By Craig Hoyle at Farnborough air show
Omega Air's first modified McDonnell Douglas KDC-10 multipoint tanker-transport (MPTT) conversion was on static display at the show, just weeks after completing an in-flight refuelling upgrade at Cobham's Bournemouth facility in the UK.
The aircraft arrived at Farnborough after completing its sixth post-modification flight, and after participating in last weekend's Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, which included a fly-past with its refuelling hoses extended. The aircraft has been equipped with Cobham 900E-series wing hose-and-drogue pods and a new operator station in the cockpit for the MPTT role. The modified DC-10's first four flights were used to assess hose behaviour and flutter characteristics, the company says. The KDC-10 could be configured to carry up to 147,000kg (324,000lb) of fuel, it adds.
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| The KDC-10 performed a fly-past at RIAT before coming to Farnborough |
Omega Air acquired 20 secondhand DC-10s from Japan Airlines and hopes to secure a deal to provide the US Navy with "power-by-the-hour" tanker services using the type from as early as September. The aircraft will soon be deployed to NAS Patuxent River in Maryland for continued flight testing. A second KDC-10 now in modification will be equipped with a refuelling boom and centreline hose and drogue and offered to meet a potential US Air Force requirement after undergoing flight test from early 2007. Another five ex-JAL aircraft are flying freight operations under lease agreements.
The USN now leases services from Omega Air using one Boeing 707-based tanker, with the aircraft last year amassing 1,500 flight hours and providing a dispatch reliability rate of 99.6%, the company says. A second 707 is being modified, with another four ex-Italian air force tankers to potentially be adapted.
Omega says it is talking to a number of additional nations that have shown interest in acquiring an in-flight refuelling capability, including Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. The company says it could also provide the UK with an interim refuelling service until the availability of its Airbus A330-200-based Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft.
Source: Flight International