I have only seen refueling once...
I was working on a friend's satellite dish at their house which is located about 35 miles east of Columbus on Highway 80 (the Fall-Line freeway). That's the primary route from Columbus, Ga to Macon, Ga.
Warner Robins (RAFB) is just south of macon and has a couple of Air refueling Squadrons. Anyway, I was on the roof and heard an ungodly roar from high above. I lookled up to see a KC-10 Extender with four F-15's in Echelon formation on each side. I estimated that they were at about 8000 feet. I think the standard is FL100 (10K feet) for refueling, but these were a little lower.
So anyway, the KC-10 was, of course, already past me when I heard them, but then another F-15 went screaming toward the others at full burner, as if trying to catch-up! This remains one of the coolest spottings that I have witnessed. The surprise effect of seeing them there unexpectedly had something to do with it, I'm sure.
Anyway, the refueling usually takes place at about 10,000 feet or higher, but on a clear, un-hazey day (is that a word???), you could probably see them if you're lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I often hear them working from my home north of Columbus, Ga, all the way over to Macon. Generally the transmissions are very brief, except when discussing maintenance or intercept problems.
I'm still kicking myself for not having my Panasonic FZ-10 handy that day.
Damn!
