Page 19 - Feb 20 TNT

by Grant Boyd
13:00 Southern Missouri (25,000 Feet)
As he intently scans the horizon and cloud layer thousands of feet below his small window, the boom operator sees a black, spaceship-looking figure fast approaching. If his search methods were not so deliberate and perceptive, the incoming object could have easily been overlooked. Seconds later, the unmistakable outline of a B-2 Stealth Bomber comes into full focus.
While a jaw-dropping sight for a civilian private pilot along for the ride, this is a regular day for the boom operators, or “booms,” of the Air National Guard’s 190th Aerial Refueling Wing based out of Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas.
February 2020 / TWIN & TURBINE • 17