Here Carl and Phil ~ I didn't want to hijack Burton's thread any worse than we already did.

Here's what I found for the B58 Hustler ~ some good shots to accompany you down Memory Lane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iOtw9ao ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EhgzBC5 ... re=related



And here's a B52 which obviously broke some other kind of barrier at Fairchild AFB in 1994:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUEhNKBi4DY


Frank

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1970 240Z

Sheesh, that b52 crash is a bad one! I love those planes, airplanes are my next addiction after Z's

Yeah, I don't think there's any other kind of B52 crash, actually.

Right at 0:06, when I saw his wings go perfectly vertical, I told myself, "wait ~ there's no lift on that big plane now. This can't be good".

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1970 240Z

You can't really appreciate the sheer size of the B-52 until you walk by or under one. The wing tips had wheels on them to keep them off the runway until they got up enough speed.

Loring AFB was the closest continental US base to Russia. During the cold war, these planes flew with loaded nuclear weapons ready to be dispatched at a moments notice. I seem to remember reading somewhere that there was always a few of them airborne 24/7.

I used to play golf with my father in my early years at a golf course that looked across a valley to the primary base runway. These majestic monsters would practice touch and go landings all day long.

During a summer visit, several years ago and before the base closed, we were relaxing out on the back deck after dark when suddenly the tranquil evening was broken by the sound of distant thunder. Very quickly a B-52 appeared over the horizon. As it passed over the house, the 8 jet engines were screaming and flames were shooting out some distance behind. A very impressive sight. It didn't happen too often, but they were obviously running a drill of some type.

The base employed a large portion of the Aroostock County population. When it closed, the number of bars and used car lots in the area dropped dramically.

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Phil
1981 280zxt - Now in the care my son!
2014 370Z Sports Touring Roadster

Pretty impressive airplane.

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Phil
1981 280zxt - Now in the care my son!
2014 370Z Sports Touring Roadster

Phil, you are right about the wingtips having a type of wheel or caster
installed under them to prevent them from dragging on the tarmac.

I didn't see any B52's on the ground in Viet Nam since they flew in on
their missions from Japan or Okinawa or somewhere around there.
But when in Japan or Okinawa, I think it might have been Tachikawa
AFB, or maybe even Guam, is when I first noticed that feature as the
planes were berthed in their revetments. At first I observed the severe
sag of the wings, and wondered why they would allow the wings of a
multimillion dollar aircraft to drag on the ground. Then as I looked more
closely, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But sure enough,
there indeed were small wheels separating the wingtips from the ground.

Which leads me to believe that the plane in the above picture must not
have a load of fuel in its wings since they are not sagging much at all.
And I guess my eyesight is going, now I can't see any casters..........

FWIW,............All Z Best,........................Kathy & Rick

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All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Did you know that John Denver's dad was the pilot who set the speed records flying the B-58?

His real family name was Deutschendorf.

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1970 240Z

Deutschendorf...hmm that reminds me of some country.. i just cant figure out what..

Maybe Ireland? Italy? China?

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1970 240Z

I have a framed 10X13 photo of the B-58 in Convair livery, tail # 50661. The photo was given to my dad by Convair while he worked on that program in Fort Worth. Dad was civil service, employed by the USAF as a logistics officer. His job was to design and set up world-wide spares programs, primarily for engines. Dad said that one of the biggest problems with the bird was that the engines were too powerful for the airframe - it was capable (and it did) of flying itself to pieces.

It was the B-36 that brought us to Texas in 1952. It, the B-58 and subsequent Convair / General Dynamics aircraft paid the bills and put food on our table for many years.

Many fond memories of these fine aircraft that never saw war, yet protected us all from the horrors of nuclear devastation.

Jim

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Jim Arnett
Richardson, Texas
HLS30-15320 12/1970 (original owner)
ZCON 2015 Gold Cup - Street Modified class

The world is small, indeed!

The Hustler probably never saw combat BECAUSE of its capabilities. It acted as a deterrent to aggression, altho the Soviets had a similar plane (called the M-50 Badger, if I remember correctly) with 4 jets and equal specs. They both came on-line about the same time, so it's likely that one side copied the other.

What eventually killed the Hustler was that it cost such an extreme amount of tax dollars to keep it flying (in 1959 it was literally worth its weight in gold ), and the Soviets developed the very capable SAM-2 missile, which could kill a Hustler at altitude.

To counter the SAM threat, the USAF developed tactics which kept the Hustler flying very low, where the SAMs couldn't deploy. But at low altitude the B-58 couldn't use its sheer speed, so it became just another "pretty quick" jet, but cumbersome at low altitude. By 1960 it had outlived its usefulness and was replaced by better aircraft.

The B52 flew out of Thailand and Okinawa during Vietnam. We felt the ArcLight bombing raids nearly 700 miles south of Hanoi. It was like a sustained earthquake. I can't imagine being near the strike zone.

Remind me to tell you the story about the day I flew (as in strapped-in, hands-on, single control) a USAF C-141 Starlifter over Soviet airspace during the Cold War! Honest-to-goodness true event, and one of the best bar stories I have to tell about my life!

Frank

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1970 240Z