B52 on the BBC.

durandal01

An interesting article by the BBC about the B52 strategic bomber.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33766644
I saw one a few years ago at RAF Fairford, it was certainly awe inspiring.
You could see it coming from miles away with it's huge dirty black exhaust trails.

EchoIndia

Similar article in the Irish Times a few days ago:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/b-52s-killing-machines-that-still-dominate-the-us-fleet-1.2458645

durandal01

EchoIndia wrote: »

Similar article in the Irish Times a few days ago:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/b-52s-killing-machines-that-still-dominate-the-us-fleet-1.2458645

Cool, thanks. I missed that one.

roadmaster

just out curiosity when they say the aircraft will remain flying up to 82 years later does that mean the original air frame, I under stand avionics etc get upgraded but the actual airframe, is it the same one that rolled of the production line in the 60's or is it a bit like triggers broom in only fools and horses where he replaced the handle and head several times, do they replace parts of the fuselage such as wings or tails?

BoJack Horseman

you'd think they would have the airframe replaced.... piece by piece over its 80 odd years of service.

They will all be undergoing extensive upgrades, $150m each, but will secure their operation for another 25 years.

cml387

After this time it might be a bit like Trigger's Broom, but yes, it is substantially the same aircraft.

Inquitus

I saw B52 fly at Mildenhall many moons ago, it's right up there with the best of them as far as airshows go, my personal favourites I have seen flying are the B52, Lightning, Vulcan, SR71, A10, B1, B2 and F117A

Tenger

roadmaster wrote: »

just out curiosity when they say the aircraft will remain flying up to 82 years later does that mean the original air frame, I under stand avionics etc get upgraded but the actual airframe, is it the same one that rolled of the production line in the 60's or is it a bit like triggers broom in only fools and horses where he replaced the handle and head several times, do they replace parts of the fuselage such as wings or tails?

The engines and avionics and electrical systems will have all been upgraded, perhaps several times. But these are the same aircraft as rolled out from the factory in the early 1960's.
ie. : In July 2013 the Air Force began a fleet-wide technological upgrade of its B-52 bombers called Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) to modernize electronics, communications technology, computing, and avionics on the flight deck. CONECT upgrades include software and hardware such as new computer servers, modems, radios, data-links, receivers, and digital workstations for the crew. ...........the Air Force hopes for 10 CONECT upgrades per year, but the rate has yet to be decided

The current fleet of B52's are all late production aircraft and were mostly used for ground standby. Aircraft fuselages and wings have a lifespan based on cycles and/or hours flown.
This means that yes, these aircraft fuselages and wings are 60+ years old but they have flown relatively little. Hence they are still within the lifespan of the airframe. The USAF choose certain aircraft to be upgraded to 'modern' specs. Aircraft with more hours and/or airframe corrosion were sent to the scrap year (USAF Davis-Monthan I believe)
ie. The US Navy is currently looking at having to replace the central barrel on some older F-18C/D's in order to keep them flying.

EDIT: just looked at wikipedia. Of the 102 B52G models built they were all built in 1961/1962/1963.... 20/68/14 respectively. 26th Oct 1962 was the last roll-out. As of January 2013, 78 are operational.

newcavanman

Ive seen a fair few B-52s over the years, flying and on the ground, and I love them. They are the ultimate example of a heavy bomber. The fact that they are still combat effective shows the brilliance of the original design.
If politicians had the balls to use them to their full effectiveness, then they are the solution to many of the worlds hot spots

Pat Dunne

newcavanman wrote: »

If politicians had the balls to use them to their full effectiveness, then they are the solution to many of the worlds hot spots

Spoken like a true "Armchair General"!

billy few mates

One turned up in Malta when I lived there, it came in for an air show and was planned to leave and fly directly to the USA (can't remember exactly where) afterwards. On the Monday when it was due to depart they discovered that the massive fuel load needed to get it there meant that the taxi weight of the A/C exceeded the taxi way weight limits so they had to shut the airport for a few hours while they fuelled it on the end of the runway. Once fuelled it departed using every last foot of that runway, amazing machine.

0lddog

newcavanman wrote: »

....If politicians had the balls to use them to their full effectiveness, then they are the solution to many of the worlds hot spots

'Nam trolls turn up in the strangest of places :eek:

stopthepanic

Minimum Interval Take-Off. Just thought 'd throw it in here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ7niLYSVFo

smurfjed

10/24/2012 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- When Capt. Daniel Welch, 23rd Bomb Squadron Pilot, arrived at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., in January 2011, he became part of the same squadron his grandfather commanded in the 1970s, the 23d Bomb Squadron, a unit of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot.
As a B-52H Stratofortress Aircraft Commander, Daniel Welch is keeping up his family's tradition as a B-52 flight officer.

