Actually, the accomodations on the KC-135 weren't too bad. The seats were no more uncomfortable than any other airline seat, with better spacing, and they reclined farther than usual. Eight of them were even set around a couple of wooden tables, if we'd had a deck of cards...
Of course, except for 4 of the table-side seats, all of them faced the tail of the plane. Safer in the event of a crash, I'm told.
No, the real horror was the climate control, or lack thereof. The cockpit was always cold, and the tail always hot, but the line between them moved back and forth a lot. We generally both roasted and froze on any given leg. The nadir was on the runway at Edwards, getting ready to fly to Omaha. It was 102 degrees outside, and one of our engines was trying to overheat. They fiddled with it for about 40 minutes before finally getting it under control and taking off -- and in the meantime the interior temperature of the cargo area (i.e. us) hit about 125 degrees. Everyone was utterly drenched in sweat, just in time to hit the chill cycle...
Of course, except for 4 of the table-side seats, all of them faced the tail of the plane. Safer in the event of a crash, I'm told.
No, the real horror was the climate control, or lack thereof. The cockpit was always cold, and the tail always hot, but the line between them moved back and forth a lot. We generally both roasted and froze on any given leg. The nadir was on the runway at Edwards, getting ready to fly to Omaha. It was 102 degrees outside, and one of our engines was trying to overheat. They fiddled with it for about 40 minutes before finally getting it under control and taking off -- and in the meantime the interior temperature of the cargo area (i.e. us) hit about 125 degrees. Everyone was utterly drenched in sweat, just in time to hit the chill cycle...
But yeah -- I wouldn't trade it.
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