Tanker’s first flight over top of the world marks new era in efficiency
Lt. Col. Thorne Tibbitts marks the point on a map June 21, 2011, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., showing the proximity to the North Pole in the Arctic Circle that his KC-135 Stratotanker crew was preparing to fly (KC-135 route is highlighted in yellow). Colonel Tibbitts is an Air National Guardsman and commander of the 141st Aircraft Maintenance Generation Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base. The KC-135 flew over the North Pole for the first time June 21 to 22, 2011, as part of an “iron swap” mission along a new, more efficient route from Moses Lake, Wash., to the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Capt. Kathleen Ferrero)