war showed that the replacement for the Victor, a converted bomber, needed to carry cargo as well.
In late 1982, the RAF considered buying either new KC-10 tankers, as the US Air Force had done, or used commercial DC-10s. Instead, the RAF chose the Lockheed L-1011. The high cost of new-build tankers versus the immediate availability of L-1011 airliners and the lower cost of converting them tipped the scale.
Marshall of Cambridge (now Marshall Aerospace) won the contract to modify the L-1011s. Work began in February 1983. Six British Airways L-1011-500 aircraft, including the first -500 aircraft to come off the assembly line of Lockheed California Company in Palmdale, California, were chosen for conversion.
The L-1011-500, which is about thirteen feet shorter than the other TriStar models, has longer wings, carries additional fuel in the wing center section, and has a higher gross takeoff weight, characteristics that make it an ideal cargo and tanker aircraft.
"The TriStar can carry twenty pallets and up to 266 passengers," notes Greene. It can sustain speeds of Mach 0.85, and it has a 5,000-mile range. "All of which are greater, faster, or longer than any other aircraft in the RAF."
Marshall designed, manufactured, and installed seven additional fixed fuel tanks that fill the TriStar's underfloor cargo bays and give it 100,000 pounds, or almost 17,000 gallons, of extra transferable fuel. Flight Refueling, Ltd., developed the twin-hose drum units, or HDUs, that reel the refueling hose and drogue in and out. The HDUs work independently, so the failure of one hose doesn't end a mission.
Three additional L-1011-500s, purchased from Pan American World Airways in 1984, essentially unmodified, are used to carry passengers with baggage and cargo in the underfloor bays like a normal airliner.
Meet The Fleet
The squadron's Latin motto, CCXVI dona ferens, translates to "216 bearing gifts," quite fitting as the squadron has delivered bombs, depth charges, cargo, and kerosene from its earliest days of operation. When formed from the combination of two Royal Naval Air Service squadrons in 1918, 216 Squadron — which is always pronounced as two-sixteen in recognition of its history — flew Handley Page O/400 biplane bombers. During World War II, its crews flew Lockheed Hudsons and then switched to carrying cargo on Dakotas and Comets. A brief return to bombs came when the unit flew Buccaneers. Then came the TriStar.
Today, the 216 Squadron has two TriStar C. Mk. 2 aircraft that are former Pan Am airliners. The single C. Mk. 2A is a passenger aircraft that has military avionics, such as a TACAN and UHF radios needed to fly into less benign airports at forward locations. These aircraft also carry a permanently fitted aeromedical kit to move casualties.
Two TriStar K. Mk. 1 and four KC. Mk. 1 aircraft comprise the tanker fleet. The KC.1s are fitted with an upward opening cargo door that gives the aircraft the versatility of allowing large pallets to be loaded and carried. Omnidirectional rollers at the door allow the pallets to be turned once inside the fuselage. A TriStar can carry fifty-five tons of cargo, depending on the mission and the aircraft configuration.
The aircraft floor can be configured to carry all passengers or all cargo. To carry all passengers, additional palletized galleys and baggage storage bins are required. The normal configuration, a combination of passengers and cargo, consists of palletized passenger seats placed on the right side of the fuselage with rollers on the left and in the back. A reinforced net hangs just forward of the door to keep the cargo and crew separated.
Off To Work
"We are the largest squadron in the RAF," Greene observes. "And we average more hours than any other squadron. It is a lot of flying, but we are an enthusiastic bunch."
Because 216 Squadron is both a tanker squadron and essentially an airline, it also has sixty-four air stewards assigned in groups of two or three on the personnel flights. Their primary duty is passenger safety, but they also provide passenger comforts, such as cooking meals on long flights.
Commercial airliners typically have about five crews per aircraft. The ratio is about two crews for every aircraft for 216 Squadron. Each crew consists of two pilots, one flight engineer, and one loadmaster. The squadron currently has enough qualified aircrew members to form sixteen mix-and-match crews.
