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A team of Russian inventors working in Moscow have filed an international
patent application (WO 97/33792) on a new approach to refuelling aircraft while
they are flying. Normally, a refuelling tanker meets an aircraft in midair and
refuels it. The Russians are patenting the idea of permanently linking the two.
The twinned craft take off together, joined by an umbilical fuel hose. During
the flight, the aircraft sucks fuel from the tanker whenever it needs a top-up.
The inventors say this enables the aircraft to carry a heavier load of
freight.