Posted on 08/19/2011 2:49:09 AM PDT by equaviator
Able to carry the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the B-1B Lancer is the backbone of America's long-range bomber force. A B-1B is scheduled to both fly and be on static display at the 2011 Selfridge Air Show and Open House, Aug. 20-21 at the base.
The highly-versatile and multi-mission capable B-1 is in high demand in support of operations around the world.
"This is an awesome opportunity to see the Lancer up close and personal," said Lt. Col. Phillip Sheridan, vice wing commander of the 127th Wing, which is based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and is the host organization of the base and the air show.
Sheridan was a B-1 pilot earlier in his military career. Currently, he flies the A-10 Thunderbolt II, an attack aircraft that is assigned to Selfridge. The A-10, along with the KC-135 Stratotanker, also flown by the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge, will be on display during the air show.
"The B-1 is incredibly loud, too, which makes it a perfect airplane for shows-of-force -- when it's not dropping its payload on the bad guys," Sheridan said.
During the air show, which is free to the public, the Air Force and the other military services showcase both equipment and missions that are assigned to Selfridge as well as bring in additional aircraft to demonstrate to the public, such as the Air Force's B-1 and F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft scheduled to be flown in for the show by a U.S. Navy demonstration team.
"The air show provides an opportunity for the military services assigned to Selfridge - Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard - to demonstrate the tools and the skills they use to defend our great nation," said Lt. Col. Sean Campbell, a pilot with the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge who is serving as the air show director. "It is also a way for the military community here at Selfridge to say thank you to our surrounding friends and neighbors for the positive relationship we have enjoyed with the community for many, many years."
Gates open for the air show at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21. Flying will begin in the late morning both days and some three dozen or so aircraft will be on ground display, along with displays of ground-based equipment by the various military services and several agencies of the Dept. of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which maintains a significant presence at Selfridge. Both parking and admission are free both days. Visitors are advised to arrive early, as traffic congestion can be heavy. No visitors will be admitted after 2 p.m. The show closes at 5 p.m. both days.
On Friday, Aug. 19, a dinner party and concert will help open the air show weekend. Eddie Money will headline the outdoor concert, held on the aircraft parking ramp at Selfridge. Concert tickets are $10 and may be purchased via www.selfridgeairshow.org.
The B-1 entered service with the Air Force in the mid-1980s. It holds almost 50 world records to speed, payload, range and time of climb in its class. It can carry a weapons payload of approximately 75,000 pounds and has a top speed in excess of 900 miles per hour. It is operated by a crew of four Airmen.
The 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard is the host organization at Selfridge, flying the KC-135 Stratotanker, an aerial refueler, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, which is an air-to-ground attack fighter. In addition to the Wing, Selfridge is home to numerous other military and federal agencies, which fly a variety of helicopters and small, light fixed-wing aircraft.
More information on the 127th Wing and Selfridge Air National Guard Base is available at www.127wg.ang.af.mil.
So in summary: B1 = badass.
The National Aviation Day (August 19)
Big can be counted on to show very patriotic photos on national holidays.
Always a cool looking plane. Too bad we don’t have a use for it anymore.
Did not realize that bing was inclined toward patriotism. I thought they were part of Microsoft and Gates doesn't strike me as anything other than a hardcore leftist. It's wonderful and refreshing to see American.
Thanks for posting.
Bones cycled a large number of sorties over both Iraq and Afcrapistan. I know more than a few guys who’s bacon was saved by a loitering B-1.
Awesome description and fitting.
The B-1B is the loudest military aircraft I’ve ever heard. For sheer badass (jet division), however, nothing beats an F-4 Phantom II. The two J-79s on a Rhino are almost as loud as the four F101s on the Bone, and it’s a different kind of sound. The B-1 sounds deeper, more powerful, like the strategic bomber it was designed to be. The Phantom has this unforgettable “I’m coming to kill your children” snarl to it...brute, raw power given form in metal.
B-1Bs tear the sky open...Phantoms just pummel it into submission.
Nothing, however, is like a Concorde. I worked next to Dulles Airport for a couple of years in the late ‘80s and got to hear Concorde take off four afternoons a week. The word “sound” barely fits. It’s more like “force of nature.” We were over a mile from the runway, with tree lines and a highway in between, and when the Concorde went to full afterburner, it was so loud in our parking garage that conversation was impossible. Five floors up, all our building’s windows rattled and buzzed. I never understood why there was all the controversy about the Concorde flying in and out of JFK in the 1970s until I heard it for the first time, and then I understood. It is unimaginably loud. Of course, to a gearhead like me, that’s a symphony. :)
}:-)4
The premiere Fighter!
Thank you for your descriptions. I saw the assembly of the B1B but I've never seen it fly. In fact I have an original tape (VHS) of the test pilots. According to them, flying the BIB was better than flying a fighter. It is more maneuverable and reacted the same as a fighter.
Back to the F4...it is my understanding that Israel (back in the day) took delivery of several and then 'revamped' them with aluminum on certain areas of the craft.
In any case it is a testament of American ingenuity. These planes are bad-a**.
Shit-hot!
“Too bad we don’t have a use for it anymore.”
I say use them for taking out poppy fields in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
But are those F/A-18's sitting there behind the tankers? The tail fins look canted, like a Hornet's, not vertical, like an Eagle's. Maybe a Navy or Marine Reserve unit?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.