Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit

With hundreds of hook-ups from the venerable KC-135 in both the F-4 (pictured here while in the 36th Fighter Squadron circa June ‘81) or later in the F-15C, I can attest to the accuracy of Sluggo’s accounts. The ability of such disciplined airmen to not only plan but coordinate and execute the mission is why U.S. air power is second to none.If you’re an avid fan of “there I was” stories, grab it and enjoy. You won’t be sorry. Z

I may be a bit biased, because I'm in the book. Chapter 1, page 12. I'm "265". Mark refueled our four-ship of F-4G Wild Weasels as we headed into Iraqi airspace on the first night of Desert Storm.If character matters (and it does), Mark (the author) has it in spades. Our #4 bird hadn't topped off yet when we hit the end of the air refueling track and our flight lead asked if Mark and his crew could drag us farther north so that we could make our "fence" (hostile border crossing) time with full fuel loads. He had every right to say "no" but he and his crew did what was necessary, putting themselves at risk so we could press on to Baghdad with enough go-juice to do our jobs.Tanker Pilot is a very well written trip through the world of USAF tanker operations. It highlights the reality that almost nothing we do in today's manned military flight ops world happens without tanker support AND that the old adage "Flexibility is the key to air power" rings true.Mark's USAF career was certainly an exceptional one - and this book hits the highlights PLUS dives down into some really interesting stuff. the Foreword by Rush Limbaugh is icing on the cake.Highly recommend for current/former aircrew or anyone else with an interest in the behind-the-scenes workings of military flight ops.

There is so much information about how warplanes are fueled you will gain new respect for all service personnel.

This book was interesting from beginning to end...with many times of no CAN"T-STOP reading...must know what happened. A lot of detail into air operations, and Mark Hasara has a way to tell the details with a quick drumbeat. There is a lot of what is going on in his brain, how he calculated things and explained clearly. Then the inter-service operations between USAF and US NAVY (the Navy were trained to fly into the BASKET, USAF planes, got the refueling probe flown into their receptacle) and then there were the international incidents, some hilarious, others wow...glad you made it back home in one piece. A lot of insight into the operations going on. I know planes pretty well, having been in commercial aviation three decades. Yes, I looked for flaws, never found one. No typo's either. Just a well written book about what it is like to be a tanker pilot, and then the operational side of it. WITH LOTS OF GREAT PICTURES! I recently made friends on social media with an F-14 Rio from that book, "Hey Joe"...helluva guy.

Terrific read describing in wonderful detail an absolutely vital aspect of our ability to project power. A famous quote says: "amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics." This describes the details of vital logistics; how gas gets to thirsty, gas guzzling aircraft operating in dangerous areas as well as how they get there in the first place. Recall landing in Frankfurt one day during the height of our operations in the Mideast; lost track of the number of tankers lined up on the opposite side of the airstrip! Every time you read of a B2 strike somewhere in the world think of the tankers and dedicated crews who unpublicized are absolutely essential to make this happen. In this book you feel you are riding along with Mark as he explains exactly what is going on and the reasons. Descriptions of the planning necessary is especially illuminating. Accompanying photos are magnificent! Only complaint is there are not many more!

As a retired BUFF and HERKY pilot, I must admit I had some reservations about buying this book. I mean, how interesting can a tanker pilots life be? You take off, the customer finds YOU, you pass gas and return safely in time for the floor show at the club, right? But as I got into the book I began to develop a new appreciation for the work these guys did and I also appreciated the return of memories from a time when life was very uncertain but interesting at the same time. I made several trans Pacific flights in the back of the tankers, luxuriating in the comforts of those red webbed seats, with a wall of plywood in my face, put there to protect the J47 or whatever we were hauling at the time. Those were the days...thanks for bringing them back.

As a former KC-10 Flight Engineer and Desert Storm planner and participant I purchased this book just as an addition to my already somewhat large military book collection...Boy was I surprised as I thumbed thru the photo section, read the complimentary remarks made by Rush Limbaugh, and then thumbed thru the table of contents, I was hooked...I put down the fantastic book I was reading and started on Tanker Pilot. The Desert Storm pieces were 110% spot on, and the authors description of the Desert Storm “hit night” mass tanker crew briefing, put me on the edge of my reading chair as I reflected on my feelings during that brief...Thank You LtCol Hasara for the entire book, it was a fabulous read, the pictures were fantastic, and it now has a special place in my military book collection shelf. I strongly recommend this book...!!!

I'm an avid listener and supporter of The Fighter Pilot Podcast and caught up with the Big Wing Tanker episode from June 2020 whilst out on a Covid Lockdown Lunchtime walk.Mark Hasara, the author was the featured guest on the show and after listening for the 45 minutes or so, found the whole flight refuelling subject much more interesting than I had expected.Mark's book was mentioned later in the episode and I knew there and then that I needed to source it and was lucky enough to find it on Amazon in the UK.Mark enjoyed a very long career in the USAF and has probably forgotten more than I could ever learn about his experiences.The book is very well written and is in my opinion a great window on the flight refuelling aircraft, crew, procedures and day to day challenges that most of us would never know about.The fast jets will always catch the attention far greater than any large airliner looking aircraft that goes around 'Topping Up' the 'Sexy Top Gun' pilots as they are imagined by the global public but this couldn't be further from the truth.Military pilots running on fumes in the dead of night flying above the ocean know that a tanker will be there when required and this is testament to Mark Hasara, the people before him and the next generation that have taken over, with no better sight than fuel ready on the end of a drogue or boom.Planning flight refuelling in a war zone is akin to attempting 20 Rubik Cubes, blindfolded.Actually taking part in an ongoing mission with literally 100's of hours spent by aircrew supporting combat air patrols and planned ground strikes is a number crunching exercise up there with the best of them.During Iraqi Freedom, hundreds of millions of pounds of fuel were consumed with calculations taking out the guesswork to enable U.S & Allied aircraft to go about their task with Mark Hasara playing a major part with his very wide circle of colleagues to make it happen.This book puts you right in the action, both in the cockpit (With some great images) and at the air base at the mission planning stages.Mark has cleverly added a section to crossover from the military to the commercial world and how his experiences can be mirrored and put to use.The respect that Mark Hasara the author enjoys is clear to see, both in his followers and his former colleagues and allies.Thank you Mark for a great book, I now have time to catch up on your own Lessons From The Cockpit Podcast.

Finally, a title that profiles one of the most vital aspects of combat; aerial refueling. The author provides amazing insight that has never before been portrayed on the complex planning required to project airpower. As a bonus, his accounts of viewing live streaming video while working in the Saudi Arabia-based Combined Air Operations Centre of a infamous firefight and a 2002 strike on what was thought to be Osama bin Laden via Predator unmanned aerial vehicles parked over Afghanistan are mesmerizing. I’ve read it twice already and I’ll be doing so a third time; it’s a must read!My only criticism is that this is a history book – one that should make the Chief of Staff of the Air Force Professional Reading List – and as such should have an index and a glossary of terms wouldn’t hurt either. Nonetheless, it’s absolutely worth purchasing.

Tanker Pilot offers a rare glimpse into the unique and indispensable world of aerial refueling. I love how the book is structured, you can pick it up and just read any chapter, they are short and to the point yet still detailed and insightful, pulling you right into every mission described. Each chapter concludes neatly with a lesson learned. Even though the KC-135 is no fighter jet, rest assured there is no shortage of hairraising stories, which only further amplify the respect you gotta have for the skills, achievements and influence on aerial operations of these brave air crews commited to this specific section of military aviation. Tanker Pilot is also well suited for repeated reading.By the way, the author is also an excellent aerial photographer, and I personally wouldn't have minded a few more pages of photos.

Hasara is a great storyteller live. He assumes the reader knows what all the call signs and acronyms mean. The book needs a glossary.