Air Force celebrates 100 years of air refueling
AUSTIN (KXAN) – People in the Tarrytown neighborhood in west Austin were treated to the rare sight of two jets flying close together earlier this week.
It turns out it was part of a nationwide celebration.
According to the Department of Defense, the Air Force Air Force marked the 100-year anniversary of the first aerial refueling with flyovers across all 50 states.
The Pentagon said the goal was to honor "the aviators who pulled off the seemingly impossible in 1923 and celebrate the promise of current and future airmen."
It was on June 27, 1923 that Army Air Service 1st Lts. Virgil Hine and Frank W. Seifert passed gasoline from their aircraft through a gravity hose to another plane flying beneath it piloted by Capt. Lowell H. Smith and 1st Lt. John P. Richter, according to the DOD.
The Military Times reported that more 150 aircraft would take part in all 50 states in celebration of the milestone.