RAF Fairford Saturday 23-03-2019

[Beemer]

A nice day was promised so Paul and I decided to do Kemble and while in the vicinity why not go to Fairford for the B52's. They are a bit awkward to photograph due the chain link fence but a set of steps helps. These are the regs and photos will follow.

 
					
Saturday23 March, 2019				Fairford		
						
						
Reg/Code	Type			C/n	Airline/Operator/Owner	
						
60-0024/LA	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress B-52H			464389	United States Air Force	
60-0025/LA	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress B-52H			464390	United States Air Force	
60-0032/LA	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress B-52H			464397	United States Air Force	
60-0058/LA	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress B-52H			464423	United States Air Force	
61-0015/LA	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress B-52H			464442	United States Air Force	
61-0034/LA	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress B-52H			464461	United States Air Force	
						

ADU Software 1 23-Mar-19

[Beemer]

60-0032/LA
60-0032/LA B-52H USAF by Beemer328i, on Flickr

60-0058/LA
60-0058/LA B-52H USAF by Beemer328i, on Flickr

61-0015/LA
61-0015/LA B-52H USAF by Beemer328i, on Flickr

B-52H
B-52H USAF by Beemer328i, on Flickr

B-52H
B-52H USAF by Beemer328i, on Flickr

[ronturner]

Nice photos of these brilliant aeroplanes.
I am reminded of the many days I spent on that fence line during the 30 years I lived at Malmesbury, including the arrival of the first Concorde in the hands of Brian Trubshaw.

[Beemer]

I can not imagine what stresses each wing is put under with four engines and all the armaments.

[viscount]

As I recall it is the fuselage sides which visibly show the stress the airframe's sheer size and weight is best shown. Particularly in the days of gloss black sides the 'wrinkles' showed very visibly when on the ground. Indeed even in your second photo, I can make out diagonal wrinkles in the forward fuselage skin. This due in part to the lack of a full width and length floor that braces airliner designs. Those aircraft are not too far off 60 years old (fiscal year 1960 serials) and still in front line service - quite a record!

I can also remember at Mildenhall Air Shows watching B-52 wings visibly flex as the outer section relax downwards in the transition between flight and all weight on the undercarriage as the airspeed fell on landing. Now you see the same effect sat in the cabin of a Boeing 777/787/Airbus A.330 etc.

[radiostationx]

Amazingly the stuff that refuels them are still going. I think there are still some 57 and 58 fiscal year KC-135s out there.
Perhaps they have carried a lot more weight up into the air in their life time than the B-52s.

www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2018/June%202018/The-Oldest-Jet-in-the-Air-Force-Refueling-Bombers-on-the-Frontline-in-the-Pacific.aspx

[ian531]

Hi

Some of the wrinkles can be seen in this shot from Duxford

6FBF83AF-F4CD-4E54-B136-9971AF26585A by ian531531, on Flickr

Ian