Dirty Jobs: KC-135

[undatc]

So as im a discovery channel nut, and in the marathon today they traveled to McConnel AFB where there is a squadren of KC-135's.  The dirty job today was to climb into the wing of a KC and scrape off some rubber cement basicly to keeps the fuel tanks from leaking.  They then pulled one of the bladders out of the body.  Kinda weird how they are attached to the KC.  The use parachute cord and duct tape to 'weave' the bladders in.  Apparently also the bathroom in the KC is right above the bladders and leaks into the area they were working.  They finished off the show with a refueling flight, in which they hooked up with a B-51 over nebraska, tansfered 10,000 pounds of fuel and landed.  One of my good friends is actually a boom operator on the KC-135 outta Grand Forks.

[Baradium]

Sure it was a B-51?   

[switchtech]

Apparently it was the rare dive bomber version of the Mustang.

 

[Panzerrat]

For the record, this is a B-51.

http://www.answers.com/topic/martin-xb-51

[Turbomallard]

Old B-36 joke:

Pilot: Feather six!
Flight Engineer: Which six?

 

TM

[fireflyr]

Kinda partial to admiring the lines of the XB70---though it never made it out of testing due to horrific cost overruns, it was arguably the most advanced aircraft ever flown.
It was built like a Titanium and steel outhouse with 180,000 lbs of thrust to push it to mach-3.
Can't get it to copy the picture---ohwell

[Panzerrat]

Here ya go...







The ever beautiful XB-70!

[Baradium]

Random question... when they spend too much money on an advanced aircraft like that, why not go ahead and used the single copy they made anyway?

[Panzerrat]

Probably because, like any other piece of military equipment, it's not just the aircraft.  There still needs to be a support structure to provide spares, crew training, and all those other intangibles.  They built two XB-70s, and one was lost in an air to air collision.  NASA used the other one for quite awhile for research purposes.  To my knowledge, it was never finalized for true military service.

[tundra_flier]

Kinda partial to admiring the lines of the XB70---though it never made it out of testing due to horrific cost overruns, it was arguably the most advanced aircraft ever flown.
It was built like a Titanium and steel outhouse with 180,000 lbs of thrust to push it to mach-3.
Can't get it to copy the picture---ohwell

Actually it was mostly stainless steel.  Titanium wasn't available yet, and aluminum would burn up from friction heating at the speeds it flew.  In fact, after the fastest run they ever did with it, there were several small parts of the airframe that resembled charcoal. 

Random question... when they spend too much money on an advanced aircraft like that, why not go ahead and used the single copy they made anyway?

In the case of the XB-70 the ICBM made it no longer necessary.  An intercontinental missile was considered a far safer and more effective method of delivering nucular warheads to the USSR.  But, the knowledge gained from it did make the SR-71 possible, so definitly not a total loss. 

Phil

[Baradium]

  But, the knowledge gained from it did make the SR-71 possible, so definitly not a total loss. 

Phil

Don't forget the YF-12!

IIRC, most speed records are actually held by a YF-12, not an SR-71 as popularly believed. 

[fireflyr]

Kinda partial to admiring the lines of the XB70---though it never made it out of testing due to horrific cost overruns, it was arguably the most advanced aircraft ever flown.
It was built like a Titanium and steel outhouse with 180,000 lbs of thrust to push it to mach-3.
Can't get it to copy the picture---ohwell

Actually it was mostly stainless steel.  Titanium wasn't available yet, and aluminum would burn up from friction heating at the speeds it flew.  In fact, after the fastest run they ever did with it, there were several small parts of the airframe that resembled charcoal. 

Random question... when they spend too much money on an advanced aircraft like that, why not go ahead and used the single copy they made anyway?

In the case of the XB-70 the ICBM made it no longer necessary.  An intercontinental missile was considered a far safer and more effective method of delivering nucular warheads to the USSR.  But, the knowledge gained from it did make the SR-71 possible, so definitly not a total loss. 

Phil

The aircraft was fabricated using titanium and brazed stainless steel “honeycomb” materials to withstand the heating during the sustained high Mach number portions of the flights. The propulsion system consisted of six General Electric turbojet engines (J93-GE 3) with two large rectangular inlet ducts providing two-dimensional airflow.

The entire mission (including return) was to be flown at Mach 3, but even then the aircraft was vulnerable to SAMs of the 1960's vintage. A high altitude, Mach 3 penetrator cannot maneuver well; its straight and level trajectory would have been an easy course to plot and intercept. Further, the technology that made Mach 3 possible yielded an airframe with a large RCS that added to the effectiveness of SAMs against the XB-70. The airframe was not adaptable to low level penetration to avoid SAMs because the delta wings were very thin and did not lend themselves to the structural modifications necessary for sustained, low level flight.

Here's an explanation on a XB 70 website

[FlyboyGil]

Don't forget this little beauty right here, The CF-105 Avro Arrow. It was the most advanced aircraft of its day, and it was all Canadian. It was designed in the early 1950's, and would have been the only aircraft able to intercept, and fly circles around the U-2 Spyplane. Unfortunatley due to high costs of development, its rollout being overshadowed by the launch of Sputnik (the Arrow was unveiled the same day as Sputniks launch), various conspiracy theories, poor marketing etc,  the Arrow project was cancelled. The 6 aircraft were all destroyed.

In Canada being an aviation enthusiast means hearing this story and getting really mad at it!
It would have been something if the Arrow would have been in production, and sold around the world. Although it would have been dated for today, Avro Canada would've been a world leader in Aircraft design and development.

[YawningMan]

My all-time favorite X plane is still the X-29.  If I could fly any of 'em, it would be that one.

[FlyboyGil]

Don't forget this little beauty right here, The CF-105 Avro Arrow. It was the most advanced aircraft of its day, and it was all Canadian. It was designed in the early 1950's, and would have been the only aircraft able to intercept, and fly circles around the U-2 Spyplane. Unfortunatley due to high costs of development, its rollout being overshadowed by the launch of Sputnik (the Arrow was unveiled the same day as Sputniks launch), various conspiracy theories, poor marketing etc,  the Arrow project was cancelled. The 6 aircraft were all destroyed.

In Canada being an aviation enthusiast means hearing this story and getting really mad at it!
It would have been something if the Arrow would have been in production, and sold around the world. Although it would have been dated for today, Avro Canada would've been a world leader in Aircraft design and development.

Oh yeah. When the Arrow was cancelled, all major aircraft manufacturing companies in the States, swooped in and took the majority of the employees. Alot went to NASA (arrow and shuttle design similiarities?)