Refueling
Mid-Air Refueling
If you're on a long mission, chances are that you'll need to refuel at least on the return leg of your flight, and maybe even on the outbound leg. By locating and radioing a tanker, you can approach it and link up in mid-air to replenish your fuel supply.
Tanker aircraft are positioned along your flight path for Refuelling. While refueling is never "a snap" It's fairly easy in F-18 compared to other sims, one huge difference is the probe is mounted on your nose so you can see what you're doing. Be forewarned, however, that good Refuelling hookups in mid-air take a lot of practice. Also, at higher difficulty levels, the allowable margin of error decreases.
As a consequence, you can use the game's Auto Refuel option to automatically refuel.
If you enjoy a challenge, go for the mid-air Refuelling option. Follow these steps:
1. Display the MDI HSI page, if it s not displayed, and select TCN.
2. Locate a tanker to get its bearing. You can locate tankers in one of two ways:
- From the UFC, scroll through the list of TACAN stations until you locate a TANKER description in the list. When selected, the TCN signal is locked in.
- Activate communications to call up a menu of commands for the AWACS. If available, select REQUEST CLOSEST TANKER. The AWACS transmits the bearing and distance of the closest tanker, if any in the air.
3. Once you have the tanker's bearing information, adjust your heading to fly towards the tanker. You can also activate TCN steering and let the autopilot guide you to the tanker. Be sure to deactivate the autopilot when you're within 2 nm from tanker.
4. When you're within 5 nm or so, activate communications and send a TANKER REQUEST message. The tanker acknowledges your request and changes its holding pattern to match your current heading, it will relay its new bearing, current speed, and Refuelling altitude in thousands of feet. For example, "Angels 10" means 10,000 feet.
5. Once you're about 2 nm from the tanker, toggle your radar to SILENT. The radar won't transmit and existing data on the display is not updated, extend the Refuelling probe from the right nose of the aircraft. 
6. 1 nm from tanker adjust your altitude and heading as necessary to approach the tanker's position. Remember to fly 10-15 ft lower than tanker. your closer rate should be 10 kts. The TCN display on the UFC provides up-to-date bearing information.
7. Approach the rear of the tanker. The nose of your aircraft should lined up whit the base of tanker's left wing slightly left from center of its fuselage. Your altitude should be 10-15 feet lower than that of the tanker and closer rate should be 3-5 kts. 
8. Continue your current flight path to connect whit tanker. Once the boom connects whit your aircraft, follow the tanker flight path and match your airspeed whit tanker's. Once you are in correct position, the tanker will broadcast a "Stabilize" message. At this point, your altitude and speed should remain constant. Don't change of the flight controls.
9. When you receive a "Refuelling success " message and your fuel indicator reads full. Decrease your airspeed to disconnect from the drogue and retract the Refuelling probe.
Superhornet as tanker
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