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Meet the aircraft
The KC-10 adapted the DC-10 wide-body trijet for military tanker work. It retained the broad fuselage and tail-mounted centre engine while adding refuelling equipment and military systems. US Air Force service ran from 1981 to 2024.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗One night over Iraq stays with a tanker pilot
Johnson described the tanker as a lifeline for fighter crews running short of fuel far from safety. His appreciation also carried a direct memory of danger: during a 2004 mission over Iraq, his KC-10 was fired upon while refuelling F-16s. He remembered increasing speed to get away from the area. It was, he said, the first and only time he had been shot at.
National Air and Space Museum interview · June 2025. Former KC-10 pilot recalling a 2004 mission; the incident is his attributed recollection.
National Air and Space Museum · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Gung Ho Vids · 5 min ·
KC-10 Extender Inflight Cockpit Video
KC-10 cockpit footage during a US Air Force aerial-refuelling mission.
Real aircraft · McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
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Meet McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
The KC-10 adapted the DC-10 wide-body trijet for military tanker work. It retained the broad fuselage and tail-mounted centre engine while adding refuelling equipment and military systems. US Air Force service ran from 1981 to 2024.
The Extender combined fuel transfer with passenger and cargo transport. The simulator documentation describes which tanker and cargo functions are modelled.
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
McDonnell Douglas → · Explore the family →
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
Wikipedia contributors · McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender ↗Laminar Research · X-Plane 11 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Excalibur closes the U.S. Air Force chapter
Roza’s contemporary report records the final U.S. Air Force KC-10 flight on 26 September 2024, departing Travis for retirement in Arizona. The farewell centred on Excalibur, 79-1948, and the people who had operated and maintained the fleet.
Air & Space Forces Magazine · A Very Special Airplane: Air Force Bids Farewell to the KC-10 ↗Operator-specific retirement; other tanker operators are outside this claim
Development milestones
First flight: 12 July 1980 ( 1980-07-12 )
Developed from: McDonnell Douglas DC-10
Wikipedia contributors · McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender ↗McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1371419410
Pilot accounts
One night over Iraq stays with a tanker pilot
Johnson described the tanker as a lifeline for fighter crews running short of fuel far from safety. His appreciation also carried a direct memory of danger: during a 2004 mission over Iraq, his KC-10 was fired upon while refuelling F-16s. He remembered increasing speed to get away from the area.
It was, he said, the first and only time he had been shot at. Recalling the episode years later, he spoke warmly of the KC-10’s service while also acknowledging the newer technology in its replacement.
National Air and Space Museum interview · June 2025. Former KC-10 pilot recalling a 2004 mission; the incident is his attributed recollection.
Read the full account · National Air and Space Museum ↗A final ferry flight belongs to both pilot and aircraft
Among Pillion’s favourite KC-10 memories was refuelling a B-2 near Guam at night, the bomber’s first fuel stop after its long journey from Whiteman. Seeing the aircraft in that setting left him wondering about the mission behind it. The memory captures the unusual encounters that could become part of a tanker crew’s working life.
His final military flight coincided with the retirement ferry of 86-0036. Pillion found himself thinking about the aircraft’s ending as much as his own departure from military flying. The crew had volunteered for the trip, giving the farewell a shared significance. His interview records that moment in 2020 without treating his hopes for the fleet’s future as events that later occurred.
Photorecon interview · September 2020. KC-10 pilot since 1989; final military flight in retiring aircraft 86-0036. Earlier rescue-helicopter experience is separate.
Read the full account · Photorecon ↗A familiar tanker’s farewell brings generations together
Baer’s affection for the KC-10 came from thousands of hours and the confidence he had developed in its reliability. He recalled meeting fighters over Afghanistan with little fuel remaining and helping them return to their missions. In his account, the aircraft’s value was inseparable from the crews depending on it.
For the Air Force farewell, restoring Excalibur’s historic knight-and-dragon nose art became another way of honouring that service. Old photographs helped the team recover the design before obtaining approval to paint it. Baer also valued the gathering of former and current crew members, whose different generations shared the same attachment. The last flight marked the end of a particular operator’s service, not all KC-10-derived flying worldwide.
Air & Space Forces Magazine · September 2024. KC-10 pilot and 9th Air Refueling Squadron commander discussing the final U.S. Air Force flight of Excalibur, 79-1948.
Read the full account · Air & Space Forces Magazine ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
X-Plane 11McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
Laminar Research · Released
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
Laminar Research · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 181 ft 7 in (55.35 m) |
| Wingspan | 165 ft 4.5 in (50.406 m) |
| Height | 58 ft 1 in (17.70 m) |
| Wing area | 3,958 sq ft (367.7 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 241,027 lb (109,328 kg) |
| Gross weight | 590,000 lb (267,619 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 590,000 lb (267,619 kg) |
| Powerplant | 3 × General Electric F103 (GE CF6-50C2) turbofan engines, 52,500 lbf (234 kN) thrust each |
| Maximum speed | 538 mph (866 km/h, 468 kn) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.89 |
| Range | 4,400 mi (7,100 km, 3,800 nmi) with a maximum passenger capacity; 3,800 nmi (7,038 km; 4,373 mi) with maximum cargo capacity. |
| Service ceiling | 42,000 ft (13,000 m) |
| Rate of climb | 6,870 ft/min (34.9 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
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Pilot account
One night over Iraq stays with a tanker pilotNational Air and Space Museum interview · June 2025. Former KC-10 pilot recalling a 2004 mission; the incident is his attributed recollection.
Johnson described the tanker as a lifeline for fighter crews running short of fuel far from safety. His appreciation also carried a direct memory of danger: during a 2004 mission over Iraq, his KC-10 was fired upon while refuelling F-16s. He remembered increasing speed to get away from the area. It was, he said, the first and only time he had been shot at. Recalling the episode years later, he spoke warmly of the KC-10’s service while also acknowledging the newer technology in its replacement.
Jay Johnson
National Air and Space Museum · Read the source ↗A final ferry flight belongs to both pilot and aircraftPhotorecon interview · September 2020. KC-10 pilot since 1989; final military flight in retiring aircraft 86-0036. Earlier rescue-helicopter experience is separate.
Among Pillion’s favourite KC-10 memories was refuelling a B-2 near Guam at night, the bomber’s first fuel stop after its long journey from Whiteman. Seeing the aircraft in that setting left him wondering about the mission behind it. The memory captures the unusual encounters that could become part of a tanker crew’s working life. His final military flight coincided with the retirement ferry of 86-0036.
Mike Pillion
Photorecon · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
X-Plane 11 Desktop ManualLaminar Research X-Plane aircraft and avionics manualsLaminar ResearchAircraft background
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 ExtenderWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1371419410 · retrieved 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender: The selected powered-control law supplies transport yoke resistance.
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