On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:33:06 -0500, "Jim Macklin"
wrote:

Just a question for a fighter pilot, what amount of fuel in
minutes is normally on board when you begin a terminal
penetration? If you have good position and radio contact,
how long does it take to get a tanker hook-up?

By regulation you need 20 minutes remaing at the initial approach fix.
If weather conditions require an alternate, you need time to go from
IAF to the alternate IAF plus 20 minutes.

In typical, daily, local airfield operations with a VFR recovery
planned, you will have about 20 minutes left when you begin your
descent along the recovery route.

Tankers are not normally an option. Tankers are not usually co-located
with tactical bases. Schedules for tankers and coordination of
required airspace blocks takes considerable time--days usually.

Unlike carrier operations where tankers often sit deck alert to pass a
few thousand pounds of gas to an emergency aircraft, for USAF tactical
aircraft, tankers are not routinely available.

Since 9/11, how much fighter cover traffic is in civil
airspace that wasn't there before?[general terms, nothing
classified]

"fighter cover traffic"?? Dunno what that means. If you mean CAP
related to homeland security, I would say not more than 50-100 sorties
per day. The majority of US military air traffic is routine training
operations around the country. Pilot training, operational
qualification training, currency training, etc.

It virtually all takes place in joint use airspace and is always done
with an ATC flight plan. It is almost always done under IFR. It is
99.9% in "controlled airspace" since there is very little uncontrolled
airspace in the country.

If ATC is slow with a clearance, are you expected to punch
out?

No, you are expected to operate as you indicated on your flight plan
using common sense and whatever is available to you. There are
detailed procedures, for example, regarding how to deal with radio
failure in flight both VFR and IFR in both VMC and IMC.

Let's get over Larry's fixation that military pilots simply gad about
the country ejecting when it suits them or their day is turning
unpleasant.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com