KC-135 refueling tanker arrives at Fairchild Air Force Base

The first of 12 KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft arrived at Fairchild Air Force Base on Wednesday, ahead of the reactivation of the historic 97th Air Refueling Squadron.

Section:Gallery

Wed., Oct. 16, 2019

Old friends Colonel Chris Holland, left, of the 916th Air Refueling Wing, and Colonel Russ Davis, right, of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, catch up on the flightline next to a KC135 air refueling tanker that Holland helped deliver Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. When all the planes are at Fairchild, the base will be the biggest single tanker base in the U.S. Air Force. The 916th ARW will be getting the new KC46 air tanker when they are ready for deployment. Holland is the Operations Group Commander of the 916th ARW and Davis holds the same title with the 92nd ARW. Holland and Davis have known each other for about 10 years after serving together overseas.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A KC135 air refueling tanker taxis to the ramp after landing Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. When all the planes are at Fairchild, the base will be the biggest single tanker base in the U.S. Air Force. The 916th ARW, in turn, will be getting the new KC46 air tanker when they are ready for deployment.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A KC135 air tanker, from the 916th Air Refueling Wing, settles onto the runway Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. When all the planes are at Fairchild, the base will be the biggest single tanker base in the U.S. Air Force. The 916th ARW, in turn, will be getting the new KC46 air tankers when they are ready for deployment.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Old friends Colonel Chris Holland, left, of the 916th Air Refueling Wing, and Colonel Russ Davis, right, of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, catch up on the flightline next to a KC135 air refueling tanker that Holland helped deliver Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. When all the planes are at Fairchild, the base will be the biggest single tanker base in the U.S. Air Force. The 916th ARW will be getting the new KC46 air tanker when they are ready for deployment. Holland is the Operations Group Commander of the 916th ARW and Davis holds the same title with the 92nd ARW. Holland and Davis have known each other for about 10 years after serving together overseas.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A KC135 air tanker, right, is shown on final approach Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base while a helicopter performs maneuvers at low altitude. The plane, from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, is being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, and is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. When all the planes are at Fairchild, the base will be the biggest single tanker base in the U.S. Air Force. The 916th ARW will be getting the new KC46 air tanker when they are ready for deployment.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A KC135 air tanker taxis on the ramp after landing Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. When all the planes are at Fairchild, the base will be the biggest single tanker base in the U.S. Air Force. The 916th ARW will be getting the new KC46 air tanker when they are ready for deployment.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A KC135 shuts down its engines after landing Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
A KC135 air tanker carries the legend “First In Flight” on its tail, shown after it landed Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Fairchild Air Force Base. The plane, being transferred from the 916th Air Refueling Wing to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, is the first of 12 planes coming to the base near Spokane to become part of a newly reactivated squadron. It was previously stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, not far from Kittyhawk, where the Wright Brothers made the first sustained powered flight in 1903.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo