Originally Posted by
KC10 FATboy
Maybe you have poor aircraft recognition? An F-14 could be mistaken for an F-15.
Another issue I have with the story is, I've personally seen and have had drogues in trail upon landing. The damage, other than some scraping, is kind of minor. I can't imagine why the drogue would be "half-round".
I don't think AF had F-14's..Could be wrong, tho.The two fighters were USAF.
We were in PI with a two ship tanker mission to Diego Garcia (an FOL, what we were 'officially' told at the start of the TDY.) We picked up these two on their way to Kadena. It got to be a major aggravation,because the fighters had problems two days in a row, preventing our departure. A lot of bag drags!
On the third attempt we launched, and after a couple of hours, the above mentioned incident occurred.
So,..back to PI, again! (forest Gump voice)
I did get to see Mt. Saint Helen blow up on tv in the NCO club, tho..
Concerning a/c recognition, I got to lay beside the boomer in one of the observer positions, putting me eye to eye with the pilots receiving the fuel.
I still can recall the surprise and shock on his face after a JP4 bath!
The drogue hose un-spiral'd, and became 30' or so long.. It drug before we touched down.
Thankfully, we had another drogue on hand. I got to help the crew chief install it...
And the mission continued...the US had hostages in Iran!