Kemble Air Day 2009 News Release
USAF TO STAR AT KEMBLE AIR SHOW
The United States Air Force is set to take part in the Kemble Air Show for the first time, adding an international dimension to the show.
A KC-135R Stratotanker air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft will be performing a flyby at the two-day event on 20th/21st June. Similar aircraft were maintained at Kemble in the mid 1980s, when the airfield was home to the USAF's Support Group Europe.
The KC-135 provides the core aerial refueling capability for the USAF and has excelled in this role for more than 50 years. This unique asset enhances the Air Force's capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power. Four turbofan engines power it to takeoffs at gross weights up to 322,500 pounds. Nearly all its fuel can be pumped through the flying boom, the aircraft's primary fuel transfer method. A cargo deck can hold a mixed load of passengers and cargo. The KC-135 can carry up to 200,000 pounds of fuel or 83,000 pounds of cargo.
"The 100th Air Refueling Wing from RAF Mildenhall is very pleased to be taking part in the Kemble Air Show for the first time with a flyover by one of our KC-135R air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft,” said Major Chad Erickson, an Instructor Pilot with the Wing. “It is one of the major events on the UK air show calendar and it is especially appropriate that we take part in it because the United States Air Force is a part of Kemble's long and proud history."
Kemble Air Show website.