(WWJ) – Tuesday will mark 100 years since U.S. Army Air Service aviators first completed an aerial refueling, on a flight from Los Angeles to California.
To celebrate the anniversary, the Michigan Air National Guard will conduct flyovers of nine Michigan communities, completing a loop around the state in roughly two hours on Tuesday.
The event is part of the U.S. Air Force’s celebration of 100 years of aerial refueling, with aircraft doing similar flyovers all over the country Tuesday to mark the centennial.
Taking off from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, KC-135 Stratotankers will fly in formation with A-10 Thunderbolt IIs over the following locations Tuesday:
• Blue Water Bridge, Port Huron, approximately 10:20 a.m.
• Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and downtown Alpena, approximately 10:40 a.m.
• Mackinac Bridge and Mackinaw City, approximately 10:50 a.m.
• Sleeping Bear Dunes area near Maple City, approximately 11:15 a.m.
• Downtown Grand Rapids, approximately 11:45 a.m.
• Battle Creek Air National Guard Base and Battle Creek, approximately 11:55 a.m.
• The Michigan State Capitol and downtown Lansing, approximately 12:05 p.m.
• The Detroit River in Detroit, approximately 12:30 p.m.
• Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, approximately 12:35 p.m.
“Our Citizen-Airmen are proud to serve as Michigan’s Hometown Air Force. The support we receive from our community is second to none and this series of flyovers provides us an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to our neighbors, while also demonstrating an important part of the Air Force mission,” Brig. Gen. Rolf Mammen, 127th Wing commander, said in a release. “It also serves as a showcase of opportunities that exist in the Michigan Air National Guard for those interested in joining our ranks in service to state and nation.”
The Michigan KC-135s and A-10s are both based at Selfridge and operated by Airmen from the 127th Wing, which is made up of roughly 1,700 military and civilian personnel.
On June 27, 1923, 1st Lt. Virgil Hine and 1st Lt. Frank W. Seifert, flying a DH-4B, successfully passed gasoline through a hose to another DH-4B flying beneath it carrying Capt. Lowell H. Smith and 1st Lt. John P. Richter on a flight between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Air refueling capabilities today “deliver unrivaled rapid global reach for U.S. forces, allies and partners through the mobility air forces fleet of KC-46, KC-135 and KC-10 tankers,” officials said in a release. Aerial refueling also serves as a “force multiplier,” increasing the effectiveness of combat aircraft.
The 127th Wing’s 171st Air Refueling Squadron, which will be flying the KC-135s during Tuesday's demonstration, conducted its first air refueling flight in September 2007, when it first became equipped with KC135T Stratotanker aircraft.
Residents are encouraged to share pictures of Tuesday's flyovers to the 127th Wing’s Facebook page or on the unit’s Instagram page with the tag SANGBTanker100. Of those that share photos, 10 people will be randomly selected to receive a unit patch.
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