More Information
Passing
Gas:
The
History
of
Inflight
Refueling
by
Major
Vernon
B.
Byrd,
Jr.
History
and
stories
about
in-flight
fueling
in
peaceful
and
combat
situations.
About this book
Passing Gas, The History of Inflight Refueling, documents the development of in-flight refueling from its inception some 80 years ago, when a wing-walker with a five-gallon container of fuel strapped on his back, descended from the wing of one aircraft to the wing of another.
Today, giant KC-10 extender aircrafts have a capability to transfer hundreds of thousands of pounds of fuel to any aircraft equipped with either a probe or a receptacle.
The first section of the book is the actual history of in-flight refueling. The second section is a collection of true, first-hand stories of aircrafts being “saved” through the actions of the tanker crews, and the men who have flown the large varieties of air refueling tanker aircrafts.
About the author
Vernon (“Bud”) Byrd is a retired Air Force senior navigator. He entered the Air Force in 1951 and eventually served as crew chief and maintenance dock chief for Republic F84G, F and North American F86-D aircraft.
In 1959 he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He then attended navigator training school where he and another instructor rewrote Air Force Manual 51-40, Radar Navigation.
In 1965 he was transferred to Strategic Air Command. After two years in the field, he was transferred to Castle Air Force Base where he taught at the KC-135 Combat Crew Training School.
He retired from the Air Force in 1972 and established residence in Chico, California, with his wife Sylvia.
