The First of Sixty at Forty-One

 

On this day in 1980, the first McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender made its first flight from Long Beach, California. Based on the DC-10-30CF commercial transport, this aerial tanker can carry 356,000 pounds of fuel. Using a “flying boom” to refuel Air Force aircraft in flight, it also is equipped with a “hose and drogue” system to refuel U.S. Navy and Marine airplanes. Both systems can be used simultaneously. The tanker can also carry cargo pallets or a combination of personnel and cargo. Sixty KC-10s were built for the U.S. Air Force and two similar KDC-10s for the Netherlands. Forty-One years later, that first KC-10A 79-0433, above, is still in service.