Whenever a new and truly great idea is put forward for the first time it is usually received with scorn and derision by those whom it directly concerns. Such was the initial reception of the idea of refuelling aircraft in flight.

Soon after the First World War air carnivals became very popular around the flying fields of the United States of America and it was in a search for new stunts that two intrepid fliers hit on the idea of transferring fuel by hose pipe from one aircraft to another. The two single-seater aeroplanes flew one above the other, the upper one carrying the extra fuel; in order to transfer it the pilot threw a length of hose overboard leaving it trailing behind him. The receiver aircraft then manoeuvred into position and the pilot caught the hose and put the nozzle into his reserve fuel tank. When a small quantity of fuel had been transferred, he pulled out the hose and threw it clear of his aircraft, leaving the donor aircraft to haul it in.