# Is mid air docking between two aircraft even possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042 "2014-03-06T20:21:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/1 "2014-03-06T20:21:26Z")
If two aircraft attempted to dock in mid air, I’m thinking the air flowing in slipstreams from one aircraft would disrupt the airflow to the wings of the other. For lots of reasons, it would be a very dangerous maneuver. However, could it be done using aircraft designed for the maneuver? I’m thinking the flight control software would have to be specially designed to compensate for the changing airflow as the two aircraft get close to each other, and you would need control surfaces that could adjust configuration rapidly as the aircraft near each other. I know there’s pilots and aerospace engineers on here who must be jumping to answer the question! This fictional scenario was shown in the movie “Executive Decision”, and Agents of Shield did this as well in a recent episode. Here’s a screenshot from the more recent episode for a visual aid. [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16656673/shielddocking.png](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16656673/shielddocking.png) ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/2 "2014-03-06T20:25:02Z")
Mid-air refueling is a fairly common practice. If you mean an actual hard docking rather than docking via a refueling boom, the concept of the [Parasite Aircraft](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_aircraft) has been attempted multiple times. Not terribly successfully, it turns out it’s easier to just refuel the planes and have them fly in formation rather than physically dock. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/3 "2014-03-06T20:25:54Z")
Mid air refueling “Air-force style” is sort of a example, along with a proposed blimp aircraft carrier. Not to mention spacecraft. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/4 "2014-03-06T20:28:09Z")
Does the [USS Macon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Macon_(ZRS-5)) count? If a zeppelin is an aircraft then it’s been done. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/5 "2014-03-06T20:34:09Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > If two aircraft attempted to dock in mid air, I’m thinking the air flowing in slipstreams from one aircraft would disrupt the airflow to the wings of the other. > > For lots of reasons, it would be a very dangerous maneuver. However, could it be done using aircraft designed for the maneuver? I’m thinking the flight control software would have to be specially designed to compensate for the changing airflow as the two aircraft get close to each other, and you would need control surfaces that could adjust configuration rapidly as the aircraft near each other. > > I know there’s pilots and aerospace engineers on here who must be jumping to answer the question! This fictional scenario was shown in the movie “Executive Decision”, and Agents of Shield did this as well in a recent episode. Here’s a screenshot from the more recent episode for a visual aid. > > [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16656673/shielddocking.png](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16656673/shielddocking.png) I’m sure you mean “docking” to mean a connection which permits transfer of passengers, crew, or cargo. Fuel would be a case of “cargo” and [docking transfer of fuel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_refueling) is routine in military aviation. There were experiments in [parasitic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FICON_project) [escort aircraft:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_XF-85_Goblin) a long-range bomber carrying its own escort fighter. In some versions of this, the crew of the fighter would be initally in the bomber and transfer to the fighter before being deployed from the mothership. Elements of this include docking the fighter with the bomber again after defensive operations were complete. It was difficult… sufficiently so that the programs quietly died because docking under manual control was possibly more dangerous to the bomber than just proceeding on the mission without escort to begin with. These experiments are nearly half a century ago. I don’t know if anyone has reconsidered the question. Certainly, I’m not aware of any operational need to drive the investigation. (I think that no one perceives this to be a solution to a problem they currently have.) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/6 "2014-03-06T20:41:58Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > These experiments are nearly half a century ago. I don’t know if anyone has reconsidered the question. Certainly, I’m not aware of any operational need to drive the investigation. (I think that no one perceives this to be a solution to a problem they currently have.) I’m pretty sure radar-guided and heat-seeking AAMs have filled the niche. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/7 "2014-03-06T20:55:31Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > Does the [USS Macon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Macon_(ZRS-5)) count? If a zeppelin is an aircraft then it’s been done. Beat me to it. Of course, even then it wasn’t very practical or easy. But it has been done, and pilots once docked could transfer between their aircraft and the zeppelin at-will. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/8 "2014-03-06T20:57:04Z")
