Tanker rejoin, precontact, contact, onload and breakaway. Phase 2 qualification
material — read this before your first AR sortie with an IP.
⛽
What this qualification covers
Air refueling is a Phase 2 event. You'll rejoin on a tanker, stabilize in
precontact, take a simulated onload, and separate with a controlled breakaway.
The B-1B takes fuel through a receptacle on the upper fuselage just aft of the
radome, so the boom comes in over your canopy — you fly the aircraft, the boom
operator flies the boom.
Prerequisite: Instrument Qualification complete
Tanker: KC-135 Stratotanker or KC-10 Extender
Grading standard: two or fewer inadvertent disconnects
Awards: AR QUAL certification toward B-1B CMR
📍
The four positions
Observation
Left wing of the tanker, stepped down. Where you hold before being cleared in.
Precontact
50 ft directly aft of the boom, matched speed. Stabilize here before anything else.
Contact
Boom latched into the receptacle. Hold position using the director lights.
Breakaway
Emergency separation. Idle, descend, and clear aft — no exceptions, no discussion.
✅
Before you launch
Confirm the tanker is established. It must be in its orbit before you launch. Rejoining on a tanker still climbing to the track is the single most common cause of a failed first attempt.
Set the AR track and altitude. Load the anchor point into the FMS as a waypoint so you have steering to it.
Brief the rejoin type. Point parallel, en route, or overtake — agree it with your IP before pushback, not on frequency.
Brief breakaway triggers. Everyone says the word "breakaway" the same way and means the same thing.
Check your fuel state. Know your onload requirement and your bingo before you need them.
Sim note: the AI tanker holds a rigid track and will not adjust for
you. Everything you're about to do is your correction, not a negotiation.
🛠
Aircraft configuration
Wings: 15° sweep — the standard AR setting on the B-1B
Autopilot: off before precontact. Hand-fly from there in.
Autothrottle: off. You need direct throttle authority for closure control.
Slats/flaps: up
Receptacle: open and confirm the ready indication before calling precontact
Exterior lights: as briefed for the time of day
▶
Rejoin through contact
Establish contact with the tanker. Call your position, altitude and fuel requirement.
Close from astern. Approach 1,000 ft below the tanker's altitude until you're inside 1 NM, then begin the climb to join.
Control your overtake. No more than 30 knots closure at 1 NM. Bleed it to roughly 10 knots by half a mile. Overtake is the thing that ends most first attempts.
Move to observation. Left wing, stepped down, matched airspeed. Take a breath here.
Request precontact. Move directly astern of the boom, 50 ft back, and stabilize. You must be steady before you call ready.
Call ready. Wait for the boom operator's clearance. Do not advance without it.
Close to contact. Small throttle inputs — one adjustment, wait, assess, then adjust again. Chasing the boom is what causes disconnects.
Hold contact. Fly the director lights, not the boom. Keep the tanker's wing in the same place in your windscreen.
The one habit that fixes everything: stabilize before you correct.
Make one input, let the aircraft settle, then decide whether you still need the
second one. You usually don't.
⛽
Taking fuel
Confirm transfer. Watch the fuel totalizer climb. If it isn't moving, you aren't latched — call it.
Monitor your CG. The B-1B shifts noticeably as the tanks fill. Expect to re-trim through the onload.
Hold position. Same references, same small inputs. The aircraft gets heavier and less responsive as you fill.
Watch the limits. Drifting outside the boom envelope triggers an automatic disconnect.
Call complete. When you reach your onload, tell the boom operator.
↘
Normal separation
Disconnect. Boom operator releases, or you use the disconnect switch.
Back straight out. Reduce power slightly and drift aft — do not turn while under the tanker.
Descend clear. Once well aft, descend 500 ft and clear to one side.
Close the receptacle and reconfigure for the next phase of the mission.
Breakaway: called by anyone, any time, for closure you can't control,
an unsafe boom position, or an aircraft emergency. Throttles to idle, descend
immediately, separate straight aft. You do not discuss a breakaway while it's
happening — you execute it and talk afterwards.