It was designed in the Korean War era. Today's pilots have fathers and grandfathers who flew the same basic plane. It's the B-52 bomber, and it looks like it will fly well into the future with modern upgrades.
It first flew in 1952, before many of you were born, and it's still flying missions for the U.S. Air Force. There are presently 76 of them that are still operational, down from a peak force of 744 years ago. Plans are being made to keep them flying until the year 2040 - and maybe beyond.
The computer systems aboard some of the planes date back to the 1980s, with technology roughly matching that of most home computers of that era. There is even some tube equipment in a few that never got updated to semiconductors. The early technology in those planes limits their crews' ability to switch missions in mid-air; their mission data is uploaded on the ground and can't be changed significantly once airborne. This is all changing.
The most recent variant of the plane came out in the 1960-62 period, and has undergone more than 30 changes. Among them:
Installation of digital display screens, computer network servers and real-time communication uplinks.
Elimination of the tail gunner position, reducing the crew strength to 5 from 6.
The wings have been reinforced, and fuel capacity has been increased.
More powerful turbofan engines have been installed.
The fuselage has been reinforced at the joints and thickened around the crew compartments.
A few bits of information: The plane was first conceived over a weekend on the back of a napkin in 1948 by three Boeing employees. It did carpet-bombing chores during the Vietnam war, and ran crucial missions in Kosovo and the Middle East. No other U.S. warplane has been operational as long as the B-52. In spite of newer designs, it currently represents nearly half of all bombers in our fleet.
How long will the BUFF live? Who knows. It just keeps on truckin'. Amazing, isn't it?
John
It first flew in 1952, before many of you were born, and it's still flying missions for the U.S. Air Force. There are presently 76 of them that are still operational, down from a peak force of 744 years ago. Plans are being made to keep them flying until the year 2040 - and maybe beyond.
The computer systems aboard some of the planes date back to the 1980s, with technology roughly matching that of most home computers of that era. There is even some tube equipment in a few that never got updated to semiconductors. The early technology in those planes limits their crews' ability to switch missions in mid-air; their mission data is uploaded on the ground and can't be changed significantly once airborne. This is all changing.
The most recent variant of the plane came out in the 1960-62 period, and has undergone more than 30 changes. Among them:
Installation of digital display screens, computer network servers and real-time communication uplinks.
Elimination of the tail gunner position, reducing the crew strength to 5 from 6.
The wings have been reinforced, and fuel capacity has been increased.
More powerful turbofan engines have been installed.
The fuselage has been reinforced at the joints and thickened around the crew compartments.
A few bits of information: The plane was first conceived over a weekend on the back of a napkin in 1948 by three Boeing employees. It did carpet-bombing chores during the Vietnam war, and ran crucial missions in Kosovo and the Middle East. No other U.S. warplane has been operational as long as the B-52. In spite of newer designs, it currently represents nearly half of all bombers in our fleet.
How long will the BUFF live? Who knows. It just keeps on truckin'. Amazing, isn't it?
John
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