[Surely this Vietnam episode with F-4’s counts.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardo's_Push) > [@](#): > > Aman lowered his tailhook and Pardo moved behind Aman until the tailhook was against Pardo’s windscreen. Pardo told Aman to shut down both of his J79 jet engines, as Aman was nearly out of fuel and the engines interfered with Pardo’s plan. The push worked, reducing the rate of descent considerably, but the tailhook slipped off the windscreen every 15 to 30 seconds, and Pardo would have to reposition his plane. Pardo also struggled with a fire in one of his own engines and eventually had to shut it down. In the remaining 10 minutes of flight time, Pardo used the one last engine to slow the descent of both planes. > > With Pardo’s plane running out of fuel after pushing Aman’s plane almost 88 miles, the planes reached Laotian airspace at an altitude of 6000 feet. This left them about two minutes of flying time. The two pilots and their backseaters ejected, evaded capture, and were picked up by rescue helicopters. But he got the idea [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robinson_Risner): > [@](#): > > On the return flight, Risner’s wingman, 1st Lt. Joseph Logan, was struck in his fuel tanks by anti-aircraft fire over Antung. In an effort to help him reach Kimpo, Risner attempted to push Logan’s aircraft by having him shut down his engine and inserting the nose of his own jet into the tailpipe of Logan’s, an unprecedented and untried maneuver. The object of the maneuver was to push Logan’s aircraft to the island of Cho Do off the North Korean coast, where the Air Force maintained a helicopter rescue detachment. Jet fuel and hydraulic fluid spewed out from the damaged Sabre onto Risner’s canopy, obscuring his vision, and turbulence kept separating the two jets. Risner was able to re-establish contact and guide the powerless plane out over the sea until fluids threatened to stall his own engine. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/9 "2014-03-06T21:12:08Z")
I can’t think of _why_ you would want to do this, but it seems that it would be possible to have planes connect mid-air by something similar to a refueling hose, and then send a very strong cable through the hose that would allow winching the planes together. Kind of like when a ship throws (or shoots) a light line to another ship, and the light line is connected to a heavier line that allows them to be pulled together. Obviously, you would need all kinds of special features on both planes. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/10 "2014-03-06T22:22:47Z")
Very briefly, yes. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/11 "2014-03-06T22:35:50Z")
also fictional in Air Rage. worst Ice-T ever. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/12 "2014-03-06T23:02:43Z")
In the golden age of barnstorming, some wing-walkers used to transfer from one plane to another, I seem to recall reading. Not hard docking, but transferring passengers from one plane to another is pretty common in movies (_Air Force One_, _Airport 1975_, etc.). Mostly they seem to rely on special effects. But at least one stuntman did it for real: Simon Crane for the 1993 movie _Cliffhanger_. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/13 "2014-03-06T23:41:37Z")
there’s no transfer of cargo, but this surely answers the OP’s question about turbulence: When the space shuttle is transported on top of a 747. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/14 "2014-03-07T00:06:15Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > there’s no transfer of cargo, but this surely answers the OP’s question about turbulence: When the space shuttle is transported on top of a 747. But the space shuttle is bolted down. It isn’t trying to fly at the _same time_, jet engines running and everything, as the other aircraft it is trying to hook itself to. This is what I’m talking about : when the two aircraft get very close to one another, the airflow over the wings of the smaller aircraft is going to be disrupted by the effects of the larger one. (and vice versa). This is going to either increase or reduce lift (I’m not an aerospace engineer) and this force will either crash them together or shove them apart. I’m guessing that if your control software knew this was about to happen, and it was configured to adjust huge control surfaces (big flaps and things to adjust the wing’s configuration) quickly you could get a stable, safe docking maneuver. (so long as all your active control systems work correctly) Either way, that makes docking harder than just flying and dropping a docking arm. This also isn’t the same thing as hooking up to a refueling boom from behind the aircraft and getting towed in. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/15 "2014-03-07T00:09:59Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Very briefly, yes. > [@bibliophage](#): > > Not hard docking, but transferring passengers from one plane to another is pretty common in movies… And in ATC lingo. It’s called a mid-air passenger exchange, usually followed by aluminum rain. