The Air Force Wants to Install New Engines on the B-52 Bomber

Popular Mechanics ^ | December 26, 2017 | Kyle Mizokami

[C19fan]

America’s fleet of B-52H Stratofortress nuclear bombers are on track to outlast their engines, and the planes need new ones to remain viable past 2030. The U.S. Air Force, which received its first B-52H during the Kennedy administration, wants to replace existing engines with cheaper, more power ones to keep the lumbering jets flying into all the way into the 2040s.

[boomop1]

I was at Grand Forks from Dec. 63 to Jan 68,I was a Missile Guidance System Analyst AGM-28B Hound Dog.

[OldMissileer]

I was on Missile Combat Crew at Grand Forks from 1985-1989 then stayed there as a Missile Maintenance Officer 1989-1992.

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. I don’t know if this engine replacement has been funded.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

The water injection added thrust. When running an engine on the ground, when they hit the water injection the aircraft would lunge forward, held by the railroad size chocks, and the engines would shriek so loud, ear plugs and ear defenders were no help. You could feel the vibration through out your body. And I really mean VIBRATION! You vibrated for hours after. Made the loudest Rock and roll feel like a lullaby.

As they used to say on TV, ...”And it really really works!”

[boomop1]

Grand Forks AFB is as bad or worse than Eielson AK. Was there in I think 1973 we landed it was +30 by the end of that week it was -30, ouch.

[smokingfrog]

ha!

[smokingfrog]

LoL

[shotgun]

Frying chickens in the barn yard?

[PLMerite]

"We can re-engine the B-52 which was flying before I was born (first flight 15 April 1952) - but the A-10 (first flight 10 May 1972) is past its airframe life, don'cha know..."

B-52s don't get whipped around like fighters very often:

...and for good reason.

[RFEngineer]

“New engines and new electronics....................”

They already replaced the old “new” electronics that I had worked on once upon a time at the flight test center.

I guess it’s that time again!

[Chode]

what ever it takes to keep the Old Dog in the air...

[daniel1212]

What a picture. Is the image on the top right by the fuselage an airman ejecting?

[daniel1212]

A-10 Warthog Fleet Could Be Getting New Wings

[daniel1212]

America’s Afghan Allies Want the A-10 Warthog Back

[ought-six]

LOL!

[Rebelbase]

The personal connections some FReepers have to history is one of the most interesting things about FR, IMHO.

Thanks for sharing that.

[PLMerite]

“Is the image on the top right by the fuselage an airman ejecting?”

I believe so. Unfortunately, IIRC, he did not escape the fireball when the plane crashed.

[AFreeBird]

Excellent article. Thanks for the link.

[SunkenCiv]

Replacing the eight-engine config been researched since 1972, which is 45 years ago, iow, over two military careers laid end to end, in still other words, not really studied for any reason other than to try to justify new airframes. A former AF mechanic I used to know maintained B-52 engines, called them "pigs". OTOH, the old koan about them is, when the last B-52 is flown off to be mothballed, the flight crew will return to base aboard a B-52. Thanks C19fan.

GE's Big Bet on Goliath Engines [YouTube]

[Robert A Cook PE]

Irritating thing about the USAF stupidity in “calculating” the fuel-savings and benefits of re-engining the B52.

The USAF “brass” used the “front door” price of jet fuel to figure cost savings by replacing the old low-efficiency fan jets. Rejected new engines every time it came up, every year it came up since the late 60’s when the C5 high-bypass fan engines became workable.

Instead, once they used the cost “at the engine” (after in-flight refueling and delivered” per gallon rate, t became immediately profitable. As if they no longer pretended greater range and greater efficiency didn’t matter.