HeyEng

The WB-57F was recently used for the 2024 Solar Eclipse as well. They flew in a two ship formation at an altitude of over 50,000 ft using a special multi camera setup to catch the corona in different wavelengths.

Too true!

OPSEC!!!! When Col. Bill Grimes wrote “The History of BIG SAFARI” he went through the proper requirements and it was approved for public release by WPAFB Public Affairs under Case Number: 88ABW-2013-1703, Disposition Date: 12 Apr 2013 The mission Danger41 mentions against the Iraqi Kari Radar systems is covered in the book.

That is mentioned in the book. It was called SCATHE MEAN and BQM-74C Chukar Drones were modified and used similar to what the Israelis did during the Yom Kippur War against Egyptian Radars. The ad hoc team had to buy camping gear and other supplies from Walmart and Sam’s Club. Trucks were purchased and painted desert tan but had to be deployed so quickly they were never registered which created problems when they were returned to the states.

One of the topics I neglected to mention was where I got some of the information on the RB-57. For a fascinating history of this and other specialized aircraft I recommend the book “The History of BIG SAFARI” by Col. Bill Grimes. This book was a trip down memory lane and brought back memories from when I was a B-52G Crew Chief back in the ‘80s and my line supervisor worked on RC-135 aircraft in Alaska before being transferred to Bombers. He would regale me with tales of fantastically modified RC-135 aircraft (sometimes for a single mission) that I sometimes thought he was just embellishing to make a compelling story. After reading this book I wish I could remember more of those stories since they were all true!

Also it may be the only jet flying that has turbofans buried in the wings! (At least in the US, I’m not sure if the British still fly the Nimrod)

The NASA WB-57F aircraft made the news after it was revealed that it took part in collecting data on Drone Swarms off the coast of Virginia in the vicinity of Joint Base Langley. The WB-57 has probably one of the longest service careers in the US Military, it was originally a licensed built bomber from Martin Aircraft and based on the English Electric Canberra and was one of the first US jet aircraft to drop bombs in combat. It found a new life as a Reconnaissance platform and continuously modified over the years in programs such as SECOND SLICE/RIVET SLICE, TROPIC MOON and RIVET RAP. The WB-57F bears little resemblance to the original design with TF33 Turbofans and new, outer enlarged wing sections. After being retired from the USAF, a handful of aircraft were donated to NASA for use in atmospheric research. As to the Drone Swarms, there is little to say about that story and will probably soon disappear from the news altogether! https://www.twz.com/air/mysterious-drones-swarmed-langley-afb-for-weeks

Ha! In reality apparently there is an electric rocker switch on the top of the seat with a cover to move the seat in and out while your are standing. The switch was loose allowing the cover to activate the switch when the FA put their hand on the back of the seat. Drove the pilot right into the yoke and kicked off the AP with considerable nose down input to the yoke!

An IL-76 was reportedly shot down and crashed. One engine appears on fire but this alone should have not caused a crash so maybe there was additional damage. https://warisboring.com/second-russian-military-transport-plane-comes-down-since-january/?fbclid=IwAR1qGCJ8p9y3aR3l4pv61kOg9aO2A0cqsxkR8654UesdBuUHlDnQsRoZiYw_aem_AaM4aJCKbEEF5pjC1t-0cIyK7ZH9AstX8CqYNQBosEK5FrsdJMUD-sCr3zPPpq06zMw#ltp4tr1qbv0ccfq0vuf

My favorite 70’s movie as a child and that I recently re-discovered is “Colossus: The Forbin Project” A massive mainframe computer is built inside a mountain to take over decision making for launching nuclear weapons. It discovers a similar computer in the USSR and makes contact. They jointly take over the world. The movie has a “Andromeda Strain” tech-thriller quality to it.

This is a good video of the upcoming changes coming to the AF. The two commentators are former military and their discussion regarding the reintroduction of “no-notice” inspections is interesting as well.

Another spy balloon has been spotted! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-tracking-balloon-western-us-military/?fbclid=IwAR1KA0RNP3C7_d-9COHIa22wPTlCrqSVsOS5QSwVWh_06oSQ4eh0KgwaE4I_aem_AWr06Prmdh8nZSd_-MwrYzz5wsoN-4JE_2lkYUOPUMH_yGeoZs9n5r3n5OC32mVe3O8

Mover & Gonk echoes everyone else’s skepticism on this program since there doesn’t appear to be any incentive at all that Big Blue is offering to lure you into this windowless van!

And of course anti-ice valves never stick in the open position! Boeing has auto anti-ice systems that automatically turn on and off during icing conditions but to maintain the same type rating as legacy 737 aircraft, these type of systems are not installed on the Max. The Max with the LEAP engines should have had a new type certificate but Southwest would have not have purchased the aircraft to begin with and so Boeing did a lot of pounding a square peg in a round hole to emulate handling characteristics of legacy 737. Even the NG had a different wing and cruised faster than the 100 to 600 aircraft and it could be argued that Boeing should have changed the type certification back then.

There is also an issue with the engine anti-ice. The LEAP engine nacelle lip uses more composite materials than the legacy nacelles and can catastrophically fail if the anti-ice is left on in dry conditions for more than five minutes! The AD warns this could result in “an un-powered off-field landing”! https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/10/2023-17197/airworthiness-directives-the-boeing-company-airplanes