quasi Report This Comment Date: January 25, 2011 06:14PM
The B-52 bomber, first entered service in 1956 and still on duty. I grew up in
the flght path near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and watched many of these as
they flew low and slow overhead wth their landing gear down on approach. With
eight jet engines they're extremely loud, and flying that low you couldn't hear
anything else when they went over.
BlahX3 Report This Comment Date: February 03, 2011 07:42PM
It was interesting to watch a B-52 takeoff or land when I was at Subic Bay, PI
in the Navy. The wings sagged so much when not airborne they had small landing
gear under them to support their weight on the taxiway and runway. As soon as
they got enough airspeed the wings straightened out. They also frequently had
tire blowouts on landings.
quasi Report This Comment Date: February 04, 2011 04:05PM
I haven't flown much but once had a window seat just behind the wing of a large
airliner. I was amazed at how the wing sagged and bounced as the plane taxied,
and how far it rose and bowed up when it took off. Lot's of flex; seems like
metal fatigue would be a big problem.
BlahX3 Report This Comment Date: February 04, 2011 07:55PM
You're right, metal fatigue is definitely an issue in airframe maintenance. The
wings are designed to flex like that. If they weren't they'd snap right off. I
don't know what they do now but when I was in the Navy they periodically took
aircraft in for what was an x-ray of the entire airframe to look for cracking
and other signs of metal fatigue. There is also a LOT of weight in the wings
most folks aren't aware of as all the available inner space is used for fuel
storage. In the B-52 it was surprisingly vivid just how much those suckers
flexed just because the wings are so damn long.
The tire blow-outs on landing were the really scary part. Even from 1/4 mile or
more away it sounded like a bomb exploded. I guess that was pretty routine. I
sure saw a lot of em do it.
ORLANDO399 Report This Comment Date: February 04, 2011 08:33PM
I flew this bad boy in the late 60's and bombed the shit outta Cambodia with
this baby a few times.
quasi Report This Comment Date: February 04, 2011 11:22PM
You weren't even born in the 60's, 'lando. Only thing ever got bombed by you
was you.
BlahX3 Report This Comment Date: February 05, 2011 09:21PM