Both his grandfather, Col. Don Sprague (USAF, Retired), of Sacramento, Calif., and his father, Lt. Col. Don Welch (USAF, retired), of Las Vegas, Nev., were B-52 aviators.

3 generations all flying the same aircraft....

Hotblack Desiato

Tenger wrote: »

EDIT: just looked at wikipedia. Of the 102 B52G models built they were all built in 1961/1962/1963.... 20/68/14 respectively. 26th Oct 1962 was the last roll-out. As of January 2013, 78 are operational.

-Gs and all previous variants are all scrapped. All remaining B-52s are -Hs, TF33 (JT3D) turbofan engine. All prior models had the J57 (JT3C) turbojet which was the one renowned for the smoke trails especially on water-injection takeoffs.

Hotblack Desiato

This is mad - but was seriously considered as a Space Shuttle transport

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conroy_Virtus

2 B-52 fuselages grafted onto a 140m wing, MTOW 385 tonnes

arubex

One of the many proposals for a 'B-52 replacement' over the years.



Boeing 747-ACA

cml387

Probably known by the well informed here but B52's feature in the classic film Dr. Strangelove.

Director Stanley Kubrick's obsession with details was such that Air Force brass watching the film were convinced that someone had leaked plans of the interior of the aircraft.

Tenger

Tenger wrote: »

EDIT: just looked at wikipedia. Of the 102 B52G models built they were all built in 1961/1962/1963.... 20/68/14 respectively. 26th Oct 1962 was the last roll-out. As of January 2013, 78 are operational.

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

-Gs and all previous variants are all scrapped. All remaining B-52s are -Hs,......

My mistake with the multiple edits o my posts above.
102 H model's were built, under 80 still flying. All previous models are scrapped. So the youngest B52 is still at least 53 yrs old.

Hotblack Desiato

Wiki:

A first test screening of the film was scheduled for November 22, 1963, the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination. The film was just weeks from its scheduled premiere, but because of the assassination the release was delayed until late January 1964, as it was felt that the public was in no mood for such a film any sooner.

One line by Slim Pickens—"a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff"—was dubbed to change "Dallas" to "Vegas", since Dallas was the city where Kennedy was killed.

In Peter George's novel, Red Alert (1958), which was the basis for the film, the device is called the CRM 114. Peter George was well-informed: Under the U.S. military Joint Electronics Type Designation System (The "AN" System), CRM is the designator for an air-transportable cargo (C) radio (R) maintenance or test assembly (M), and 114 is a feasible series number. If the CRM 114 were an actual U.S. military item, its official number would be designated as AN/CRM-114.

To ensure the enemy cannot plant false transmissions and fake orders, once the attack orders have been passed and acknowledged, the CRM 114 is to be switched into the receiver circuit. The three code letters of the period are to be set on the alphabet dials of the CRM 114, which will then block any transmissions other than those preceded by the set letters from being fed into the receiver.

Prior to the introduction of addressed digital communications, some real-world analog communications systems performed a function very similar to the fictional CRM-114. Some aircraft radios used SELCAL (selective calling), which muted the receiver unless an assigned tone was received. Ground mobile radios used a similar system called CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System).

Kubrick also used a near homophone of "CRM 114", "Serum 114", for the name of a drug injected into Alex to help his reformation in A Clockwork Orange (1971).

CRM 114 occurs in other Kubrick films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey where one of the pods was CRM114, and in Eyes Wide Shut, where the mortuary was located on Level/Wing C, Room 114.

It's a truly classic film. And yes the cockpit details are suspiciously accurate :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K10pdj5YOy0

billy few mates

Interesting article here about bringing one of them out of the boneyard and back into service...
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-ghost-rider-b-52-rises-from-the-grave-to-ride-aga-1686588702

Some nice videos here...
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/this-video-shows-that-you-dont-fly-a-b-52-you-wrestle-i-1678846593

Interesting to see how the landing gear remains aligned with the runway heading on landing because the wingspan is so large they can't use ailerons to de crab (or kick off drift) because of the danger of tip strike.
Incredible to think these things predate the moon landing.

cml387

It's interesting to note that the B52, and it's predecessor the B47, defined the design of all large to medium passenger aircraft to this day.

Two or four engines mounted on pods slightly forward of the wings is the default design and has never been improved.

Boeing happened essentially by accident on the design, the engines outboard of the body tending to reduce the inherent instability of a swept wing.