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/16 "2014-03-07T00:29:24Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > But the space shuttle is bolted down. It isn’t trying to fly at the _same time_, jet engines running and everything, as the other aircraft it is trying to hook itself to. > > This is what I’m talking about : when the two aircraft get very close to one another, the airflow over the wings of the smaller aircraft is going to be disrupted by the effects of the larger one. (and vice versa). This is going to either increase or reduce lift (I’m not an aerospace engineer) and this force will either crash them together or shove them apart. That isn’t exactly correct. I understand your overall point and it is a consideration but the Space Shuttle attached to the top of a 747 is a demonstration of why this isn’t as much of an insurmountable a problem as some may suspect. During Space Shuttle ferry operations, the Space Shuttle may be bolted to the top a 747 but they are both contributing to overall lift and all other flight forces for the combo unit. There is no way to turn off those Space Shuttle wings, rudder or horizontal stabilizer just because you put it on top of something else. That at least shows that two incredibly large and heavy aircraft (the Space shuttle is an aircraft too under those conditions) can still function aerodynamically with one literally one on top of the other. Granted, it is a lot harder to arrange dynamically in real time but not impossible or even unlikely if there was a use for it. Aviation has working examples of everything from wing-walking up to nighttime carrier landings in rough seas and Blue Angels type demonstrations where the jets are going hundreds of miles an hour in complex formation only a few feet apart. I don’t know of anything that would prevent mid-air docking if someone really wanted to do build the planes to support it. Certain pilots can pull of the required precision maneuvers today. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/17 "2014-03-07T00:54:29Z")
I can give you a workable docking design right now even though I have no idea what good it would be. Imagine a docking system composed of two pods that extend from two aircraft. They are triangular in shape with the wide end of the triangles facing towards the back of two planes. One plane has its docking station (the female version) mounted below the fuselage at its center of gravity but extended a few feet below it by a semi-rigid tube. The other plane has its docking station (the male version) mounted above its fuselage also extended by a semi-rigid tube. All it takes is basic formation flying for the pilot of the second plane to guide its docking station into the first one. The shape gives some reasonable room for error. Once they are completely aligned, a locking mechanism connects the two pods temporarily. I don’t know what purpose it would serve but you could have hatches that open and allow the transfer of crew members or supplies between the two planes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/18 "2014-03-07T01:11:09Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > There is no way to turn off those Space Shuttle wings, rudder or horizontal stabilizer just because you put it on top of something else. I’ve heard it said that the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft + Shuttle combination should count as the “world’s biggest biplane”. From what I’ve read, the Shuttle wings don’t necessarily carry the weight of the Shuttle but nevertheless produce a non-negligible amount of lift. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/19 "2014-03-07T01:40:53Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I’ve heard it said that the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft + Shuttle combination should count as the “world’s biggest biplane”. From what I’ve read, the Shuttle wings don’t necessarily carry the weight of the Shuttle but nevertheless produce a non-negligible amount of lift. That’s correct. If this idea had any real utility, you could design a jet powered biplane with separate cockpits that could split into two parts that could reattach again in mid-air. It would be incredibly expensive and all but useless but it could be done with current engineering knowledge. The Mars Curiosity lander was way more complicated than that and it worked beautifully. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042/20 "2014-03-07T02:07:55Z")
There were some parasite fighter tests where a bomber would carry its own fighter escort. Some of these fighters could reconnect with the bomber after chasing off the bad guys. Not very practical. > **[Parasite aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_aircraft)** > > A parasite aircraft is a component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier. The carrier craft may or may not be able to later recover the parasite during flight. > The first parasite aircraft flew in 1916, when the British launched a Bristol Scout from a Felixstowe Porte Baby flying boat. The idea eventually developed into jet bombers carrying fully capable parasite fighters. With the ... Whoops! AndrewL beat me to it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mid-air-docking-between-two-aircraft-even-possible/683042.md?page=2)