I tried to resist it, I really did. But then, what kind of self-respecting amateur historian and former pilot could resist?
This past week, the Kansas Aviation Museum was host to the only public access B-52 Simulator in existence. The B-52* has been the mainstay of the US Air Force’s bomber fleet since 1955. It has served as both a high-altitude and a low-level penetration bomber with both conventional and nuclear weaponry using both overhead and standoff delivery methods, an air-launched missile platform and even as a “mother ship” launcher for high-altitude experimental aircraft like the X-15. And it’s a veteran of four wars.*** And here – 56 years later - it’s still in active service.
Given that history, who wouldn’t want to take a crack at flying the flight simulator for this historic aircraft?
Spec wise,the B-52 has eight jet engines, 4 on each of its 92 foot wings. Spanning 156 feet in length and wingspan of roughly 185 feet and a max takeoff weight of 488,000 lb, this thing is a monster. In addition to its internal fuel capacity, there was capability to have 3,000 US gallon** fuel tanks mounted externally underneath the end of each wing. (This causes the wingtip of B-52 deflects up to 26ft (8m) from its drooping position to a full deflection at a maximum-g pull-up. **** And it makes for one helluva pendulum effect swinging that much weight around at the end of a 92 foot wing which makes for some interesting roll control forces in turns.
With 8 engines represented on the throttle quadrant with one throttle each, this would make some interesting pilot technique for advancing power. I’d heard that one doesn’t really ever rotate the nose up in takeoff – rather it flies itself off the ground tail first. (And, if you’ve ever watched one takeoff, you notice there’s a negative deck angle - in other words, she takes off nose down). Landings are reputed to be equally interesting in that one doesn’t ever really round out and flare, but rather just flies it on at a constant deck angle and airspeed.
In my “former life” as a pilot and training center sim instructor, I’ve seen all the insides of flight simulators I ever care to see – from the pilot seats in front or from the instructor station in the back. But, given those quirky flight characteristics, what former pilot wouldn’t want to take a crack at flying the flight simulator for this intriguing aircraft?
So, like I said, I couldn’t resist. I “logged a half hour in this historic B-52G sim this afternoon. I had to experience pushing up eight throttles at once for takeoff. I wondered what it looked and felt like to climbout nose low after takeoff. I wanted to feel the roll rate with 1000 gallons of fuel weight swinging at the end of a 92 foot wing.
The sim had a visual system set up for daylight in the Las Vegas area. The famous Las Vegas Strip was meticulously recreated – The MGM Grand, The Luxor, The Stratosphere and the Manolay Bay casinos were all represented very accurately. (I was just there the first half of this week). I did one low pass over the strip, a touch and go and a fullstop landing. There was even another “BUFF”***** on the runway at Nellis AFB when I did my touch and go landing and commercial airliners in line on the taxiway waiting for us to land when I did my last landing – a perfect onspeed, on glidepath approach to a gentle touchdown, if I do say so myself.
I haven’t flown in so long and nothing with the girth of a BUFF that I was just pleased not to have created a simulated fireball and smokin’ hole in the simulated runway.
The half hour just flew by and – as a historian – am thankful to have briefly and in such a minor way connected to such a key component of American aviation history.
Congratulations to the Kansas Aviation Museum for having hosted such a great attraction.
Blue skies.
All pictures are my own photographs taken today while at the Museum. If unable to view the pictures, go to http://fedoradudescommentary.blogspot.com/
References:
*Wikipedia, December 29, 2011, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Taken December 31, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-52_Stratofortress.
** Goebel, G., The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Taken December 31, 2011 from http://www.qxrmyy.com/variants.html.
***The Cold War, Vietnam, Gulf War 1 and Gulf War 2
****AviatorH, Dec. 2010, Do B-52s have small wheels mounted towards the ends of the wings?, Taken December 31, 2011 from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101022231942AAPnec6.
*****Acronym for Big Ugly Fat…er…Fellow(?), a nickname for the B-52 bomber.
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