F-16 hot pitting
Staff Sgt. Jonathan Knight, 96th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, marshals an F-16 to a stop prior to a hot pit refueling session Dec. 14 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The 96th Test Wing established the quarterly hot pit refueling capability six months ago. Hot pitting is when an aircraft pilot flies a sortie, returns, refuels with engines running, then takes off again for another mission. This new enhancement provides the aircrew more sorties and the maintainers more time to work on the aircraft. Although hot pitting is new for the test wing, it is a common occurrence for operational wings. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)