Image credit: U.S. Air Force
Image credit: U.S. Air Force
O'rly?
Imagine those two guys showing up off your port and starboard wings...if you’re in a Cessna.
Got my pilots license in the early 80’s. Was flying one day one of my first solo flights heading east. Saw some smoke to the north; off to my left; and BELOW me. A few more seconds as I looked closer; saw a B 52 flying south! I decided NOT to intercept!!
They were doing low level training flights at the time. Pretty cool!
BUMP
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (carrying on the name from the B-17 “Flying Fortress” and B-29 “Superfortress”) first entered USAF in 1955. The current variant of the BUFF is the ‘H’ model which entered service in 1963, so unless there is a crew person on board older than 49 years, the airframe is older!
Current plans are for the B-52 to remain flying through 2040 due to its ability to ‘loiter’ and its best-of-class 80% at last measurement. As of January 2013, 78 of the original 744 B-52 aircraft (a/c) were operational in the U.S. Air Force with an inflation-adjusted fly-away (original) cost of $81 million. No matter what you say about the several upgrades for each and every a/c (it is said that there are dials that have been disconnected for YEARS, this is one defense contract that has been a spectacular success!
Interesting photo. I wonder what that under wing pod is between engines 6 and 7 is. Never seen that before on a 52.
Bookmark.
Twenty-some miles southwest of Salina, Kansas, is the Kansas National Guard bombing range. My work took me to the area often, so I got to see a lot of aircraft doing unusual things.
Once I was working under the dashboard of a truck at Kanopolis Lake, and a B-52 came over less than 100 feet in the air. The noise rattled me out of the truck and onto the ground.
(They are supposed to come no lower than 500 feet.)
Another time I was heading east on I-70 and saw one cross the highway at an altitude less than it’s own length. I was about a mile away, but I’ll bet some drivers had the poop scared out of them right underneath the BUFF.
Not too long ago I was visiting a buddy manning a domestic airline company air-to-ground VHF radio at past 7 pm. I overheard distress call full of squelch almost unintelligible, “this is N1620#!@#$$ (whatever) I’m on emergency. Please advise radar frequency.” My buddy didn’t know what to say so I picked up the mike, it was Cessna 182 flying VFR piloted by a USAF pilot encountering severe thunderstorm in his usual route wherever he came from. I didn’t ask why the heck he was still up there at past sunset but I gave the approach/departure freq right away, monitored him on radio he landed okay at USAF base destination.
More details:
Few days before flying “violation” of China’s new ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone), the iconic B-52H Stratofortress bomber was involved in another memorable operation.
On Nov. 10, two B-52s, respectively launched from Minot and Barksdale AFB with radio callsign Hail 13 and Hail 14, were flying over Alaska, when they were called from Anchorage ATCC (Air Traffic Control Center), asking for their assistance: contacts with a Cessna plane had been lost after its pilot became disoriented after flying into bad weather.
The small plane was flying at such a low altitude that the ATC was unable to talk with it on the radio.
Hail 13 was about 200 miles away from the Cessna pilot’s estimated location when they got the distress call.
“The first thing we did was calculate our fuel to make sure we had enough,” said Capt. Joshua M. Middendorf, 69th BS aircraft commander of Hail 13. “We also had to ensure our wingman, Hail 14, would have enough fuel to make it back to Barksdale.”
After assessing that they had enough fuel for the new task Hail 13 headed directly west in search of the Cessna pilot.
One hundred miles into their detour, the leading B-52 was able to locate and establish a radio contact with the pilot who had dropped to low level to keep visual contact of the terrain below the clouds and was flying through a ground surrounded by mountains.
Since the B-52 was much higher it could act as a relay between the pilot and the ATC, providing the distress pilot information about the weather ahead and “directions” to reach the nearest landing field.
As the pilot approached Calhoun Memorial Airport in Tanana, Alaska, Hail 13 turned up the air field lights over a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) to help the pilot landing safely.
“Although both crews flew hundreds of miles off course, they did not allow the detour to compromise their mission,” the Air Force official release on the episode says.
“The fuel saved by the crew of HAIL13 in the beginning stages of the mission allowed them to fly faster back to their original course, putting them back on schedule. Not only did they meet schedule, HAIL13 and their wingman were able to complete every mission checkpoint, resulting in a successful mission.”
http://theaviationist.com/2013/11/27/b-52-to-the-rescue/