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What do you guys think about the future of the B52?, its been in service for 50 years now, and it is by far the best long range bomber to date. Do you think they will stop upgrading them with new avionics and fuel efficient engines and just develop something new?
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Well so far, they seem to just be modernizing the same basic model, so I guess thats whats working for them now. But somewhere along the line I'm sure it will be replaced with a completely new bomber. -
The B52s, at least the newer versions (F, G, H) will continue flying for the foreseeable future. I read an article about them a few months ago, where it was stated that the USAF intends to keep the B-52 flying until 2045. Obviously this would only possible due to the fact that B52s don't actually fly that many cycles per year, hence the strain on the plane is much less than on a commercial jetliner, and that both avionics and engines would be regularly updated. In that same article, it is stated that the USAF is also contemplating re-engining the B52s, using 4 engines instead of the familia 8, to reduce maintenance costs and fuel consumption. IIRC, Rolls Royce was the prime candidate for the re-engining.Comment
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Replacing the 8 engines to 4 is very logcial, but those 4 engines are goin to need put out alot of power.Comment
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Only the -H- model is still flying. The most modern B-52. Which was last made sometime in the mid 1960's.Originally posted by DAL767-400ER
Yes sometime around 2040 is when the next look to see what is better will happen.
BTW Sometime in the very near future if it has not happened yet there could be a: Granddad, dad and son flying the exact same plane!!! Now that is cool.Comment
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Originally posted by DAL767-400ER
If there are -G's- in the air I think maybe they have been upgraded to -H- model's.Comment
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Don't we all love Google
. Took a quick look, and got this link :
In here, it states the following:
Didn't even realise the -G has been withdrawn for that long already, and the -F was even retired by 1978! So only the -H, but hey, it is being described as a a ' Improved -G model', so at least the spirit of the -G is still flying. Btw, I think I found quite an interesting link with that site.The B-52G was used extensively in the 1991 during operation Desert Storm before being phased out of operational service in 1994.Comment
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Actually the Ds outlived the Fs. During Vietnam, many B-52Ds were retrofitted (Big Belly) to drop large quantity of conventional bombs. These were the planes most used by far in Vietnam. The last Ds survived until the mid 1980s. The last few Fs stayed around until 1978 — but where used for training for the last few years.
The differences between the B-52 G and H: the engines (the H has turbofans, which were quiter and more fuel efficient), a different tail gun system, and changes to the spoilers.
There's been talk about reengining the B-52Hs for some years now. Will believe it when I see it.
A link to B-52 information, including information on when various planes were disposed of (slightly out of date -- doesn't cover B-52Hs for the last few years): http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevo..._us/b052i.htmlComment
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Also heard of projects in re-engining the surviving Buffs. Would be interesting to see which candidate, used CF6-50 borrowed from DC.10s and 742s in the list, will be retained if plans actually materialize.
AlainComment
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Hope the end of the B-52 is not like the one in the 4th video.Comment
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Actually the G and H had more than spoiler changes, the difference is that they had no ailerons at all! They used spoilers only for roll control. They also had a shorter tail than the versions before.
Back to the engines, the turbojets (A-G models) were J57's and the H's turbofans are TF33's.
*waits for someone to ask how many people were killed*Originally posted by kcmhComment
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bloody good thing that thats only R/C and not realOriginally posted by kcmhComment
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The real one is here crash video Eerily similar the way they both went down.Originally posted by Chris@YYZComment
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The future of the B52, hanging in my room!
Sam Rudge
A 5D3, some Canon lenses, the Sigma L and a flashComment
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