The Extender is based on the civilian DC-10 commercial aircraft and has been in service with the U.S. Air Force since 1981. Twenty KC-10s were modified to add wing-mounted pods further enhancing ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Captain RK Smithley, a pilot flying McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebody airliners converted into tanker planes for a New Mexico-based company ...