434th Air Refueling Wing Teaching Kids To Fly A KC-135? Well, Sorta : )
Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 09:54PM 
434th ARW's KC-135 flight deck simulator at the Kokomo, Indiana airshow on Saturday
I made the trip just over an hour southwest of my home to Kokomo Indiana on Saturday to check out the Kokomo Wings and Wheels car and air show, but I admit my primary motivation was to finally get to go flying with Billy Werth in his Pitts S2C. Billy was there to perform in the airshow and it looked like it was gonna work out great for us to go flying after the show was over. As it turned out, I didn't get that flight in after all due to circumstances out of my control... but I did have a really nice time in the great weather surrounded by the sights and sounds of a range of warbirds and aerobatic aircraft. It was a great day!
In addition to the aircraft putting on aerial demonstrations, there were several slick static displays that included an Army Blackhawk that had flown in, a go-cart and minivan powered by turbine engines (more on those before long!) and the KC-135 flight deck simulator seen in these pictures. The KC-135 cockpit was part of a promotional project from the 434th Air Refueling Wing that operates out of Grissom Air Reserve Base which is just about 10 miles north of Kokomo. These are the same fine folks that let me go along on a trip to refuel a B-52 back in July of 2010 (check out my 56 pic post of that ride!) - and Grissom was one of just two Air Force Bases that operated the amazing B-58 Hustler thru the 1960's.
Another fresh flight crew getting ready to step into the KC-135 front office
There was a small crowd around that KC-135 cockpit all day with lots of kids getting the chance to sit in the seats and put their hands on the control yoke. And the representatives of the Air Force Reserve that were interacting with the kids were doing a fantastic job of connecting with them and helping them to get a better understanding of what it takes to fly a Stratotanker. I was very impressed with the entire display.
Everyone that wasn't worn down by all the sunshine was really enjoying the display
I have nothing but praise for the people involved in the Air Force Reserve work done at the Grissom Air Reserve Base... great people doing a great job of serving the United States of America. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication! And that includes airshow pilot (and my friend) Billy Werth who is actually a KC-135 instructor pilot at Grissom!
One day these little guys just might be doing it for real. Great outreach by the 434 ARW!
Reader Comments (3)
Martt! This is an excellent post! We are so glad that you and the community enjoyed our flight deck! It's a great chance to get some hands-on experience with a truly awesome mission. And, as always, thanks so much for your support of the Air Force Reserve and the Airmen of the 434th ARW! You ROCK!
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