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 ...

While the KC-10’s primary mission is aerial refueling, it can accommodate 75 passengers and transport 170,000 pounds of cargo. The Extender is based on the civilian DC-10 commercial aircraft and ...