Another related factoid - the wingspan of the B-52 is longer than the Wright brother's first flight (185' versus 120')
Once Again The USAF Is Looking To Re-Engine Its B-52 Fleet
Once Again The USAF Is Looking To Re-Engine Its B-52 Fleet
The USAF is kicking around 'creative concepts' under which it could re-engine its fleet of 74 ever evolving B-52H Stratofortresses. With the bombers remaining in front-line service until at least 2040, and considering that flying with eight 1960s vintage TF33 engines is far from fuel efficient (burning 3k gallons an hour), re-engined B-52s should make great financial sense.
Defensenews.com quoted Lt. Gen Mike Holmes, deputy chief of staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, telling reporters at a February 6th event:
"To go out and buy new engines for the B-52, you'd have a really hard time fitting that into our program, but that's why we're interested in a public-private partnership, which would be a different way to amortize those engines over time and pay for them in the savings that they actually generate, instead of paying for them out of savings that you hope for.... The idea is in a public-private partnership, somebody funds the engine and then we pay them back over time out of the fuel savings, which are generated out of the new engines. Our government has a way to do that with facilities. We don't have a way to do that with airplanes, and we are exploring whether there are alternative ways that would let us do that... Look at what the airline industry is doing — they're all re-engining. Why? Because it saves you a lot of money. If there is a commercially available engine which can give a 25-30 percent increase in either range or loiter, you have my attention."
Such 'creative financing' methods for upgrading existing or procuring new capabilities have become increasingly talked about over the last two decades within the DoD, with leasing military aircraft and unique public/private usage schemes becoming a norm for other governments around the globe.
(a lot more links about the B52 including the B-52 Becoming A Terrifyingly Intelligent Smart Weapons Truck and some videos of its unique landing capabilities: the landing gear swivel (!)allowing it to land crabbed into the wind are found at original article)
bluedog's Link
I worked 10 years as a civilian in the 90s at Davis Monthan.. spent a few afternoons cruising the "Bone Yard" ;) Incredible place..
"February 14, 2015 3:00 pm • By Caitlin SchmidtLoading… The first B-52 to be restored and take flight from the Davis-Monthan Boneyard left Friday morning for Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
The plane left at about 10 a.m. and landed at Barksdale at 4 p.m. in perfect condition.
The B-52H “Stratofortress” will receive continued maintenance and upgrade modifications at Barksdale to make sure it’s up to par with the rest of the fleet.
At Barksdale, maintenance crews will continue working on the B-52 and will install upgrade modifications to ensure configuration with the rest of the fleet."
I've been in one a few times, but never flown in one.
These aircraft have been re-configured and modified more times than you can count over the decades and like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep going and going and going.
My first real life experience with a B-52 occurred back in the late sixties. I was driving across southwestern Wyoming on my way home from college when out of nowhere, a B-52 flew over me at 500'! Talk about your "Holy $hit!" moments!
As I learned later when I was in SAC, that B-52 was on a routine low-level training bomb run.
When you have something that big, that nasty, and that intimidating fly over you at 500' it gets your attention!
:-)
In '73 or '74 we were pulling a satellite alert tour at Minot, AFB. One day we had an alert and unlike most alerts, the message called for everyone to taxi and record their time crossing the runway hold line. Because the wind was wrong, our two EC birds were not to taxi. So we recorded our time ready to taxi, then ran through a bunch of routine checks.
When we were finished, we shut everything down, climbed down the ladder and closed the hatch. We were #1 in the Christmas tree and just as we started to leave the aircraft, the first B-52 was taxiing back into the Christmas tree.
We saw his brakes were really smoking, so my AC ran out in front of him and gave the pilot the 'cut engines' sign. When he did, some gas spilled out, came in contact with a hot brake and the damned BUFF caught on fire!
The flames were under the left wing not far from the fuselage, extended 20'-30' out the wing and were as high as the wing. It was quite a sight and we were very 'up close and personal!'
Fortunately, the Base Fire Dept. responds to all alerts, so there was a fire truck standing by. They were all over the fire and had it extinguished very quickly. Which was a very good thing considering a B-52 carries something like 225,000 pounds of gas.
Of course, in addition to the gas, that bird was on alert, so was carrying a full load of nukes.
Ah, the memories!
My first base was Mather in 1970-1971. Undergraduate Navigator Training school.
When was that accident?
Shortly before I got to Ellsworth, a B-52 ran through the overrun and into a field, catching on fire. The tail gunner was trapped at his station in the rear end of the fuselage and he was in serious danger of being burned to death.
Lucky for him, an old Chief Master Sgt. from the Fire Dept. saved the tail gunner's life by ramming his fire truck into the fuselage just forward of the tail gunner's station, breaking enough of it off so the tail gunner could escape.
Flight crews get most of the glory, but the guys on the ground are every bit as crucial to the mission.
Had a guy tell me about watch b52s carpet bombing an area he was sent to observe. Saw the jets go by and then a whole section of jungle disappeared.
Not if it was Vietnam.. I've done that and we never saw the B52s.. they were at 39 or 40 thousand feet when they made their run.
Sorry........
Neil Sheehan, war correspondent, writing before the mass attacks to heavily populated cities including North Vietnam's capital.[140]
Other missions were flown between 19-22,000 feet.
The other ingredient is that this man knew when and where they were coming from. He was there to observe the attack
I never saw them but I never gave more than a glance up in sky either.. Had other business...
Post strike.. we'd give it time to clear some and go right in at ground level.. it was devastating damage.. received fire once but that's another story.. some of the broken bunkers were thick...
btw war correspondents were not allowed on our observation and recon flights... not the purpose of them..
trublu.... went up to I corp to Hue Phu Bai the day before TET 68 in a 7 bird detatchment.. good timing. ;)
Khe San.... got some memories... daily flight into month of february and march 68... touch and goes.. you didn't park there.. The NVA had trenches so close they were immune to the air strikes until the weather finally broke. The trenches reminded me of a ww1 movie... getting in was hard... out was harder..
C130s would do the running pallet drops... they got heavy fire too... some big guns the NVA had.. even some anti aircraft.. They'd also start lobbing mortars and rockets on runway when we 'd come in...
I'll shut up now...... ;)
DL's Link
And they didn't just bomb jungles... they bombed known targets as a result of recons and information. The NVA and VC had much larger manpower and more equipment than is commonly perceived btw.. Regiments and division strength..
But wdik?
Several times I saw 52's at altitude.
Terry
LOL
;-)
Ah yes Cu Chi..the Iron triangle... always a salute to the "Little Bears" ;) I wonder if my old partying bud Dickie Wykoski is still alive.. I doubt it.. he was always balls to the wall.. not good at pacing.. (He was a little bear way back when)
Seeing her taxi, wobbling the wings to get the fuel to the engines...taking off nose down until power up...
500 ' fly past with a B1 Rockwell flying the opposite direction...dang that was some noise...but still not as loud as an Avro Vulcan ;-)
