The Historic KC-135 Stratotanker Still Flying

Well, it looks like the wheeny-whiney Wall Streeters are starting a come back after the government, took them by the hand, fed them some pablum, burped them, and then cuddled them this morning, with reassurances, as they announced an upcoming meeting for the "babies", so they will know how everything will happen with the bailout plan.

Anyway, after being disgusted by these pathetic whiners, I was wandering around the news, and found this fascinating story at Yahoo News about a 50 year old aircraft that we can be proud of, and which is still vitally important to America:

More than 50 years after its first flight, the KC-135 tanker is the workhorse of the U.S. Air Force, a flying gas station that loiters over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan every day. And it will keep flying for at least 30 more years — there isn't even a contract for a replacement.

The plane entered service in 1957, when President Eisenhower was just starting his second term. With the Cold War heating up, armed B-52 bombers idled on runways, ready at a moment's notice to fly over the North Pole to strike the Soviet Union. But the B-52, an eight-engine gas guzzler, couldn't carry enough fuel for a round-trip mission.


Enter the KC-135 Stratotanker, a jet-age filling station in the sky. The B-52 is still flying missions — and so is the Stratotanker, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It refuels bombers, fighters, cargo planes — even other tankers.
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