by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 11/29/2017 at 10:21
by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 11/29/2017 at 10:21
Tags: Planelopnik
STARS: 13
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/29/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 2
I count myself pretty lucky to have seen each of these aircraft types up close and personal in my life. Even more so to have seen 3 of the 4 flying.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 0
I have yet to see a B-47, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Buff in the air. You’re very lucky.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
11/29/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 0
Same here. I don’t think there are enough 47s still around to do the airshow circuit. They got replaced by the 52 pretty quickly. All the others were pretty widely produced.
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/29/2017 at 10:51, STARS: 1
Just saw one for the first time last year at the SAC Museum in Omaha. They had a B-58, too.
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/29/2017 at 10:52, STARS: 1
Yeah, as far as I know, there aren’t any airworthy B-47s left. Shame.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 2
They built just over 2,000 B-47s, nearly 4,000 B-29s, and almost 13,000 B-17s. It’s a shame that no airworthy B-47s survive. It is a gorgeous aircraft. But back in those days, an obsolete aircraft was just so much scrap metal to be turned into shiny new planes. They weren’t nostalgic about it like we are today. If the B-52 is ever retired, I doubt we’ll ever see any in private hands, so you’ll have to go to a museum to see one.
"facw" (facw)
11/29/2017 at 10:56, STARS: 1
Wikipedia says that there are 23 (or 25) survivors. That’s enough that you could risk an air frame by flying it. The bigger problem is just going to be one of cost. It’s a big plane with six engines, so it would be very expensive to restore, and very expensive to operate. It’s been over 30 years since the last B-47 flight, and given that almost all of them are stored outside due to their size, you have to imagine it would be a huge undertaking to get one airworthy again. Add to that the fact it only had a crew of three (only two of whom had a real view), which means it isn’t suited the sort of rides that fund WWII bomber flights.
"john28ryr88" (john28ryr88)
11/29/2017 at 11:32, STARS: 1
I have seen 3 of the 4 flying (and flew in Collings Foundation B-17) - my best shot at the B-47 is the Mighty Eighth Museum outside Savannah when visiting my dad next time
"S65" (granthp)
11/29/2017 at 11:47, STARS: 0
I’ve only seen a B-29 in the flesh, hopefully I can get around to seeing the others
"user314" (user314)
11/29/2017 at 11:50, STARS: 0
Isn’t it illegal for an American to own & operate an American military jet (or at least anything post-Korea)? IIRC most the planes you see on the circuit are actually foreign military painted in USAF/USN/USMC colors. Either way, I’d think the expense of operating a BUFF would be out of the reach of anyone besides Bezos, Gates or Musk.
"cbell04" (cbell04)
11/29/2017 at 12:37, STARS: 0
Not good with planes. Guessing they are all b series bombers? Want to give a brother a hint top to bottom?
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 1
Yup, B for bomber. Top to bottom: B-17 Flying Fortress , B-29 Superfortress , B-47 Stratojet , B-52 Stratofortress . All built by Boeing.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 12:58, STARS: 0
I don’t know that for a fact, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I know there’s a Vietnam-era F-4 in private hands (I’ve photographed it), but whether or not it started life overseas I don’t know.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 13:28, STARS: 1
You might also find this interesting:
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/xf14c-2-is-not-a-wi-fi-password-its-a-us-navy-fighter-1818974085
"user314" (user314)
11/29/2017 at 13:58, STARS: 0
The one owned by the Collings Foundation ? That took an act of Congress to happen. Buying a military jet is like buying a true automatic weapon: it can be done, but the available pool is small, and the legal and monetary hurdles are quite high.
Odd that it’s easier to get foreign military aircraft though, like how the F-104s in Starfighters Inc. are all ex-RCAF CF-104 and ex-AM F-104S (built by FIAT!), and then there’s all the L-39s and MiGs, Art Nall’s Sea Harrier...
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 14:07, STARS: 0
Not the Collings Phantom, unless they repainted it. I took this in Fort Worth about 4 years ago.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
11/29/2017 at 14:30, STARS: 0
Castle has one. You ought to come out for a visit and we’ll go there. They also have a B-36. The first time I ever hear of the B-36 was when I saw it at Castle AFB Museum and I was, like,
What the hell is that?
They also have an SR-71. And a Vulcan, from the looks of it...
https://www.castleairmuseum.org/
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
11/29/2017 at 14:33, STARS: 1
Who could afford to operate a B-47 or a Buff?
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 14:36, STARS: 1
Here’s the main wheel on a B-36, before they went to a four-wheel landing gear.
Only somebody like Paul Allen or Dietrich Mateschitz could afford it. And even then, it probably wouldn’t be legal. Too bad the AF doesn’t have the resources to operate a historical squadron. That would be awesome.
"user314" (user314)
11/29/2017 at 14:54, STARS: 0
Hmmm. Far as I can tell, 1478 was being flown by the 82nd ATRS out of Tyndall AFB.
1478 (MSN 4416) to AMARC as FP580 Nov 1, 1990.
Converted to QF-4E drone AF312, reported Aug 2008 with 82nd ATRS
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 15:33, STARS: 0
I wonder how it got saved from target practice.
"user314" (user314)
11/29/2017 at 16:08, STARS: 0
From what I’ve read, some of the QF-4s were flown to airshows when there were no tests being conducted. Also, many of the live-fire shoots used unarmed AIM-120s, since getting the missile close to the drone counted as a kill. Makes sense, QF-4s were a finite resource, no sense blowing them up if you didn’t have to. They’re probably all back out to the Boneyard by now, or being used as training tools for mechanics, or ground targets.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 16:14, STARS: 1
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"cbell04" (cbell04)
11/29/2017 at 16:46, STARS: 0
Very interesting. I’ll need to read it a time or two more to let it all sink in. You gave examples of b, f, c. Is the A from A-10 mean a for air support? Even if I’m wrong I’m feeling like the names make much more sense thanks!
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 16:58, STARS: 0
The most common are:
A - Attack (A-10 Thunderbolt II)
B - Bomber (B-2 Spirit)
C - Cargo (C-17 Globemaster III)
E - Electronic warfare (E-2 Hawkeye)
F - Fighter (F-22 Raptor)
H - Helicopter (UH-60 Blackhawk, U for Utility)
K - Refueling (KC-10 Extender
M - Multi-mission (MV-22 Osprey)
P - Pursuit (P-51 Mustang, P later became F)
R - Reconnaissance (SR-71)
T - Trainer (T-38 Talon)
U - Utility (UC-35 Citation)
V - Vertical Takeoff Landing (MV-22 Osprey)
A complete list can be found here .
"cbell04" (cbell04)
11/29/2017 at 18:44, STARS: 0
Very cool. Thanks for your time. I definitely learned something today.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/29/2017 at 19:01, STARS: 1
My pleasure. Any time I can share my obsession and teach somebody something is a good day.
"bampcs" (bampcs)
11/30/2017 at 15:13, STARS: 0
You can see the BUFF is pretty much at full flaps, can’t see the B-47 but I would bet it is same. The B-17 is probably having to hustle to keep up.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/30/2017 at 15:26, STARS: 0
Nice catch. I hadn’t noticed that. Probably good reason that the B-17 is Tail End Charlie. The max speed of the B-17 (according to Wikipedia) is 287 mph. Not sure if that’s loaded or empty. The stall speed of the YB-52 (and that’s an early one in the pic) is given here as 162 mph. So there’s a bit of a cushion, but not much.