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Dan McWilliams CC-137!!!!!!!!


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Yes Dan, That does look great. And I love how you always have experiences to share with us too.

Keep em coming.

C.

I'm tell'n ya. The guy needs to write that book. I just love to hear those "behind the scenes" stories. Some of my greatest memories of my pilot friends from Cold Lake are those times sitting around in the evening, enjoying a beverage, and listening to "tales of the crazy skies".

Tilt

p.s. Nice work on the CC-137 Alf!!

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Wow, guys - thanks for all the great comments! :jaw-dropping:

For Phantom - I sincerely meant it that your 707 was more nicely done; I've selected the photos very carefully for the article so as not to make its flaws show too much.

For me it's fun to ruminate about old war stories (literally true in this case). I'm just happy to have an appreciative audience here on ARC. Wish my daughter were so receptive... I get a lot of "Do we have to listen to this?" from her as my son and I launch into various discussions. At least he appreciates these sort of things!

Dan

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Very, nice and unique build Dan. I had no idea what Canuck tankers looked like.

BTW, How much did we charge those American Tomcats per gallon for the jet fuel? :whistle:

Chuck

Actually, I believe that Coalition forces got most of the fuel for free - kind of a 'thank you' from the local oil-producing countries.

When we refuel each others' aircraft outside of these active war theatres, there are international agreements where we log how many pounds of fuel are transferred, and at the end of the year the numbers are compared and the country that consumed more of the other country's fuel gets charged the going rate for it, according to the agreement they have in place. Jet fuel is surprisingly cheap (much less than car gasoline), but of course fighters consume many thousands of litres per flight...

What I was told about the reason for the CC-137 not being allowed to refuel anyone but CF-18s or F/A-18s was that it was administrative in nature - the official trials for refuelling had been done only on CF-5s and CF-18s, so only they were OK. The transport commanders were being very conservative. Following the Tomcat incident, they very quickly OK'd most Coalition aircraft for receiving from our tankers.

In defence of the tanker crews, I also must point out that before the Gulf War they were very much used to being in charge of refuelling exercises, dictating the terms of everything to the fighters. When they saw what their true role was in the theatre, they realized that they were a support asset - a vital support asset, but support nonetheless. They adapted their approach to operations and became very good at what they did. This carried on to the way they operated after the war; I saw them do some amazingly helpful and innovative things in the years after.

ALF

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For me it's fun to ruminate about old war stories (literally true in this case). I'm just happy to have an appreciative audience here on ARC. Wish my daughter were so receptive... I get a lot of "Do we have to listen to this?" from her as my son and I launch into various discussions. At least he appreciates these sort of things!

Dan,

I could sit and listen to a fighter pilot tell stories all day long...it would be awesome. Going to the occasional air show, building kits, reading books on military aircraft, and if I get the opportunity, listen to fighter pilots tell stories, is as close as I would ever get to becoming a pilot with my health issues.

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Don't visit the site for a few days and you miss tons of stuff! Great work on the big white cow ALF. She turned out very nicely. Can't wait to see what you do with your T-33 in the upcoming GB.

Mike

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Don't visit the site for a few days and you miss tons of stuff! Great work on the big white cow ALF. She turned out very nicely. Can't wait to see what you do with your T-33 in the upcoming GB.

Mike

Thanks Mike

My T-bird is sitting in its box, ready to go, on the bench. Hands are getting twitchy... I thought December would never come, but here it is!

ALF

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Mine too!!! But I also keep going back to starting a 2009 Hornet first instead......... Ohh what to do first?????? CT-133 target tow, CT-133 80's cam or the 2009 hornet?

Stressful, isn't it? Too many subjects, too little time. My LE decals just came in for a 1/48 and 1/32 T-33. I can now build 3 T-33s, but I also have a 1/32 CF-104, a CF-18 in 1/48 and 1/32 if I want, a Challenger, CF-5D in 1/48... Auggggh!

Definitely the T-33 NMF from Baden 1973 will be my first.

ALF

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Stressful, isn't it? Too many subjects, too little time. My LE decals just came in for a 1/48 and 1/32 T-33. I can now build 3 T-33s, but I also have a 1/32 CF-104, a CF-18 in 1/48 and 1/32 if I want, a Challenger, CF-5D in 1/48... Auggggh!

Definitely the T-33 NMF from Baden 1973 will be my first.

ALF

Great work on the CC-137 Dan. Nice to see it done in the tanker configuration. Now you need to do an Airbus tanker to go with it.

I also appreciated your story to go along with it. Although he did not deploy to the Gulf, my father was a mechanic in the CC-137 Squadron at Trenton at the time and I remember him telling me about the same story. I did not know, however, that there had to be seperate certifications depending on the airframe being re-fueled.

Denis

P.S. If you don't have time for all of your subjects you can send some my way. LOL!

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Great work on the CC-137 Dan. Nice to see it done in the tanker configuration. Now you need to do an Airbus tanker to go with it.

I also appreciated your story to go along with it. Although he did not deploy to the Gulf, my father was a mechanic in the CC-137 Squadron at Trenton at the time and I remember him telling me about the same story. I did not know, however, that there had to be seperate certifications depending on the airframe being re-fueled.

Denis

P.S. If you don't have time for all of your subjects you can send some my way. LOL!

Denis

The 'need' for separate certifications depending on airframe type was strictly self-inflicted within the Cdn Air Force from what I was told. Not sure who decided it was the case (was it someone in Air Transport Group, AETE, NDHQ, or Air Command is something I don't know and frankly isn't important to me). What was funny was how quickly we got a message at the Joint HQ in Bahrain adding a whole bunch of potential receiver fighters to our list after this incident happened. I'm sure somebody figured out that it was ridiculous to restrict receiving aircraft types. I can only imagine how frustrating and fruitless it would have been if a Staff Officer (in peacetime) had tried to get somebody to declare this little bit of bureaucracy silly and unwarranted... Amazing how a little wartime expediency can clear up mounds of unnecessary red tape in a heartbeat!

Maybe one day I'll do an Airbus tanker - but don't tell anyone that I used the name "Airbus" instead of the officially-sanctioned CC-150 Polaris! The thought police will get me for that one for sure!

Also, thanks for your generous offer to attack one of my subjects. After thinking about it (for a millisecond), I have to say that it was really nice of you to offer, but nope... I'll build them all myself. Enjoying this far too much, so get your own! :worship:

ALF

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