KC 135 Gate Guard Move

For more aviation photos of other airshows check out Midwest Aviation Photography at http://rcavi8tor.zenfolio.com/. For airshow articles click on: https://sites.google.com/site/midwest... A 1957 E Model KC 135 Refueling Tanker was retired from the Air National Guard and moved into position as a Gate Guard by the main gate at Forbes Field Topeka, KS on August 22, 2012. The move took over 4 hours. It was towed off the South end of the airport to an E/W side road from where it was moved to Hwy 75 North to its position by the main gate, a total of approximaely a mile and a half. The poping sound you hear as it crosses a ditch is 4x4 timbers cracking. The KC 135 weighs 100,000 pounds after salvabeble items were removed. The timbers were placed in the ditch to act as a bridge so the KC 135 could be towed across. The fog horn sound you hear as it crosses the ditch is the brakes. Travel speed was a slow walk. There were a couple of pinch points along the way but the plane was moved through with only inches to spair finally arriving at its destination just before dark.