Quite a testament to it's design. How many other complex machines have anywhere close to an almost 100 year lifespan?
Ben
 
I have always been amazed by those old warbirds.I remember seeing the in a formation of 4 or 5 flying together very high over our farm in the 1950's.
Reminds me of reading about some DC 3's that had over 10 years flying time.
Richard in NW SC
 
Well, I recall the D models sitting on their pads with the aluminum (skin) side panels between the front wheel wells and the nose of the AC that looked somewhat like corrugated sheet iron you put on a farm building roof. Once airborne, everything straightens out. Add to that , from takeoff roll to full rotation, the wing tips flapped a full 18 feet.....if it weren't for the wing dolly wheels it'd be more than that. Aluminum work hardens easily, unlike steel. How these main frames have survived the "test of time" is mindboggling........ not knocking it. Just amazed.

Other thing amazing is the SR 71 Blackbird, leaked fluids while sitting on the ground but once airborne and all the stretching quit, the leaks stopped........at Mach3? Somebody else can drive that sucker. I'll take my tractor seat. Grin
 
They use to fly out of Bergstrom AFB in Austin. The roar when they took off and the whine as they approached for landing is unforgettable.
 
My brother was a weapons chief in the Air Force. They put him in a Blackbird unit. He lasted a week before he ask for a transfer out. Said it was the only plane where he had to wear a raincoat to be around. Went into an A 10 unit. Loved being in that. That is another plane that they are being stupid with. Best ground attack plane in the world and the Air Force want to get rid of it.He was involved in a test. A10 versus F16. F16 was a huge failure.
 
I saw a show on either History or Military channel. A team sent to observe in Iraq was spotted and attacked. They called in air support. First plane was an A-10. Pilot had no problem spotting the team and bringing the support in close. When he ran out of munitions, the back up was an F-16. the team was able to call in his strikes very well, but the pilot said he never saw the team even knowing where they were.
The A-10 is an awesome plane to have around when you are a ground pounder.
 
Has been going round and round that there is the possibility of putting new engines on the BUFF. And yes it don't mean Friend. The A10 they should start building again. Talk about a flying brick S house tough! If you watch videos on U'tube of where thay come back with half the stuff blown off and they just fly in and land. Trouble is that far as I know 5here is no more Fairchild.
 
No claim that they are in the same fruit basket, but conceptually, the analogy is valid.

Neither the designers of the 9N nor the designers of the B-52 ever considered that their products would be in use 25 years in the future, let alone 50+.

Dean
 
When Griffiss Air Force base in Utica and the base at Plattsburg NY were active we were up to our eyeballs in B52's about round the clock. Could look up and almost always see at least two B-52's in the air, sometimes more. Used to have A-10's at Fort Drum. Hardly a day went by when two or three A-10 weren't making practice runs on you at tree top level.

As usual, the military brass tried to use the F-16's for something they were not designed for. They were designed as a pure air superiority fighter. The military uses them for everything but that. The National Guard (the boys from Syracuse, as they were called) flew F-16's. They were a joy to watch. They'd flip those things around like you'd toss a pen in the air. Those guys trained hard. Was a real feather in their cap when they held their own in Iraq with the Air Force regulars.


Have a family member who works for Lockhead-Martin. Says the latest versions of the F-35 will do everything all of the current inventory of planes will do and more. Including the F-22 on the high tech end of the scale and the A10 on the low tech end of the scale. Time will tell.
 
(quoted from post at 14:30:38 09/12/18) I wonder if those rivets I replaced in that B52 are still holding up?

When and where did you work Buffs?

I worked G's and H's 76 to 85 at Ellsworth AFB, SD and Loring AFB, ME. Phase dock and Crew Chief.

