USAF Iron

"Jcarr" (jcarr) 11/21/2019 at 23:28 • Filed to: Planelopnik

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17

Shamelessly stolen from r/aviation.

CB > Jcarr 11/21/2019 at 23:34

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I would trust all except one of those to be able to fly over British Columbia and not lose a nuke.

facw > Jcarr 11/21/2019 at 23:39

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No sure on the date here, but I think it’s not impossible that one or both of the two in the top left are still flying. The last B-52 was built in ‘62 and the last KC-135 in ‘65.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Jcarr 11/21/2019 at 23:42

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its crazy how tiny the b50 looks to the 36

oldmxer > Jcarr 11/21/2019 at 23:55

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B-36 “Peacemaker” could fly over the pole and drop on ruskies and come home on one tank, never had to use in anger

Only Vespas... > Jcarr 11/22/2019 at 00:03

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It’s also crazy how big the Voodoo looks next to the F-86.  It may be the perspective, but she’s almost as big as the Canberra.

Chariotoflove > Jcarr 11/22/2019 at 00:11

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I salute whoever arranged that picture for us to enjoy. 

glemon > Only Vespas... 11/22/2019 at 00:26

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Noticed the same thing

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > facw 11/22/2019 at 00:34

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What about the C-130? A s recently as 2015 the USAF still ha d 50+ year old Hercs in service: dunno about now.

facw > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 11/22/2019 at 01:04

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I’m not 100% sure, but I think the older C-130s would have been replaced. The C-130 has of course been in continuous production, and Congress tends to make sure the Air Force keeps ordering new ones.

facw > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 11/22/2019 at 01:15

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I’m not sure how that tail number works though. There is an L-100 (civilian C-130) serial number 5022, that has apparently flown for Ethiopia sometime recently):

I don’t think they are the same plane, and the cockpit window configuration is different, but who knows.

Tristan > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 11/22/2019 at 03:01

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That’s an A- model. there are still some H-models and maybe one or two E-models kicking around, but they’re all slowly getting shit canned in favor of J-models.

I spent 8 years turning wrenches on 130s. They're a hell of an aircraft.

ttyymmnn > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 11/25/2019 at 10:04

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ttyymmnn > Jcarr 11/25/2019 at 10:04

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That’s a great picture. 

user314 > facw 11/25/2019 at 10:35

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I can’t say for sure on the KC-135, but that’s a tall tail B-52, B-E model, which was probably dismantled at AMARC sometime in the 80s:

Aside from Balls 8, the NASA NB-52B  which was in active service until 2004, all the BUFFs flying now are H models.

If I were a betting man, I’d say that Grumman Albatross is still flying somewhere though.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 23:41

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I was amazed how tiny the 17 looked upclose. the crew were really crammed in there. 

ttyymmnn > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 11/26/2019 at 23:54

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A few years ago, I paid a few bucks to climb through a B-17. I was blown away by how small it is inside. I had to turn sideways and suck in my fat gut to get down the catwalk through the bomb bay. When I climbed out, I saw this stencil:

Max crew weight: 1200 lbs. And that’s with a crew of ten . So that’s an average of just 120 pounds per crewman. Granted, people were smaller and thinner back then, and most of those crewmen were 18-year-0ld farm boys. But still. No way you could find 10 guys that small to crew that plane today.

ttyymmnn > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 11/26/2019 at 23:56

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The B-17 was also very much a product of 1930s thinking. It was, in many ways, not much more than  an enlarged Boeing 247 . It took it’s first flight in 1935.