B-52 Turns 60

[Warthog]

Found this today. Thought I would share.

http://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-b-52-bomber-turns-60-photos/

 

[Smokinyoda]

Actually turned 63 this year. And will probably keep flying active duty for another 20...

 

[saddamsnightmare]

December 11th, 2015.

Its been older then most of its pilots for about 30 years, give or take...Imagine that! Likely Major Kong today would be a millennial and not wearing a Stetson as he takes the ride down to Russia!



https://youtu.be/vPwW7RaPO_g


https://youtu.be/snTaSJk0n_Y

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

She's quite a bird indeed.
We should all look and perform so well in our 60's.

Carry on.

 

[icecreamman]

Straight out of USAF Basic and into 463x0 tech school, we watched "Dr. Strangelove" in the first class. I think it was used as an "icebreaker" to loosen us up for our training.

There was a local airshow several years ago that was not heavily publicized going on. I really had no intentions of attending. I saw a BUFF fly over the interstate low when I was traveling to pick up supplies(own a restaurant). Basically made a U-Turn.

Barksdale guys were good as gold. Let me and my daughter inside the barrier after a conversation. They had a B-28 trainer mounted on a clip-in. I got to clean my "blue balls " per the TM's after 25yrs.

 

[swbradley1]

That's funny Warthog, I'm turning 60 as well and no one did an article on me.

 

[papabear]

That's funny Warthog, I'm turning 60 as well and no one did an article on me.

Gosh you're old!!

 

[swbradley1]

That's what I keep telling myself...right before I do something stupid.

 

[amaverick88]

Although she is old and doing a good job with everything, the age is starting to takes its toll in the maintenance aspect.

 

[Another Ahab]

That's funny Warthog, I'm turning 60 as well and no one did an article on me.

Well, DUH:

- Because you can't fly!

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

The day a B-52 lost its tail and the crew said, "Let's try to land it anyway."

This article includes an excellent video of the pilot's narration post-incident.

IMPRESSIVE indeed !!!

http://worldwarwings.com/day-b-52-l...ial&utm_term=original-ww2-mk&utm_content=b-52

I shared this in another forum and was suprised when a cousin of mine - former USAF Pilot - commented that he had in fact flown this very same aircraft after it was rebuilt and returned to service. He said she never flew quite right after the "repairs" and reacceptance into the nuclear arsenal.

 

[Another Ahab]

I've seen this vid on YouTube but I never stopped to watch it, thanks ColdWarrior!

Did I hear right during the runway approach (just before touchdown):

- the narrator said the engines where at "near idle", so it essentially coasted to a landing?

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

I've seen this vid on YouTube but I never stopped to watch it, thanks ColdWarrior!

Did I hear right during the runway approach (just before touchdown):

- the narrator said the engines where at "near idle", so it essentially coasted to a landing?

Yup! Near idle for minimal thrust, just enough to keep her from stalling or upon any off-kilter touchdown to reduce the chance of turning her into a FRISBEE without a rudder to keep her straight.

I'm sure it was a L - O - N - G flat and slow approach.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Just a month shy of two years dormant..... Time to BUMP this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPhxUYzUamc

 

[porkysplace]

They are some impressive planes . Back in the 70's my dad had a cabin in Footsite Village about a mile from the end of the runway at Wurtsmth AFB in Oscoda Mi, this was back when it was a SAC base and they flew pretty much all the time . when they took off or landed they came right over the cabin not much above tree top level , it was like a giant cloud during the day and everything shook. That was a booming area back then.

 

[Another Ahab]

Just a month shy of two years dormant..... Time to BUMP this thread.

Talk about redundancies (the issue came up in some other thread somewhere):

- Around 4:40 in the vid the flight commander talks about all the system redundancies in the aircraft... a LOT of them.

Reminds me of Slim Pickens in "Doctor Strangelove", riding his payload out the chute, on the last and final redundancy:

- Going manual

God help us all...

 

[jeffhuey1n]

She’s an old one that’s for sure. Another oldie but goody is the venerable UH-1. Updated, upgraded, and rebuilt more times than are fully imagined, still flying after 63 years. And them old warhorses will be still in the air at least for another 10 years. Now if I could only find one to restore...

 

[8madjack]

Although she is old and doing a good job with everything, the age is starting to takes its toll in the maintenance aspect.

They were a labor intensive nightmare back in the mid/late 80s when I worked on them B-52G, "damage incorporated " 58-0255 if I remember correctly, was assigned to a couple, but that one I got to name.

 

[CMPPhil]

Anybody in Washington DC area mid 1950s for mast flight?

Hi All

Any of you in the DC area during the mid 1950s when they flew a huge flight of B52s over Washington DC. I can rembered it as a kid they flew low and slow over the City. The point of it was to let the Russian Embassy see, count, and photograph them so that they would have no doubt about how many we had "a lot". My memory of it as a kid was that you could see the numbers on each plane and it seemed to go on for a long time.

The funny thing is I never found the right search phrase to find anything on it on the Web or newspaper archives. So it either happen or I had one vivid imagination as a kid.

Cheers Phil

 

[Another Ahab]

She’s an old one that’s for sure. Another oldie but goody is the venerable UH-1. Updated, upgraded, and rebuilt more times than are fully imagined, still flying after 63 years. And them old warhorses will be still in the air at least for another 10 years. Now if I could only find one to restore...

Watch what you wish for, jeffhuey1n, it might come true!

That would be some WORK wouldn't it?

You really mean it?!!