B-52G 58-0251, Loring AFB, ME Spring 1985.
23299.jpg
 
I grew up with B52s flying over our little farm near Fairchild AFB, my dad was the base gunnery instructor for the 52s. He said he was walking a ways behind one when he noticed that the quad 50 caliber rear guns were tracking him and it puckered him up a bit. He checked into it and found that someone had left the tracking radar on. I used to sit outside the base fence and watch the 52s practice landings and take offs. They were so close it seemed like you could touch them, and boy did you have to cover your ears!
 
(quoted from post at 11:39:05 09/12/18) Has been going round and round that there is the possibility of putting new engines on the BUFF. And yes it don't mean Friend. The A10 they should start building again. Talk about a flying brick S house tough! If you watch videos on U'tube of where thay come back with half the stuff blown off and they just fly in and land. Trouble is that far as I know 5here is no more Fairchild.
hat re-engine thing is kind of like the mid engine Corvette''''been talked about forever! I did see a B-52 with one BIG inboard engine at a Utah base back around 1968.
 
No mostly Low & Slow compaired to a fighter. Have heard stories where grunts would wave off hot shots and ask for a Hog.
 
I have a nephew that was a grunt. Told me they loved the Hog. Because it could hang around. Made the enemy very nervous. Forced them to hide. The jets were just to fast to do any good.

My brother told me of a Hog pilot. That called in to report some minor damage. When it got back. The canopy was busted,part of the tail was gone most of the right wing was gone. One engine was dead. It became a parts plane to the squadron.
 
I have a step grandson who's part of a B 52 crew in Guam presently. Previously flew fighters. He's wearing sun glasses in the picture.
a279551.jpg
 
The BUFF in the article droping the bombs is a "tall tail" no newer than a C or D model. I used to live across town from Sheppard AFB no far off the centerline of the runway. When LeMay would scramble them there would be 3 BUFFs and a KC135 and so on til they all got out of town.
 
The Hog was made for the job. When I was out in Tuscon years ago they had a lot of them mothballed. Good that we have sense enough to do things like that.

This little sucker is out of balls too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Rockwell_OV-10_Bronco

News says it fits right in to the mideast action arena.

Even though it's listed as a recon. AC, when in the attack mode, with its armament load, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of that sucker. I have a 1/72 scale of it (and a 1/32 Hog) and it's loaded for bear.
 
Ha! The designer and builder of my house back in 1979 had absolutely no idea that what he was building would be his residence some 40 years later and counting. All I had was a 60 day window and had to get-r-done.....and did....enough to move in. But on the '52, yes it's amazing. One never knows what the future holds!
 
(quoted from post at 04:51:00 09/13/18) The Hog was made for the job. When I was out in Tuscon years ago they had a lot of them mothballed. Good that we have sense enough to do things like that.

This little sucker is out of balls too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Rockwell_OV-10_Bronco

News says it fits right in to the mideast action arena.

Even though it's listed as a recon. AC, when in the attack mode, with its armament load, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of that sucker. I have a 1/72 scale of it (and a 1/32 Hog) and it's loaded for bear.

We had OV-10 Broncos in the USMC when I was in Okinawa. Wicked little airplane for close in support.
 
The A-10 can fly as slow as 120 KTS 138 MPH, much slower than an F-16 which is intended to perform combat at speeds approaching mach 1. Think about what you see driving your truck down the road vs driving your tractor. You notice a lot more trash in the ditches at 15 vs 55.
 

The problem with the A10 is that anti aircraft missiles are man portable, like the stinger, made in the US. The A10 can deal with small arms fire quite effectively, but it is a sitting duck for the newer anti aircraft weapons. I read that now all US aircraft are restricted in combat zones to 10 K altitude?
 
I was once in a classroom where a Sidewinder heat seeking missile was set up on a test bench.

If you walked across the other end of the room, maybe 40' away, with a lit cigarette in your hand it would follow you. Kinda creeped you out, actually.
 
The airplanes undergo heavy maintenance inspections every 4 years, during which mechanical and structural elements may be replaced as needed.
That could include an entire wing assembly if deemed necessary.
 

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