The unit's motion-based simulator at Brize Norton is used about twelve hours a day. The simulator cab was a gift from King Hussein of Jordan, who not only used a TriStar as his executive transport but also often flew it himself. The Jordanian Royal Flight crews trained with 216 Squadron. "The simulator can do everything the aircraft does, including aerial refueling," notes Tony Hoyle, the simulator manager. "The crews come back every two months for refresher training. Each simulator ride lasts about four hours. Every two months, they practice emergency procedures. We want them to feel like they are learning, not like they are being tested."
In the aircraft, the pilots start out in the basic air transport role. After about six months, they learn to do basic aerial refueling. The pilots are trail qualified — able to escort fighter or another aircraft on a deployment — about a year after that. A copilot can move to the pilot's seat after about two and one-half years of flying.
The squadron averages about 10,000 flight hours a year, roughly 540 hours per month, hauling passengers and cargo and 240 hours per month in air refueling, the unit's key tasking. "Fighters, AWACS, transports — all need us to get where they are going and to do their jobs," says Flt. Lt. Rick Skene, one of the squadron's pilots. "If the process is completely effortless for the receiver, we have done our job."
All Major Credit Cards Accepted
Mission planning for an aerial refueling sortie, whether at home station or during operations, should be done in pencil. Once word gets out that a tanker will be airborne, receivers (particularly fighters because their missions are so fluid) change times, change the number of aircraft, change the refueling order, change whatever. The tanker crews often get changes once airborne. "Flexibility is the key to airpower," quips Skene.
A number of standard aerial refueling tracks can be found all around England, most off the coastlines. These areas of reserved airspace range in length from thirty-six to 100 miles for large aircraft or for pilots just learning the art of taking on fuel while airborne.
The tanker crew works as a team. The pilot flies the TriStar and has overall command of refueling. The copilot works the radios and generally plays traffic cop, keeping track of the receivers and other traffic through a large Joint Tactical Information Distribution System display. A loadmaster goes on all flights, but has few tasks once airborne. "I usually go sit up front with the crew and listen for updated weather reports," says Sgt. Sam Main. "I also provide another set of eyes when we are refueling." The flight engineer controls actual fuel transfer.
Unlike US tankers, no one actually sits in the rear of the aircraft. Refueling is controlled by an aft-facing, closed-circuit television camera on the underside of the aircraft. The camera has a field of view of 300 degrees with a filter for sunny days. The flight engineer's refueling panel and a television screen for monitoring the tail view of the aircraft have taken up what had been a coat closet for the flight deck crew in the TriStar's airliner days.
Once in the refueling track, the engineer unreels one of the eighty-foot-long hoses and the three-foot-diameter drogue basket reefs. The hoses are alternated so they will wear evenly. "We have a guillotine to cut the hose if it gets fouled," says Chappell. "But obviously, we have to consider where we are going to jettison a hose."
The process starts by the receiver entering the refueling track and then flying a reciprocal heading toward the tanker. The crew can use either an air-to-air tactical aid to navigation or traffic collision and avoidance system to get lined up. "About seventeen miles out, we turn in front of the receivers," Greene explains. " The receivers make up the distance. We can do all of this under radio silence, if necessary, to avoid giving away our position."
Refueling takes place at about 280 knots indicated speed, or roughly 320 miles per hour. The TriStar has to speed up to refuel a Jaguar attack aircraft because of the aerodynamic interaction between the two aircraft and the location of the Jaguar's refueling probe. The TriStar's center engine is throttled back when refueling a Sentry Mk. 1, an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, because of the Sentry's large fuselage-mounted radome.
Receivers line up on the right side of the tanker. The copilot acknowledges the receivers, then signals the first receiver to drop back and take up a position 1,000 feet astern. The receiver advances in 100-foot increments until the refueling probe makes contact. When the drogue is pushed forward seven feet, a microswitch opens and fuel begins flowing.
"We tell the pilots not to look at the drogue, but to concentrate instead on the fluorescent markings on the bottom of the aircraft," notes Chappell. "The probe will go right in the basket. If they look at the basket, they tend to get too close, which causes a pressure wave that makes the basket bounce around. When that happens, I have to turn on the 'get back' light, making them lag back and try again."
