Mid-air refueling is impressive by any standard. For two or more aircraft to join together while flying at 300 mph, it requires pilot skill and technological sophistication well beyond average.

Among the many impressive things about this feat is how quickly it happens. Modern refueling tankers deploy fuel at a rate of about 6,000 pounds per minute. An  F/A-18 Hornet, with a fuel capacity of 4,460 lbs., can get topped off in well under a minute.

To put that in context, if you were driving a large pickup with a massive fuel tank of 38 gallons, it would take 1.8 seconds to refuel if your gas station’s pump worked as quickly as an aerial fuel tanker.