Defence

By Craig Hoyle at RAF Fairford

This year’s RIAT show is playing host to a unique debutant in the competitive field of inflight refuelling, with Omega Air’s first modified McDonnell Douglas DC-10 multipoint tanker-transport making its big stage debut ahead of a static appearance at next week’s Farnborough air show.

Recently modified with Cobham 900E-series wing hose and drogue pods in Bournemouth, the aircraft arrived at Fairford on Friday, having conducting four previous flights to test for hose behaviour and flutter.

Omega Air acquired 20 secondhand DC-10s from JAL and hopes to secure a deal to provide power-by-the-hour tanker services to the US Navy – and potentially to the US Air Force – using the aircraft. The modified DC-10 on display could be used to provide tanker services from September, with a second now in modification to also be equipped with a boom for test flights from early 2007.

The USN currently leases services from Omega Air using one Boeing 707-based tanker, with the platform last year amassing 1,500 flight hours and providing a dispatch reliability rate of 99.6%, the company says. A second aircraft is now being modified, with another four ex-Italian air force 707 tankers to potentially be adapted.