When I was still enlisted and working on a KC-135 Flt Simulator at Barksdale AFB, '76-'79, the four pilots picked to fly the Shuttle Enterprise tests off the back of the carrier 747 started a training program that used our simulator. Col Fuller, the lead pilot was an ex-tanker pilot and the only one of the group that had flown anything close to that size. They would fly in from Houston on a Thursday morning and fly sim missions most of the morning then hop out to Edwards and fly a NASA bird to practice the gliding approach the shuttles would later use. I forget how long this went on, but they were on our schedule every Thursday and it seemed liked months. At some point their routine was covered in an issue of "Airman" magazine in'79. The actual Enterprize tests didn't happen until I had left Barksdale and headed to OTS. I was able to see the Enterprise itself at the New Orleans World's Fair in '84.

(Written on 10/22/2021)(Permalink)

I was stationed at SAC HQ when this happened and I remember the event. Not only happened but it wasn't the first, or last, time it was done. Not unusual for a fighter to be towed to safety back south of the DMZ in Viet Nam, and I know of a time that an SR-71 was helped to an emergency landing in New Orleans after losing an engine.

(Written on 10/02/2015)(Permalink)

Well, not a total failure--they bought the entire run of planes planned for the Navy and gave them to AF as SAC's FB-111 to replace B-58, the very expensive to maintain and obsolete before its time "medium" bomber.

(Written on 07/03/2015)(Permalink)

I followed these tests with special interest. Four NASA pilots, led by AF Colonel Fuller, were chosen to pilot the Enterprise during these earliest tests. Only Col Fuller had time in large aircraft and he proposed training that included time in a KC-135 Flight Sim, followed by flying an actual KC-135. I worked at the Barksdale AFB sim at the time and our location and workload made it easy for the crews to schedule time, flying in from Houston and continuing on to Edwards for the actual flights later. For months we got used to these guys coming in on a Thursday, filling the morning training blocks and this went on for several months. This also led to NASA using our simulator in conjunction with other test programs.

(Written on 03/13/2015)(Permalink)

Far as I know the only external fuel it could carry was in the centerline pod not shown here. I agreed on all your points, wondered about refueling myself.

(Written on 11/22/2014)(Permalink)

I remember when sonic booms were not so unusual. One summer, circa 1960-61, when visiting my grandparents in Shreveport, La, I remember an unusually high incidence of them. Shreveport was/is the location of Barksdale AFB but it was not the source of the planes causing all the booms. Carswell AFB was less than 200 miles east of there and was the location of a wing of B-58's. Shreveport media quickly explained it was the Hustlers on training flights that were responsible. Back then sonic booms were often called 'the sound of freedom'.

(Written on 11/22/2014)(Permalink)

There was a time when B-58's set records for flights that were later broken by SR-71's. One such Hustler that set one of those records was on display at the SAC museum for years. The museum has moved away from Offutt AFB, I think, to a place north of Omaha, but I imagine it's still part of their displays.

(Written on 11/22/2014)(Permalink)

Beautiful plane, my favorite of all time. One of the first to have an onboard computer (Tube-type!), but by the time it was actually built the Soviets could bring down highflying planes and tactics changed. I entered AF right after their demise and met several maint types who were being retrained and they all said it was a maint nightmare of the first order, taking many more maint hours per flying hour than any plane in the inventory. Also, it was proven not as useful as they thought in low-level penetration/bombing runs. The inboard engines, being on pylons, tended to shake badly at high speeds and low level. And since the B-58 did not last long in service, SAC and AF bought the FB-111s to replace them, actually being the planned Navy version of the F-111 the Navy backed out of.

(Written on 11/22/2014)(Permalink)

I'll stick to Southwest, thank you.

(Written on 01/18/2013)(Permalink)

Years ago as a KC-135 Flt Sim specialist I enjoyed a number of tanker incentive flights but was never lucky enough to go on a night flight. My very 1st incentive flt was in 1977, before they dropped the requirement for everyone on the tanker to have on a 'chute and helmet. These guys never fail to impress.

(Written on 11/02/2012)(Permalink)