Well, Tuesday morning, we all got up before the sun to get ready. I got dressed then packed a lunch bag and my little black bag with magazines and a book. We drove to the base and parked outside Flight Line Management Building. Then we sat and stood around for about an hour. Finally, it was time to walk out on the tarmac to the plane.
After we found our seats, one of the flight crew walked back to see that we were all buckled and finding everything alright. He stood beside this old-looking piece of equipment and said, just barely loud enough for us to hear, "I hope this thing doesn't blow up again." We all just laughed it off. Military scare-tactics. It was a funny joke just for all the maintainers on board.
That scary piece of equipment(just an APU).Take off was a little different than I'm used to. We were sitting in net-seats along the sides of the plane. Our seat-belts had hooks instead of buckles. Because we were not facing forward, we had to hang on to something so we wouldn't slide off the seat. Our pre-flight safety talk was a little different as well. We had manual oxygen masks(we were informed that they can suffocate you if you don't get them on right), the life vest was the same, but the exits were not. Yes there was a door, but it had a sign above it that said, "emergency safety rope". We were told to make sure that the rope was secure before we jumped. We were all hoping we wouldn't have to jump.
After we got in the air and leveled off, we were allowed to get up and look around. I took a look into the cockpit to see the pilots and the controls. Then we all started heading to the back of the plane. It was refueling time. I stood on the deck and watched as an F-15 flew up and got refueled. I finally got my turn in the hole. You have to take two steps down then lay down on a cushion to see out the windows. I got to take pictures of the jet refueling. It was so totaly cool!
After my turn was done, I wandered out to find something else to take pictures of. I stopped by one of the windows, and happened to see one of the refueled jets flying on our wing. That made for a great picture. I got a picture of that one, and of the one that flew by our other wing. Seeing jets get refueled was the whole point of the trip.
I am very greatful that I got to go on that flight. I had a totaly awesome experience that very few civilians ever get.