Fuel can be fed to the HDUs from any tank, but the engineer usually feeds from the fuselage tanks. Fuel is kept in the wing tanks to minimize wing flexing. The fuel flow pressure can be varied depending on the receiver. A Tornado attack aircraft can take on about 1,100 pounds of fuel per minute. A US Navy F-14 can take on about 4,000 pounds a minute, or about 700 gallons.
Once the refueling is complete, the receiver takes up position on the left side of the TriStar and the tanker pilot makes visual contact. The receiver stays there until the second or subsequent receivers have tanked up. When all aircraft have refueled, the TriStar pilot dismisses the receivers to break off and continue their mission.
"We have a sign that says, 'All major credit cards accepted,'" says Greene. "The receivers get a big chuckle out of that. They never offer to pay up, though."
Fuel On The Front Lines
216 Squadron has evolved into a tactical role. "In Yugoslavia, we were based in Italy to pick up the fighters coming from Germany," recalls Greene. "After the fighters flew their missions, we would pick them up again coming out. In Afghanistan, we worked the northern extremes of that country, which is a long way from anywhere."
In Operation Telic, the British counterpart to Operation Iraqi Freedom, 216 Squadron operated over Iraq. "By the third day of the war, we were operating sixty miles out of Baghdad," continues Greene. "The limiting factor in the air campaign was the number of tankers — people were always needing fuel. We needed to be where the receivers were. Forty percent of our receivers were US Navy aircraft."
"We had several 'we-need-gas-right-now' situations," recalls Skene. "One guy was so desperate for fuel, he jettisoned his weapons. We had to leave the refueling track and go find him. Another time, we were over the western desert in Iraq when we encountered a receiver who had blown his seals. Fuel was streaming out of his aircraft. He stayed on the hose for more than an hour before we could get him back to safety."
Squadron 216 deployed four aircraft to Operation Telic. The crews flew 301 sorties for a total of 1,500 flight hours and transferred 16.5 million pounds of fuel (roughly 2.75 million gallons). "To operate that close to the front lines requires sensible planning," Greene explains. "We would fly above the height of the antiaircraft fire. We always had fighters around us. We are, however, looking at installing some form of countermeasures into our aircraft."
In a world of gray military aircraft, 216 Squadron's TriStars stand out — literally. "Our TriStars have lots of lights and are painted white," says Greene. "We want people to see us. We generally operate out of international airports during contingencies, so the aircraft are technically camouflaged. I wouldn't mind seeing the Royal Air Force lettering taken off so that we would be even more invisible on the ground."
Keep Them Flying
Even when the TriStars are not in the Middle East for operations, they are flown to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where the Gulf Air Maintenance Company, or GAMCO, performs depot-level maintenance.
Despite the fact squadron aircraft are all between twenty and twenty-five years old, the airframes have experienced no major maintenance issues. "The L-1011s are holding up well," says Squadron Leader Dawn Elson, 216 Squadron's chief of maintenance. "These aircraft were meant to be flown hard, but we generally don't do that except in operations out of the local area. We are balancing usage pretty well. Our 240 engineers do an outstanding job."
The big issue, however, is spare parts. TriStars have been out of production for twenty years. The airlines that had large fleets are no longer flying them. "We were going to the desert to get parts off the parked aircraft, but the reliability of those parts is a little different," Elson notes. "Some have been out there so long that they don't work as well. Availability is an issue and getting parts will be more expensive, either to find them or to resort to fabricating them."
A solution is needed as the TriStars are not scheduled for retirement for almost ten years. A replacement aircraft was selected last year under the RAF's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft, or FSTA, program, but it isn't scheduled to enter service until 2009. That service date may be delayed. The aircraft, which will be a combination of new and used Airbus A330-200s, will replace both the 1960s-era VC-10 tankers and the TriStars in RAF service.
Until then, 216 Squadron will keep its TriStars flying. "We have become an indispensable asset to the RAF's concept of operations," says Greene. "We have a global fighting force, and the TriStars are a large part of what gets us there."
Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.
